tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58977563824193779472024-03-08T02:43:03.181-06:00Global Disaster WatchMonitoring natural disasters:
climate change, cyclones, drought, earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes, landslides, meteors, mystery booms, pandemics, solar flares, tropical storms, tsunamis, volcanoes, unusual animal behavior, weather extremes, wildfires; disaster archives 1998-present.<br><br><b>
*Updated daily Monday through Friday around noon. No update on Saturdays and Sundays, unless there are big events.*<br>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comBlogger1263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-30305033706808611862016-08-25T01:28:00.002-05:002016-08-25T01:33:11.107-05:00 Thursday, August 25, 2016
<b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
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**The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.** <br /> Daniel Boorstin
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<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES recent quakes, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
8/24/16 -<br />
6.8 MYANMAR<br />
6.2 CENTRAL ITALY<br /><br />
8/23/16 - <br />
6.1 FLORES SEA<br /><br />
8/21/16 - <br />
6.0 SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND REGION<br /><br />
8/20/16 - <br />
6.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN<br />
6.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
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<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37181933"> Italy </a> - Thousands of rescuers have searched through the night for survivors following Wednesday's 6.2 earthquake in a mountainous area of central Italy.
More than 240 people have died and at least 368 were injured.
Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble and more than 4,300 rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment and bare hands to find them.<br />
Many of the victims were children and there were warnings the toll could rise further. The area has also been shaken by strong aftershocks, including a 4.7-magnitude tremor with its epicentre about 7km east of Norcia.
Late on Wednesday there were cheers in the village of Pescara del Tronto when a young girl was pulled alive from the rubble after being trapped for 17 hours. Almost all the houses there had collapsed.<br />
Hardest hit were the small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet.
People there spent the night outside or in tents provided by the emergency services.
The mayor of Amatrice said three-quarters of the town had been destroyed and no building was safe for habitation.
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<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37176601"> Quake damage </a> - Before and after photos.
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<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/myanmar-quake-kills-3-destroys-scores-ancient-sites-article-1.2764424"> A powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar </a> on Wednesday, killing at least three people including two children, and damaging scores of centuries-old Buddhist pagodas around the ancient capital of Bagan.
The 6.8 magnitude quake shook buildings across the Southeast Asian country, with tremors felt as far away as Thailand — where witnesses reported high rise towers swaying in Bangkok — Bangladesh and eastern India.
"We felt quite heavy shaking for about 10 seconds and started to evacuate the building when there was another strong tremor."
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<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br />
<a href="https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/"> Global storm map </a> <br /><br />
* In the Atlantic Ocean - <br />
- Gaston becomes the third hurricane of the Atlantic season. Located about 1215 mi (1955 km) W of the Cabo Verde islands.
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* In the Western Pacific - <br />
- Typhoon 12w (Lionrock) is located approximately 258 nm southeast of Kadena Air Base.
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<a href="https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3397"> Huge 99L Generating 55 mph Winds, But Remains Disorganized </a> - A huge and powerful tropical wave (Invest 99L) is generating winds of tropical storm force near the Virgin Islands, and could become a tropical storm at any time over the next two days as it heads west-northwest at 15 mph towards The Bahamas. If 99L develops a well-defined surface circulation, it will be called Tropical Storm Hermine. The storm has brought widespread rainfall amounts of 1” to Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands as estimated by San Juan radar, with a one area of northwest Puerto Rico receiving over 3”. A flash flood watch continued for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands until midnight Wednesday.
This sprawling tropical wave was spreading heavy rains across a 1000-mile wide stretch of ocean, from the southeast Bahama Islands to Barbados in the southern Lesser Antilles Islands. It will be difficult for such a massive storm to develop a well-defined surface circulation, and multiple swirls separated by hundreds of miles have been evident in the system during the day.
Since 99L has not yet formed a well-defined circulation center, it has been difficult for models to agree on its future track and intensity. This situation will likely continue until at least Thursday afternoon, when the SHIPS model predicts that wind shear will fall to the moderate range. This drop in shear will potentially allow 99L to organize into a tropical storm and give the models something more substantial to chew on.
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<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/08/24/funnel-clouds-sweep-through-indianapolis-central-indiana/89297852/"> At least two confirmed tornadoes ripped through Central Indiana </a> on Wednesday, causing only minor injuries but damaging several homes and leaving more than 30,000 people without power, including 3,400 in Indianapolis.
The most damage appeared to occur in Kokomo, where an EF-3 tornado leveled a Starbucks and tore roofs off of apartment buildings, causing city and Howard County officials to declare states of emergency. Wind speeds typically associated with an EF-3 can range anywhere from 136 to 165 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
“Multiple lightning. The sky got black. Wind came through like a train, and everything went black.”
