**Imitation is the sincerest form of television.**
Fred Allen
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday, 10/27/13 -
5.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.6 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 PANAMA-COSTA RICA BORDER REGION
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 TAIWAN
Did the oarfish predict Saturday's 7.1 Japan quake?! - The power and timing of the quake has some wondering if the beachings of two oarfish in Southern California over the last two weeks are somehow related. In Japanese folklore, oarfish are harbingers of earthquakes and scientists theorize they could be more sensitive to seismic disturbances.
However, no solid evidence of this exists. Also, the oarfish beached themselves across the ocean from Japan, when there are plenty of oarfish in the waters off Japan. No oarfish have been sighted in the region of the recent quake.
Earthquakes happen with or without oarfish, so their appearance is unlikely to be of any practical use in predicting quakes. Major quakes occur almost weekly somewhere in the Pacific Ring of Fire, so any oarfish sighting can be argued to predict something, when in reality the fish were likely just caught in powerful underwater currents. Despite their size, oarfish are known to be weak swimmers.
On Saturday morning, local time, the 7.1 quake struck off the coast of the Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The power and proximity of the quake make it notable. The quake has struck within 231 miles of the stricken Fukushima Daiiachi nuclear power plant. Japanese officials declared a tsunami warning for Honshu island, with a possible tsunami height of three feet, enough to be dangerous along the coast itself, but unlikely to cause major damage inland. The warning was not extended to any other region or across the Pacific. There were no reports of significant damage or casualties. The quake was felt 300 miles away in Tokyo.
Philippines - Bohol quake fatalities continue to rise, death toll at 215. Of the infrastructure affected by the quake, three bridges and two roads are still not passable in Bohol, Cebu and Negros Occidental. The damage caused by last week's magnitude-7.2 quake in Central Visayas breached the P2-billion mark Saturday evening,
VOLCANOES -
Mount Etna eruption reduces flights to Sicily - The north-east crater of Europe's most active volcano continued to belch ash Sunday, a day after it erupted, but its south-east crater was dormant. The volcano is in almost constant activity, although the last major eruption was in 1992. The latest eruption was preceded by a series of underground tremors.
Tanzania - Mt Meru volcano 'likely to erupt again'. It has been passive for a long while, but Tanzania's second highest mountain, Mount Meru, is reportedly apt to erupt without notice, putting lives at risk. Mt Meru volcano, which had three eruptions between 120 and 90 years ago, is a potentially dangerous volcano, with more than 1 million people living around it.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Current tropical storms - maps and details.
* In the Eastern Pacific -
- Hurricane Raymond is located about 690 mi (1115 km) SW of the southern tip of Baja California. No threat to land.
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SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
India - Odisha was the worst hit by cyclone Phailin and now it is being pounded by flash floods. It has rained nearly three times more compared to the rains during the cyclone.
Storm to hit UK rush hour transport - Rail services across much of southern Britain are cancelled for the morning rush hour as a severe storm continues to batter parts of England and Wales. The Environment Agency has issued eight flood warnings - all in south west England - and 144 flood alerts across England and Wales.
SPACE WEATHER -
A CME swept past Earth during the late hours of Oct. 26th, but its impact was weak and did not spark significant geomagnetic activity. Attention now shifts to Oct. 28th when the first of the CMEs from last week's X-flares is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of polar geomagnetic storms.
Active sunspots AR1875 and AR1877 are approaching the sun's western limb where they will become magnetically connected to Earth. Energetic particles accelerated by flares on that side of the sun are funneled back toward our planet by spiraling magnetic fields.
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