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Global Disaster Watch here on Blogspot - posts a daily summary of the natural disaster news, with links, around midnight.
**You won’t always be punished FOR your anger,
but you will always be punished BY your anger.**
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide
This morning -
5.8 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
Yesterday, 8/3/13 -
5.0 EASTER ISLAND REGION
5.0 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
8/2/13 -
5.2 EASTERN KASHMIR
5.1 OAXACA, MEXICO
5.2 EASTERN KASHMIR
5.1 SOUTHWEST INDIAN RIDGE
India - More than 100 buildings were damaged and two persons were injured when an earthquake of moderate intensity shook Kishtwar and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. The 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Kishtwar and Doda districts in Jammu region and parts of the valley at around 3.08am, a day after a similar tremor had hit the region.
The quake lasted nine seconds and was followed by two aftershocks at 3.12am and 4.12am. Over 100 buildings, including government structures, developed cracks and a higher secondary school building and the office of the assistant commissioner were among the structures damaged.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic Ocean -
- Post-Tropical storm Dorian is located about about 160 mi (255 km) ESE of Charleston, South Carolina. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. Dorian dissipated early Sunday and the final advisory has been issued on this system. - Off Florida, an area of disturbed weather (Invest 91) has the potential for tropical development.
In the Eastern Pacific -
- Tropical storm Gil is located about 1405 mi (2260 km) E of of Hilo Hawaii. Disorganized Gil is slowly weakening. (maps)
- Tropical depression Eight-E is located about 1210 mi (1950 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja, California. Should become a tropical storm today.
Post-Tropical Cyclone Dorian was back on Saturday! But she's dead again today. Like an annoying fly buzzing around your head that just won't go away, Dorian was back. Dorian began as a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on July 22.
Although initially given only a 10% of developing, Dorian SURPRISED FORECASTERS by becoming the 2nd farthest east-forming tropical storm for so early in the year on July 24. Dorian peaked in strength on July 25, when its top winds reached 60 mph. On July 26, Dorian encountered a dryer, more stable atmosphere, and the storm dissipated to a tropical wave on July 27.
The remnants of Dorian continued tracking west-northwest, passing north of the Lesser Antilles Islands and into the Bahamas this week. Finally, at 5 AM EDT Saturday morning, the remnants of Dorian reorganized enough to prompt the National Hurricane Center to upgrade Dorian's remnants to Tropical Depression Dorian.
Hawaii - Kauai lifeguards are prohibiting swimming in an area off Poipu Beach because strong ocean conditions created by Tropical Storm Flossie eroded a sandbar there. The erosion is causing an extremely dangerous rip current from the shoreline to a rocky islet off Poipu Beach called Nukumoi Point. The sandbar is a popular attraction for beachgoers.
Officials have posted signs to warn beachgoers of the danger. Lifeguards are telling swimmers to stay out of the water. Tropical storm Flossie passed through Hawaii earlier this week, though the center of the storm never hit land. Flossie's center came closest to Kauai early Tuesday.
Tropical storm Jebi lands in Hainan in South China - Strong tropical storm Jebi landed in south China's Hainan Province on Friday evening, bringing intense rain and strong gales that grounded flights and halted maritime traffic. The ninth tropical storm to hit China this year, Jebi made landfall in Longlou Township, Wenchang City, at 7:30 p.m., packing winds of up to 117 km per hour near its center.
Affected by the storm, many parts of the island province reported heavy rain on Friday, including Haikou, capital of Hainan, where many city roads were badly waterlogged. In hard-hit Longlou Township, strong winds felled trees and knocked down billboards. Many roadside stores were closed and few pedestrians were seen on the streets.
"It was just like pouring water outside. The trees were shaking wildly, and motorbikes parked at the roadside were all blown down." The storm forced operations to cease on the island's high-speed railway, and shipping services on the Qiongzhou Strait, which connects Hainan and Guangdong provinces on the mainland, were also halted Thursday. More than 6,000 passengers were stranded in Sanya Phoenix International Airport in the tourist city of Sanya, with over 110 flights scheduled to take off or land at the airport canceled as of 4 p.m. All of the island's 26,900 fishing vessels returned to port out of safety concerns.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
U.S. - Severe Storm Threat From Billings to Denver, Wichita. Severe storms were firing Saturday evening from Montana to Colorado. The severe storm threat will shift across the central Plains overnight.
Denver was among the cities in the path of severe weather Saturday evening. Multiple clusters of thunderstorms will continue to fire up through early Saturday night. Storms have already spawned brief tornadoes and HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS across northeastern Colorado.