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-88267432401784190472016-07-13T16:56:00.000-05:002016-07-13T16:56:42.215-05:00 Wednesday, July 13, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
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**Grief undermines the quiet agreement to behave and be in control of our emotions. It is an act of protest that declares our refusal to live numb and small. Contrary to our fears, grief is suffused with life force. Grief is alive, wild, untamed and cannot be domesticated. It is truly an emotion that rises from the soul.**<br />
– Francis Weller
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<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
6.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION<br />
6.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
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Recent 6.0 and larger quakes - <br />
7/11/16 - 6.3 NEAR COAST OF ECUADOR<br />
6/26/16 - 6.4 KYRGYZSTAN <br />
6/21/16 - 6.3 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
6/21/16 - 6.1 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
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<A HREF="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/573583/news/world/strong-6-3-magnitude-quake-hits-new-zealand-s-kermadec-islands-usgs"> A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's Kermadec Islands </a> in the South Pacific late Wednesday. The quake's epicenter was 201 kilometers (124 miles) north east of Raoul Island - the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, striking 12 kilometers below the surface. There were no reports of casualties or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
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<A HREF="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/12/island-focus-one-dies-54-magnitude-quake.html"> Indonesia </a> - One dies in 5.4-magnitude quake. A farmer in Kamang Mudiak village, Kamang Magek district, Agam regency, West Sumatra, was killed when a 5.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the northern part of the province on Sunday afternoon.
“The victim was mowing grass for his cattle on a hill of a former limestone quarry when a boulder fell on him during the quake. He was then rushed to the hospital and eventually died there.” The quake, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, occurred on Sunday at 4:31 p.m. The quake’s epicenter was on the Semangka fault at a depth of 10-kilometers and 14-km from Bonjol, and 48-km north of Bukittinggi. The quake was strong enough to be felt in Bukittinggi, but there were no reports of casualties or damage to buildings.
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<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Eastern Pacific - <br />
- Tropical Storm Celia is located about 1555 mi (2500 km) W of the southern tip of Baja California. Weakening, there are no watches or warnings in effect. <br /><br />
- Hurricane Darby becomes the third hurricane of the east Pacific season, located about 570 mi (920 km) SSW of the southern tip of Baja California. No watches or warnings in effect, but there is still a chance that a weakened Celia or its remnants could pass just north of the Hawaiian Islands early next week, bringing some high surf and a chance of squalls, but it is too soon to assign any confidence to this possibility.
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<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3353"> The U.S. Summer is Off to a Record-Hot Start</a> - Last month was the warmest June in 122 years of U.S. recordkeeping, beating out June 1933. Each of the 48 contiguous states came in above its average temperature for June, with Arizona and Utah setting all-time June records for heat. Thirteen other states had a top-ten-warmest June, stretching across the nation from California to Florida.<br />
Could this end up as the hottest summer in U.S. history? The contiguous United States has seen six of its ten warmest summers on record in just the last 15 years. On that basis alone, 2016 has a reasonable shot at becoming our hottest summer yet, especially with the head start provided by a record-warm June. On the other hand, there is plenty of inherent variability from week to week and month to month, even in weather that’s averaged across the country. <br />
Models suggest that temperatures may challenge the 100°F mark as far north as the Dakotas by later next week, with 90s enveloping most of the nation east of the Rockies for what could be an extended period. The 8-14 day outlook from the NWS Weather Prediction Center shows high odds for above-average temperatures over the entire contiguous U.S. except for the Pacific Northwest, with odds favoring below-average precipitation for most of the Plains and mid-South.<br />
If the heat manifests as expected, it may be enough to counterbalance the northern mildness so far in July and keep 2016 in the running for warmest U.S. summer on record, particularly if August stays on the hot side.
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<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2016-07-13/alzheimers-gene-may-show-effects-in-childhood">
A gene related to Alzheimer's disease may start to show effects on brain structure and mental sharpness as early as preschool </a>, a new study suggests.
Researchers have long known that a gene called APOE is related to the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. People who carry a variant of the gene known as e4 have a higher-than-average risk.
The new study confirms what smaller studies have hinted: The gene's effects may be apparent even in early childhood.
Brain scans revealed that young children with the e4 variant typically showed slower development in certain brain areas. These are the same brain regions that often atrophy in people with Alzheimer's disease.
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Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-19208912917732624822016-07-07T04:21:00.000-05:002016-07-07T04:21:28.055-05:00 Thursday, July 7, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
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**Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower.** <br />
Shigenori Kameoka
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<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None.
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<A HREF="https://www.good.is/articles/the-big-earthquake-is-coming-are-you-prepared"> California </a> - Yes, the Next Big Quake Is “Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roll”. How to get ready for it? This seismologist says your best move is to believe that it's going to happen — the rest is simple. “The earthquake is inevitable, but the disaster isn’t.”<br />
Even the biggest California earthquakes of the past 40 years have done little to relieve pressure between tectonic plates. Though the magnitude 6.9 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake led to over $6 billion in damage, collapsing a portion of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and the 6.7 1994 Northridge earthquake generated $20 billion in damage to the San Fernando Valley, both were “little” quakes, geologically speaking.<br />
“I’m a seismologist and it terrifies me that it’s been [so] long since we’ve had a major earthquake. Lots of little earthquakes do not relieve the stress [on the plates]. It’s likely to require a temblor on the scale of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (7.8) for the earth to get a gasp of serious relief. Seismologists now believe that magnitude 7s and even 8s are more probable.”<br />
And though the San Andreas has been on the brink of a major quake for quite some time, a recent report that appeared last month distilled the threat in a terrifyingly concrete way: Several southern California basins, from Bakersfield to the Los Angeles area, are sinking 2 to 3 millimeters every year (while San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are rising at similar rates). Basically, the fault line is actively on the move.<br />
Greater awareness of the risks of a threat can be correlated with a higher rate of disaster preparedness.
