20% don't care and the other 80%
are glad you have them.**
Lou Holtz
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
4.6 AEGEAN SEA, followed by 15 moderate aftershocks so far
Yesterday, 7/29/13 -
5.0 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
5.1 FIJI REGION
5.0 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
New Zealand - Another big quake in strait. A "severe" quake yesterday morning in Cook Strait caused damage and was felt as far away as Auckland. It also increased the probability of further severe aftershocks. The 5.0-magnitude quake struck , just over a week since a 6.5 magnitude Cook Strait earthquake, which caused damage around Marlborough. There have been more than 1300 quakes in the Cook Strait region since Friday.
The quake was 12 kilometres deep and 20km east of Seddon in Cook Strait. It was followed by a swarm of smaller quakes. More than 1500 people, mainly in the upper South Island and lower North Island, reported feeling the quake. At least one person reported that it caused damage. "I certainly wouldn't be surprised if this earthquake knocked items off shelves." It was also felt in Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.
At midday yesterday, GeoNet had downgraded the chance of a 5-5.9 aftershock within 24 hours to 11 per cent. After the quake, when GeoNet reworks its figures, it would increase the likelihood of a 5-5.9 aftershock.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Eastern Pacific -
Tropical depression Flossie is located about about 145 mi (230 km) NW of Hilo, Hawaii. All tropical storm warnings have been discontinued. Tropical storm force wind gusts were possible overnight. Locally gusty winds will likely continue on Tuesday over the central and Western Islands. (maps)
Tropical storm Flossie - Hawaii braced for FIRST DIRECT HIT IN TWENTY YEARS. Hawaii was bracing for tropical storm Flossie Monday, even as the storm began to weaken. Officials warned that flash floods, mudslides and dangerously large surf could “threaten life and property” when Flossie makes landfall.
The eye of the storm is headed directly for Maui and Oahu, with landfall expected Monday. Wind gusts could reach 60 miles per hour, but the greater threat is rain. Heavy rainfall could cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in the mountains." The storm is expected to bring 6 to 10 inches of rain over Maui and the Big Island, with up to 15 inches possible in isolated locations, and 4 to 8 inches of rain over Oahu and Kauai, with isolated maximums of up to 12 inches possible.
Sustained winds up to 45 miles per hour were expected, and the NWS says that "dangerously high surf" is already hammering eastern-facing shores of the Big Island, and will soon spread to the other islands and continue through Tuesday.
Tropical storms are uncommon in Hawaii. On average, between four and five tropical cyclones are observed in the Central Pacific every year. This number has ranged from zero, most recently as 1979, to as many as eleven in 1992 and 1994. August is the peak month, followed by July, then September. Tropical storms and hurricanes are uncommon in the Hawaiian Islands. Only eight named storms have impacted Hawaii in the 34 year period 1979–2012, an average of one storm every four years.
Ex-cyclone Dorian in the Caribbean is re-organizing and may resurface as a new storm in the next 2 days. The remnants of Tropical Storm Dorian died over the weekend in the Atlantic.
NHC gave Dorian's remains a 40% chance of regenerating by Wednesday. The primary impediment to development is the presence of an upper-level trough of low pressure to its west that ex-Dorian is running into. None of the reliable computer models for tropical cyclone genesis predict that ex-Dorian will regenerate. Dorian's remains should continue moving west-northwest during the week, spreading over the Bahamas on Tuesday and Wednesday, and over Florida and Central Cuba on Thursday and Friday.
Villagers in remote Fiji islands still recovering from cyclone damage. Villages are still recovering from one of the country's harshest cyclones, which struck last December. There is still plenty of damage visible.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
U.S. - Extreme weather was spreading across much of the country Monday morning -- from tropical storm warnings on Hawaii to flooding in the west and along the east coast. People in Philadelphia are finally drying out after the WETTEST DAY IN THE CITY'S HISTORY. At Philadelphia's airport, storms knocked out power. Passengers hauled their bags out of the terminal in the dark.
Philadelphia set its all-time single day rainfall record with an incredible deluge of 8.02" of rain on Sunday. The previous record of 6.63" was set on September 16, 1999 during Tropical Storm Floyd. With a further round of rain after midnight in Philadelphia (bringing the 24-hour record storm total to 8.27”), July has brought 13.25” of precipitation to the city. This surpasses the previous July monthly record (since 1872) of 10.42”set in 1994. The wettest month on record for Philadelphia remains 19.31” in August 2011. Sunday's deluge is an astonishing rainfall total for a location with such a long period of record, considering that it occurred without the benefit of a tropical storm being present. Remarkably, 6.46" of the rain fell in just 3 1/2 hours.