The most intense storms that could fire through the remainder of the evening were capable of bringing damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. These powerful storms will threaten to down trees and power lines, causing power outages. On Saturday night, an organized complex of thunderstorms will trek across Kansas and into extreme western Missouri. Damaging winds, downpours and flooding will become the main concerns into early Sunday.
In addition to Denver and surrounding suburbs, the Wichita, Kansas, area will also be at risk for adverse weather. The ground is fairly moist across central and eastern Kansas, where up to 4 to 8 inches of rain has fallen in the past week. [80 mph winds were reported along with ping pong sized haiil.]
The rain will certainly be welcome for some, as extreme drought conditions continue to grip eastern Colorado and western Kansas. The potential for severe storms will not be restricted to the Plains for the start of the weekend. While the widespread threat will remain in the center of the country, there is a risk for isolated gusty storms in the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. The greatest risk area will be across Maryland and Virginia, however the higher winds will be isolated events. (maps)
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
Oregon - A snowboarder traveling through an ice tunnel on Oregon’s Mount Hood with five companions was buried Saturday when the tunnel collapsed. Rescuers quickly responded but halted efforts after dark Saturday night, and said they will resume the search around dawn Sunday.
The other five people were uninjured in the collapse Saturday afternoon and called police. They also attempted to dig the man out, but were unable to break through thick snow and ice. “They tried digging for an hour, but the problem is the stuff is so thick that they couldn’t get through it. We’re getting chainsaws, if that’s any indication.” . The initial reports referred to an avalanche, but it was not immediately clear if one had occurred.
The man was trapped on the White River Glacier, which begins about 6,000 feet up the south side of the mountain. “It trapped one person in the tunnel, (but) we’re not sure if he was the last one out or it just caught him. It sounds like there’s a significant amount of ice and snow that fell.” An airplane was dispatched to survey the area, along with crews from local sheriff’s offices.
It will “take some doing” to reach the area where the snowboarder was buried. Companions took pictures of the area just before the tunnel collapsed, giving searchers a better idea of where to search. Warm temperatures made snow on the mountain slushier and more easily sloughed off the surface, adding to the challenge of attempting to reach the snowboarder.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / FIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Colorado - Drought persists in some growing areas. Parts of Colorado, particularly the southeastern part of the state, have been languishing in exceptional drought conditions for several years.
SPACE WEATHER -
Among all annual meteor showers, the Perseids are the #1 source of fireballs. The first Perseid fireballs of 2013 are arriving now. Earth is entering a stream of debris from parent comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, and meteoroids are hitting the top of the atmosphere at 135,000 mph. The maximum is coming. Meteor rates should remain low for the next week as Earth penetrates the sparse outskirts of the debris stream, then skyrocket to 100+ meteors per hour as the calendar turns to the second week of August. Forecasters expect maximum Perseid activity on the nights of August 12-13.
HEALTH THREATS -
The salad mix identified in Cyclospora outbreak investigations in Iowa and Nebraska came from a Mexican company that processes food-service salad. The salad mix was supplied to restaurants in those states by a common supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, S de RL de CV.The investigation has not implicated consumer packages sold in grocery stores. The restaurants linked to the clusters include Olive Garden and Red Lobster outlets.
Darden Restaurants issued a statement saying, "Nothing we have seen prior to this announcement gave us any reason to be concerned about the products we've received from this supplier. Iowa and Nebraska health authorities have said this is not an ongoing outbreak and the product is no longer in the food supply in those states. The health and safety of our guests is our top priority, and it is completely safe to eat in our restaurants."
Taylor Farms de Mexico has been cooperating with FDA investigators, and the FDA and the firm will conduct an environmental assessment of the firm's processing facility to find what caused the outbreak and to establish measures to ensure that it doesn't happen again. The facility is part of Taylor Farms, a Salinas, Calif.- based company that has 11 plants throughout the United States, plus one in San Miguel Allende, Mexico. Taylor Farms issued a statement that none of its other 11 facilities are connected to the illnesses and that its Mexico plant processes produce only for the foodservice industry. It also confirmed earlier statements from Iowa and Nebraska that the product supplied during June is no longer in the supply chain and that bagged salad is safe to eat. The company said its facility is state-of-the-art and has an exceptional food safety record.
In light of the current probe the FDA said it is increasing its surveillance of green leafy products exported from Mexico to the United States. Iowa and Nebraska health officials have linked infections in their states to a prepackaged salad mix that contained romaine and iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and carrots. It's not clear whether cases reported from other states are part of the same outbreak, and investigations in other states are continuing. Meanwhile, more states affected by the outbreak reported additional infections to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, raising the official total to 428.
RECALLS & ALERTS
Whole Foods Market is recalling Trois Comtois Morbier cheese in the Mid Atlantic, Southwest, Northern California, Southern Pacific and Midwest regions. This cheese is being recalled because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