A few tips for those trying to get prepared at home: You have less to fear from buildings or bridges collapsing on or beneath you, and a lot more to worry about when it comes to items flying off shelves, or furniture falling over. Your best bet isn’t to stand in a doorway; rather, it’s to, “drop, cover, and hold on”. Get underneath a sturdy table, or butt right up against the edge of a bed on the floor.<br />
Putting together an earthquake kit is also not as big a feat as it may seem. “If you have camping equipment, you already are ahead of the game.” Food, water, and emergency supplies can generally be compiled from items already in your home such as canned goods and a first aid kit. Prepare for as many as five days without support. “We have seen from other events around the world that after three days, there is not going to be some magical fairy that comes in and drops food and water and shelter. So be prepared to be self-sufficient.”<br />
Your level of loss in and after an earthquake will be directly linked to your level of preparedness. Fortunately, in the near future, Californians should soon have access to an early warning earthquake detection system that could buy them precious seconds (and up to a minute and a half) to protect themselves.
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<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Eastern Pacific - <br />
- Hurricane Blas holding its strength as a category 3 hurricane, about 1125 mi (1810 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect.
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- Tropical depression Four-E forecast to intensify as it moves away from Mexico. Located about 725 mi (1165 km) S of the southern tip of Baja California. The depression is forecast to become a tropical storm on Thursday. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect.
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* In the Western Pacific - <br />
Category 5 Super typhoon Nepartak is located approximately 275 nm southeast of Taipei, Taiwan.
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<a href="https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3349"> Category 5 Super Typhoon Nepartak is steaming towards a Thursday landfall in Taiwan </a> after putting on a phenomenal display of rapid intensification on Monday and Tuesday. Nepartak went from a tropical storm with 70 mph winds on Monday afternoon to a Category 4 super typhoon with 150 mph winds on Tuesday afternoon, in just 24 hours.
Over the past two days, unusually warm waters have extended to great depth below the storm, creating some of the highest oceanic heat content readings one sees for a tropical cyclone. Satellite loops show a fearsome storm with huge area of heavy thunderstorms with cold cloud tops reaching high into the atmosphere, surrounding a prominent eye. The storm has taken on an annular appearance, with very little in the way of spiral banding. These type of storms are more resistant to weakening than typical tropical cyclones. <br />
Models predict widespread rains of 8 - 16 inches over much of Taiwan and Eastern China, on regions where more than 8 inches of rain fell last week. The torrential rains of Super Typhoon Nepartak will likely cause tens of millions of dollars in damage to agriculture in Taiwan. The bigger concern for heavy rainfall from Nepartak is in mainland China, though. Exceptionally heavy monsoon rains affected large portions of central and eastern China over the past ten days, bringing rampaging floods that killed at least 170 people and caused over $5 billion in damage. The soils are still saturated from these rains, and Nepartak's rains will trigger additional damaging flooding. <br />
Nepartak is the third Category 5 storm on Earth so far in 2016, and tied for the second strongest tropical cyclone of the year (by wind speed). The other two Category 5 storms earlier this year were in the Southern Hemisphere: the Southwest Indian Ocean's Tropical Cyclone Fantala, which topped out with 175 mph winds and a 910 mb central pressure on April 17, and the Southeast Pacific's Tropical Cyclone Winston, which devastated Fiji on February 20 with sustained winds of 180 mph. Winston's lowest central pressure was 915 mb. <br />
Both storms were tied for the strongest tropical cyclones ever observed (by sustained winds) in their respective ocean basins. On average, Earth sees 4 - 5 Category 5 storms per year, with over 50% of these being typhoons in the Northwest Pacific.
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<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-36732306"> Flood relief and rescue efforts have been stepped up in the Chinese city of Wuhan</a>, which has been hit by severe flooding.
Transport links and water and power supplies in the city of 10 million are severely affected.
Flooding across central and southern China has killed 186 people and 45 are missing.
The Chinese premier has called upon local authorities across the country to be prepared for further downpours.
32 million people in 26 provinces across China have been affected by severe flooding.
1.4 million people have been relocated.
56,000 houses have collapsed.
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<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/headlines/36723328"> Drone footage of the China flooding.</a>
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Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-23567985233191989752016-04-05T05:20:00.000-05:002016-04-05T05:20:53.659-05:00 Tuesday, April 5, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
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**Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late that one is open.**
<br />
Alexander Graham Bell
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<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
<br />
4/3/16 - <br />
6.9 VANUATU
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4/2/16 - <br />
6.2 ALASKA PENNINSULA
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4/1/16 - <br />
6.1 PAPUA NEW GUINEA<br />
6.0 HONSHU, JAPAN
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3/20/16 - <br />
6.4 NEAR EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
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3/19/16 - <br />
6.0 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REGION<br />
6.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
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3/12/16 - <br />
6.3 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS.