Heavy rain from summer storms has already created dangerous flash floods across the U.S. In southern New Jersey Sunday, the waters turned streets into lakes, stranding drivers on roads. In North Carolina, the floods turned deadly, washing away a 10-year-old girl and 48-year-old man as they swam in a rural creek. "They weren't in for just a few seconds and the current was so strong that it swept them away." The raging water destroyed roads and consumed homes. The sudden surge of rain caught many people off guard. Rapid rainfall at almost an inch an hour also wreaked havoc in Arizona, where a tour bus returning from the grand canyon flipped over in a muddy flood. None of the 33 passengers was injured.
A normally tranquil Hawaiian paradise was bracing for its biggest storm in 20 years. Residents have been stocking up on propane. Emergency supplies have been flying off store shelves. Flossie is poised for a direct hit on Hawaii's big island -- packing a punch not seen since Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Forecasters say Flossie won't be as strong, but could bring up to a foot of rain and winds close to 60 miles per hour.
Extreme weather causes chaos across France - Video. Extreme weather caused a number of incidents across France at the weekend that saw thousands were left without power and houses hit by lightning.
Seven people died Sunday on a series of beaches off France's Mediterranean coast after 80mph winds and unpredictable currents caused treacherous conditions. Another three in 'serious condition' after escaping from the sea. Four victims died on the beaches, while three others died in hospital.
"Conditions were hugely treacherous, yet many people did not seem aware of this. Swimmers who ventured out too far found themselves swept further out by high winds and big waves." At least three other people were in a ‘serious condition’ after escaping from the sea. Like the deceased, they had been enjoying high summer temperatures on the beaches of Palavas-les-Flots, Carnon, La Grande-Motte, Valras and Vendres. ‘We get bad days every summer, but what happened today is ABSOLUTELY EXCEPTIONAL. It has been a terrible day.’ (photos & map)
Masses of plastic found in Great Lakes - Already ravaged by toxic algae, invasive mussels and industrial pollution, North America's Great Lakes face another threat few had imagined until recently: untold millions of bits of plastic litter, some visible only through a microscope. Scientists who have studied gigantic masses of floating plastic in the world's oceans are now reporting similar discoveries in the lakes that make up nearly one-fifth of the world's fresh water.
They retrieved the particles from Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie last year. This summer, they're widening the search to Lakes Michigan and Ontario, skimming the surface with finely meshed netting dragged behind sailing vessels. "If you're out boating in the Great Lakes, you're not going to see large islands of plastic. But all these bits of plastic are out there."
Experts say it's unclear how long "microplastic" pollution has been in the lakes or how it is affecting the environment. Studies are under way to determine whether fish are eating the particles. Through it all, the fishing industry remains a pillar of the region's tourist economy. Until the research is completed, it won't be clear whether the pollution will affect fishing guidelines, the use of certain plastics or cities that discharge treated wastewater into the lakes.
Scientists have already made a couple startling finds. The sheer number of plastic specks in some samples hauled from Lake Erie, the shallowest and smallest by volume, were higher than in comparable samples taken in the oceans. Also, while it's unknown where the ocean plastic came from, microscopic examination of Great Lakes samples has produced a smoking gun: many particles are perfectly round pellets. The scientists suspect they are abrasive "micro beads" used in personal care products such as facial and body washes and toothpaste.
They're so minuscule that they flow through screens at waste treatment plants and wind up in the lakes. At the urging of scientists and advocates, some big companies have agreed to phase them out. In ocean environments, fish and birds are known to feed on microplastics, apparently mistaking them for fish eggs. A more complicated question is whether the particles are soaking up toxins in the water, potentially contaminating fish that eat them - and sending them up the food chain. Lab examination detected two potentially harmful compounds in the Lake Erie plastic debris: PAHs, which are created during incineration of coal or oil products; and PCBs, which were used in electrical transformers and hydraulic systems before they were banned in 1979. Both are capable of causing cancer and birth defects.
For anglers who regularly feast on salmon, perch and other delicacies from the lakes' depths, the most common reaction to the microplastic scare is a resigned shrug. They're used to warnings against overindulging on fish because of mercury, PCBs and other contaminants. "I think people aren't going to be really worried about it until more research is done to see just what we're dealing with. You look in the waters and you see all those cigarette butts - the fish eat them, too."
HEALTH THREATS -
More states report Cyclospora cases - total reaches 373. The illnesses in four additional states may be linked to the multistate outbreak.