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3/8/16 - <br />
6.0 TONGA
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3/2/16 - <br />
7.8 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA
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<A HREF="http://english.onlinekhabar.com/2016/04/04/374111"> Low-intensity quakes a daily affair in
Nepal </A> -
A large number of earthquakes happen in the country every day, but hardly anyone notices most of
them because they are of low intensity. A month into the April 25 mega quake, the country had
experienced 1,300 aftershocks of less than 4 magnitude. For quite sometime after the mega quake,
there occurred 500 low-intensity quakes every day.<br />
These days, aftershocks seem to have become a thing of the past. But experts warn that non-
occurrence of aftershocks accentuates the risk of a major quake event. Daily, 40 quakes measuring
less than 4 magnitude are hitting the country.
After the Magnitude-7.6 earthquake, 445 aftershocks measuring above 4 on the Richter scale have so
far occurred in the country.
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<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.12news.com/opinion/go-ask-ozzy/amazing-images-from-volcano-popocatepetl-
eruption-in-mexico/119145118"> Watch as the Popocatepetl volcano in central Mexico erupted </a> on
Sunday, spewing lava and clouds of ash into the sky.
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<A HREF="http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/57153/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-4-
Apr-2016-Popocatpetl-volcano-Bromo-Turrialba-Sangay-Sakurajima.html"> Volcanic activity worldwide
April 4 </a> - Popocatépetl volcano, Bromo, Turrialba, Sangay...
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<span style="color:green;">SEA LEVEL CHANGES - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/04/nasas-new-sea-level-site-puts-climate-change-papers-
data-and-tools-online/"> NASA took the wraps off a new website on Monday dedicated to tracking global changes in the sea level.</a> It’s packed full of free online resources that will likely be useful to teachers, the climate-change-curious, and anyone just looking to dig into publicly available data. The Sea Level Change site is NASA instead of NOAA because the site focuses on space-based observations.
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<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/78559088/more-weather-misery-for-fijians-still-
recovering-from-cyclone-winston"> Fiji </a> - Days of torrential rain are adding to the hardships
faced by thousands of Fijians still struggling to recover from the devastation wrought by Cyclone
Winston in February.
Flooding has caused people in northern and western Viti Levu to evacuate their homes after waters
rose during heavy rain, and schools have been closed. <br />
While Tropical Depression 15F was slowly moving away, another tropical disturbance, Tropical
Depression 14F was expected to develop into a category 1 tropical cyclone as it moved closer to
Fiji. It would bring in more rain and strong winds. The Met Service said it was also monitoring the
development of a new tropical disturbance, Tropical Depression 16F. (photos at link)
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<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bs-md-wind-20160403-story.html">
Maryland </a> - Wind gusts of up to 62 miles per hour late Saturday and early Sunday knocked down
several buildings and trees, cut power to tens of thousands of customers and was believed to have
caused at least one house fire.<br />
Gusts of up to 62 miles per hour were recorded in Frederick County. Downed trees were reported
across the state.
The wind gusts led to the collapse of several vacant and abandoned buildings in Baltimore.<br />
A freeze warning is in effect from midnight through 10 a.m. Tuesday, with lows expected in the upper
20s to the north and west of Baltimore and in the lower 30s around the city and suburbs.
Meteorologists warned that unprotected house plants and crops that have sprouted amid early spring
warmth could be damaged or killed.
Another freeze is likely Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.
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<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3268"> Ten
Civilizations or Nations That Collapsed From Drought </a> - Drought is the great enemy of human
civilization. Drought deprives us of the two things necessary to sustain life - food and water.
When the rains stop and the soil dries up, cities die and civilizations collapse, as people abandon
lands no longer able to supply them with the food and water they need to live. While the fall of a
great empire is usually due to a complex set of causes, drought has often been identified as the
primary culprit or a significant contributing factor in a surprising number of such collapses. <br
/>
The most recent is modern Syria. Syria's devastating civil war that began in March 2011 has killed
over 300,000 people, displaced at least 7.6 million, and created an additional 4.2 million refugees.
While the causes of the war are complex, a key contributing factor was the nation's devastating
drought that began in 1998. The drought brought Syria's most severe set of crop failures in recorded
history, which forced millions of people to migrate from rural areas into cities, where conflict
erupted. This drought was almost certainly Syria's worst in the past 500 years, and likely the worst
for at least the past 900 years.
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<A HREF="https://www.yahoo.com/news/drought-hit-palau-could-dry-totally-month-090749369.html">
Drought-stricken Palau could dry up completely this month </a>, officials warned Monday as the
Pacific island appealed for urgent aid from Japan and Taiwan, including shipments of water.
The tiny country of about 18,000 people declared a state of emergency last month, the latest Pacific
island nation to do so as one of the worst ever El Nino-induced droughts in the region worsens.
"We're still in the state of emergency, there's a sense of urgency to address the crisis." <br />
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said last month the El Nino weather
pattern - associated with a sustained period of warming in the central Pacific which can spark
climate extremes - was unlikely to ease before the second half of the year.
The Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia have also declared states of emergency,
while Guam and the Northern Marianas are experiencing low rainfall.
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<A HREF="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/blood-rain-saharan-dust-heading-7685401">
A huge Saharan dust cloud is expected to bring 'blood rain' to the UK</A> as the country basks in what could be the hottest day of the year.
"Blood rain” is caused by Saharan dust mixing with rain leaving a reddish residue on buildings and
cars. This phenomena is more common in southern European areas, such as Spain and the south of
France, however due the dust can travel as far as Scandinavia.
Weather experts say that temperatures could soar to up to 19 degrees Celsius in parts of the country
on Thursday.
This will make it hotter than Barcelona and Ibiza.
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<A HREF="http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2016-04/aid-groups-respond-african-drought-floods">
Millions of people in several eastern and southern African nations</A> are facing malnutrition, disease,
and other harm as a result of El Niño–related extreme weather patterns: drought in late 2015 and
heavy rains in the past few months.
“We have seen too much water in some places and too little in other places.”<br />
“The severity of the situation is continuously increasing."
Nations affected by drought and floods include Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Somalia, South
Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The weather is exacerbating the vulnerability of people such as
Somalis living in camps for displaced people and those living near outbreaks of cholera in Kenya.
The effects of the weather patterns have extended longer than expected. “2016 looks like it will be
a difficult year.” <br />
Parts of Latin America and Asia are also being affected by drought and other extreme weather. The
harm, especially in causing food insecurity, could extend into well into 2017, according to the
United Nations.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.dw.com/en/drought-ravages-thai-sugar-cane-crop/av-19162014">
Drought ravages Thai sugar cane crop </A> -
A global sugar shortage is looming and prices are soaring. The world's top sugar cane exporters,
India and Thailand, are being ravaged by a severe drought brought on by the El Nino weather
phenomenon. Thailand - the world second-largest sugar cane exporter - is going to be shipping 20 to
30 percent less of the sweetener compared to last year. And the situation may even get worse next
year.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Pilots-seed-clouds-fighting-the-drought-
7225762.php"> Cloud-seeding season </a> - Efforts to make snow and rain virtually out of thin air
were once the realm of science fiction. Even today, they’re dismissed by some as fanciful and hardly
worth the time. But after four historically dry years in California, the practice has been on the
uptick.
The stormy skies that came with this year’s El Niño provided ideal conditions for cloud seeding,
which requires enough water vapor in the air so that the introduction of chemicals like silver
iodide can coax the clouds to crystallize and send droplets to the ground.<br />
From San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy watershed to the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Mokelumne
River to the coastal mountains in Southern California, water managers say cloud seeding is boosting
precipitation — sometimes by 10 percent or more. Many say that alongside this year’s slightly wetter
winter it’s been essential to riding out the drought.<br />
Critics of the practice say it’s tough to know exactly how effective it is in the field. Measuring
how much more rain and snow a cloud produces when chemicals are introduced is virtually impossible.
Another concern about the practice is the chemicals it uses. Silver iodide can be toxic to fish and
even humans, though experts say not at the relatively small levels used for cloud seeding.<br />
The water agency manager for Santa Barbara County said the criticism she hears most about her
county’s cloud-seeding program is that it’s part of the purported “chemtrail” agenda.
The conspiratorial fear is that the planes used to enhance precipitation are actually among a larger
government fleet of aircraft that disperse subversive chemicals for dark purposes onto an
unsuspecting population.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://kansaspublicradio.org/kpr-news/drought-creeping-across-parts-kansas">
The month of March was short on moisture and now drought is creeping across much of Kansas. </A> March is
normally a wet month, so last month's dry conditions had a big impact.
“Because it's the start of our wetter pattern, things go down very, very quickly when we don't get
what we should be seeing. That became very worrisome and we've seen the expansion of the drought
conditions in response to that." <br />
The hardest hit areas so far have been the southwest and south central parts of the state. The
coming months will be critical because they're normally some of the wettest.
“If we are dry in April and May, then we are going to be increasingly in bad shape." If the drought
persists the first agricultural impact will be damage to the state's winter wheat crop.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asean/919153/two-killed-in-philippines-as-police-disperse-
drought-protest">
Two people were killed in the southern Philippines </A> after clashes between police and thousands of
drought-hit farmers protesting over a lack of food.
A parched highway in impoverished Kidapawan city, capital of Cotabato province, had been barricaded
by 6,000 farmers since Wednesday to demand 15,000 sacks of rice from the government.
Gunshots were fired and rocks hurled into the air during a scuffle between police and demonstrators
on Friday, as the authorities tried to disperse the crowds.<BR />
"We asked for rice. Instead, they gave us bullets. The farmers are starving because they have
nothing to eat. We went there looking for a solution."
116 protesters were wounded while 89 others were missing. Police could not immediately confirm the
fatalities, but said 40 of its men were also hurt in the ruckus, two of them in critical condition. <BR />
The Philippines has been gripped by a strong El Nino dry spell since December which has hit food
production, particularly in the conflict-wracked south which is home to the country's poorest and
where more than half of the population is reliant on agriculture.
The state weather bureau had warned last year that rainfall could decrease by as much as 80 percent
during the drought, which is expected to last until the middle of this year.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/obama-administration-warns-
about-extreme-heat-issues-april-snow"> The White House published a report Monday warning that
“extreme heat</a> can be expected to cause an increase in the number of premature deaths” - the same
day the National Weather Service issued winter weather advisories for April snowstorms.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> ANOTHER STREAM OF SOLAR WIND IS COMING </A> - Geomagnetic
activity is subsiding as Earth exits a solar wind stream that hit our planet's magnetic field on
April 2nd. The quiet might not last long, however, because another stream of solar wind is coming.
Estimated time of arrival: April 5th. NOAA forecasters say there is a a 55% chance of G1-class
geomagnetic storms on Tuesday. Once again, Arctic sky watchers are favored for auroras.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35959556"> Vitamin D supplements may help people with
diseased hearts </A> - A trial on 163 heart failure patients found supplements of the vitamin, which
is made in the skin when exposed to sunlight, improved their hearts' ability to pump blood around
the body. The team described the results as "stunning". The study also showed the patients hearts
became smaller - a suggestion they are becoming more powerful and efficient. <br />
The British Heart Foundation called for longer trials to assess the pills.
Vitamin D is vital for healthy bones and teeth and may have important health benefits throughout the
body but many people are deficient. The average age of people in the study was 70 and like many
people that age they had low levels of vitamin D even in summer.
"They do spend less time outside, but the skin's ability to manufacture vitamin D also gets less
effective [with age] and we don't really understand why that is."<br />
It is also not clear exactly how vitamin D is improving heart function, but it is thought every cell
in the body responds to the vitamin.
Most vitamin D comes from sunlight, although it is also found in oily fish, eggs and is added to
some foods such as breakfast cereals.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-88900323421312460932016-02-29T07:04:00.000-06:002016-02-29T07:04:12.970-06:00 Monday, February 29, 2016
<b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**If you want to be more creative, the best thing you can do is to talk to people who disagree with
you.** <br /> Dr. Muthukrishna
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None.
<br /><br />
2/27/16 - <br />
6.1 WESTERN INDIAN-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35684098"> Fukushima disaster: Ex-Tepco executives
charged with negligence </a> - Three former executives at a Japanese power giant have been formally charged with negligence over the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The trio, formerly of Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), will be the first to go to court over the
incident.<br />
A citizen's panel ruled last year they should face trial, forcing prosecutors to pursue the case.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a series of meltdowns following a massive earthquake and
tsunami. Prosecutors in Tokyo had twice decided against pressing charges, citing insufficient evidence.<br />
But in a rare legal move, the panel's ruling forced a compulsory indictment of the three.
The panel said the three men did not take sufficient measures despite being warned of a risk of a
tsunami near the Fukushima plant. They plan to plead not guilty on the grounds they could not
have anticipated the size of the tsunami.<br />
One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Japan in March 2011,
triggering a huge tsunami.
Almost 16,000 people died and more than 2,500 are still listed as missing.
None of the deaths, however, have been linked to the nuclear disaster, although there were a number
of deaths in the subsequent evacuation.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.newkerala.com/news/2016/fullnews-27619.html"> Nepal </a> - Extensive groundwater
extraction in the Indo-Gangetic Plain over the last five decades has "significantly" contributed to
the killer April 25, 2015, Nepal temblor and "probably all earthquakes" in the region beneath the
Himalayan arc, Indian scientists claim.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">MYSTERY BOOMS -</span><br />
<a href="http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2016/02/27/police-investigating-loud-booms-
reported-sioux-falls-area/81053806/"> South Dakota </a> - 2/27/16 - Police are investigating
multiple reports of loud booms in Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas.
The National Weather Service said they had not seen any indications of an explosion or other events
that would show up on radar, and that there are no storms in the area.
"There's nothing unusual on the radar that would suggest a meteor or a comet."
However, NWS did offer a possible theory on what could be causing the booms:
"After thinking a bit..one thing could be happening is this. There is a very sharp temperature
change not too far off the surface (about 500 ft) tonight due to the warmer air aloft and fast
cooling here at the ground. It's possible that as some aircraft are landing that this sound is
bouncing off this temperature 'inversion.' It's a theory."
Scanner traffic indicated that multiple people had called in to report the booms. Police were
investigating reports in Hartford and at 85th Street and Marion Road. Police were unable to find the
source of the noises. People have reported the booms in several areas around Sioux Falls and beyond.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160228/1035477907/japan-volcano-eruption-warning.html"> The
Japan Meteorological Agency issued an eruption warning of Mount Io</a> in southern Japan on Sunday.
Experts observed an increase in volcanic earthquakes in the Kirishima mountain range on Kyushu
island, urging tourists and hikers to avoid the 0.6-mile area around Mt. Io’s crater.
The agency said at least 37 volcanic tremors have been recorded at the site by mid-Sunday.
Intensified activity around the volcano dates back to July 2015.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4649831&Itemid=1">
Nicaragua: Strong Explosions in Momotombo Volcano</a> - The Government of Nicaragua remains
attentive to two strong explosions occurred today in the volcano Momotombo, located in the western
Department of León. The explosions were perceived by residents of that territory and Managua. Since
the beginning of the activity of the volcano on December 1st - after 110 years of relative calm - 68
explosions have been registered.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/5-years-after-earthquake-residents-publish-book-unsafe-
evacuation-spot"> The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami </a> killed many people who fled to
evacuation places designated by local governments.
About 30 per cent of the people in Kessenuma's Suginoshita district perished or went missing in the
Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011. Now residents of the
district are planning to publish a book at their own expense about the tragedy that took so many
lives. <br /> "I want the next generation of people to understand that many lives were lost at a
place the city had designated for evacuation in emergencies." The residents held evacuation drills,
which included escaping to the hill, twice a year. "Designated evacuation places are not always
safe. "Every possible safety measure should be taken, such as preparing life jackets and boats to
escape in emergencies.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br />
No current tropical storms.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/297723/french-polynesia-remains-on-
cyclone-alert"> French Polynesia remains on cyclone alert</a> -
A orange alert remains in force in the western parts of French Polynesia as strong winds and rain
continue.
Tropical Cyclone Yalo in the south has broken up but a broad front is sweeping the most populated
islands.
On Rangiora in the Tuamotu archipelago, the heaviest downpour in living memory caused flooding of
dozens of homes, with the mayor quoted as saying more than half a meter of rain fell during the
night.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/27/1557353/study-more-hazardous-tropical-
cyclones-hit-philippines"> Tropical cyclones in the Philippines are becoming more extreme </a>
causing greater amounts of devastation and loss of life, a new study finds.
It found that in the last two decades, there has been a slight decrease in the number of smaller
cyclones (above 118 kilometers per hour) that hit the country.
That means more Filipinos are at risk since more hazardous tropical cyclones (above 150 kilometers
per hour) were shown to be on the rise, with the northern island of Luzon frequently affected.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/497510/Met-Office-warns-extreme-spring-
weather-caused-polar-plunge"> Brits braced for -18C spring blast sparked by 'polar plunge'. </a> -
Snow is set to hit Britain this Easter as temperatures plummet to -18C. Forecasters say a “polar
plunge” – the same phenomenon that caused 2010’s big freeze – could trigger the extreme weather.
<br />
The Met Office predicts colder than average conditions, with snow from Iceland until mid-March and
sub-zero chills most nights. Late March and early April will see the threat of a longer freeze,
bringing the “greatest risk” of snow and ice. <br />
With Good Friday falling on March 25, families planning Easter getaways could be hit by severe
travel disruption. A polar plunge is also known as “sudden stratospheric warming” where air heats up
high over the North Pole, shunting cold, low-level Arctic air south to Britain for up to 14 days.<br
/>
The weather event has caused severe temperature drops in the past including -18C conditions in 2009
and 2010, and lows of -13.6C in 2013. The Met Office spring forecast said: “The greatest risk of
cold weather impacts is in late March and early April, due to the likelihood of a sudden
stratospheric warming event in early March."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/O1Ho2PhjrxLuJQtuDIjCOO/Farmer-suicides-rising-due-to-
successive-drought-crop-failu.html"> India</a> -
Farmer suicides rising due to successive drought, crop failure in Marathwada region
Maharashtra cabinet will camp in Marathwada region from 4 to 6 March to get first-hard experience of
the calamity’s intensity.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/233025804bd3b175956a9596fb2bb898/Drought-puts-KZN-farmers-in-
dire-straits"> South Africa </a> - The deadly drought has left many KwaZulu-Natal farmers in dire
straits. The province is operating under a formal declaration of disaster. It has become a daily
struggle for many. Subsistence farmers are also feeling the heat.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has pledged to
maximise its disaster relief and water provision. (video at link)
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.kare11.com/weather/feeling-the-heat-record-breaking-day-1/58197296"> Minnesota
</a> - On Saturday, the temperature in Minneapolis rose to 58 degrees, breaking a 120-year-old
record. Typically they mercury reaches 50 degrees around March 9, but Saturday felt more like April.
"I've seen some people out here in shorts and tank tops. Pretty extreme."
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/photos/enjoying-the-record-breaking-warmth-b99678139z1-
370430301.html"> Wisconsin </a> - record-breaking warmth. People headed outside this weekend to
enjoy the record-breaking temperatures. Milwaukee's temperature hit 59 degree on Sunday, breaking by
5 degrees a record high for the day that had been in place for more than 100 years.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/starweather/2016/02/from-record-breaking-warmth-to-
significant-snowfall-in-toronto.html"> Canada </a> - From record-breaking warmth to 'significant
snowfall' in Toronto. Torontonians may have been dreaming of spring after record-breaking
temperatures Sunday, but Tuesday may bring plenty of snow. The mercury climbed to a balmy 13.8C on
Sunday, making it the warmest Feb. 28 Environment Canada has on record. Monday is expected to be a
pleasant 5C, but then things will get real (cold) with an expected daytime high on Tuesday of -5C.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/arctic-warming-why-record-breaking-melting-is-
just-the-beginning-a6900411.html"> Arctic warming </a> - Why record-breaking melting is just the
beginning.
It has been an ‘absurdly warm’ winter in the Arctic this year, as temperatures within 200 miles of
the North Pole peaked above freezing. Rapidly disappearing Arctic sea ice is about to set a new
record after an “absurdly warm” winter at the top of the world. For the second year running, it will
have grown to cover less of the Arctic Ocean than ever before.<br />
The revelation comes as scientists are increasingly worried that the heating of the region could
escalate out of control, as growing numbers of “feedback mechanisms” – which reinforce and
accelerate the process – are being discovered. <br />
Most attention on the melting sea ice so far has been focused on the increasingly low minimum levels
it reaches each September. Its nine smallest-ever extents have all occurred in the last nine years,
with the record being reached in 2012, when it covered only 3.41 million square kilometres - 44 per
cent less than the average of the previous three decades, and a full 16 per cent lower than the
previous record, in 2007.<br />
But the amount by which the ice recovers each winter, peaking at the end of February and the
beginning of March, though little publicised, is at least as important. Last year it reached only
14.54 million sq km on 25 February, its peak day – the lowest ever. Exactly a year later, at the end
of last week, it was just 14.27 million sq km, a fall of 270,000 sq km.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11596795">
New Zealand</a> - "It has been a weird summer. All the talk of El Nino hasn't happened. It's almost like
La Nina, the complete opposite."
North Islanders worn out by sleepless, hot, humid nights can expect some cooler relief - briefly -
from Monday night. <br />
Showers, including occasional heavy bursts, today fell in the central North Island up to Auckland.
The rainfall was welcomed by farmers whose pastures have dried out in some of the searing
temperatures of our golden summer.
And hefty rainfall is forecast overnight Saturday, with a severe weather watch in place.
Two fronts are coming through in the first and second weeks of March.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-11213816753879005252016-02-26T05:25:00.000-06:002016-02-26T05:25:43.895-06:00 Friday, February 26, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**If people stand in a circle long enough they'll eventually begin to dance. ** <br /> George Carlin
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article62437157.html"> California - Two quakes roil
Fresno in one week </a> - Coincidence, experts say.
The state’s midsection was roiled by two temblors in the span of a week
The quakes were totally unrelated, geologists say. They don't portend the Big One on the mighty San
Andreas Fault. California isn't about to slide into the Pacific Ocean.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.yahoo.com/tv/earth-hidden-source-powerful-earthquake-155258939.html"> After a
significant earthquake in Baja California, </a> scientists use satellite imagery to locate the fault
responsible. The new fault line they discover doesn't seem capabable of creating seismic energy
released during the quake. What is the satellite imagery missing? (video)
<br /><br />
<a href="http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/earthquake-wake-up-call-preparing-for-the-worst-case-
scenario"> Earthquake wake-up call </a> - preparing for the worst-case scenario in California.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.mtlblog.com/2016/02/major-earthquake-in-montreal/">
Montreal Ranked #2 City Most Likely To Get Hit By A Major Earthquake In Canada </a> -
Torrential downpours of freezing rain; massive snow storms; golf ball-sized hail; all are examples
of natural phenomenon that Montrealers are used to seeing put the city in a state of mild-to-
complete chaos.<br />
Granted, major earthquakes are seldom seen in the city (the last notable one was in 1732), but the
city is in a precarious place when it comes to seismic activity and it seems as if we’re due for
one. Granted, major earthquakes are seldom seen in the city (the last notable one was in 1732), but
the city is in a precarious place when it comes to seismic activity and it seems as if we’re due for
one. <br />
A recent study performed by a catastrophe risk modeling consultant firm stated “it is only a matter
of time” before a major earthquake hits the Montreal area, stating that there’s a 5-15% chance an
earthquake will strike the region in the next 50 years.
Vancouver is number 1.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wired.com/2016/02/volcanoes-nicaragua-sure-cranky-year/"> The Volcanoes of
Nicaragua Sure Have Been Cranky This Year </a> - Every year there seems to be a country that is
having more than its fair share of volcanic eruptions. This is the sort of thing that happens when
you have a random distribution of volcanic eruptions over time (and space to some degree, along the
areas that have volcanoes). This year, it is Nicaragua that seems to be the focus of eruptions—at
least more so than usual. The biggest newsmaker is Momotombo, where the volcano has produced
numerous explosive eruptions over the last few weeks.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://china.org.cn/environment/2016-02/25/content_37870717.htm"> Indonesia </a> -
Volcanic smoking and ashes rise from Mount Sinabung during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra,
Indonesia, on Feb. 24, 2016. More than 10,000 villagers living near the volcano were forced to
evacuate to safer places. Authorities have repeatedly called on local residents to remain patient in
dealing with the impact of Sinabung's eruptions, which some experts have predicted will continue for
five more years.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://wwlp.com/2016/02/24/mt-kirishima-ready-to-erupt/"> Japan </a> - Mt. Kirishima ready
to erupt. Scientists in Japan say another volcano is showing signs of being ready to erupt.
Mt. Kirishima on Japan’s western Kyushu Island last erupted in 2011. Authorities say 158 tremors
registered Tuesday at the Shinmoe Peak.
Experts from Japan’s meteorological agency surveyed the peak’s surface temperature and other data
Wednesday, but detected no abnormalities.
Still, they said a small eruption is possible and kept the warning level at 2. That means hikers
must act with caution when approaching within half-a-mile of the caldera.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.decaturdaily.com/news/other_news/national/man-killed-when-wave-sweeps-into-
ocean-in-california/article_7a1087db-47f1-5ddf-833f-1c2856b54e05.html"> Man killed when wave sweeps
4 into ocean in California </A> - A large wave swept four people off a Los Angeles County jetty as
high surf pounded much of the California coast, leaving one man dead and his three companions
seriously injured. Redondo Beach firefighters responded late Wednesday after witnesses reported
people in the water calling for help at King Harbor.<br />
Rescuers pulled two men and two women from the waves at the base of the rock jetty. One man was
dead at the scene. The three others were hospitalized in serious condition.
It wasn't clear why the group was on the rocks late at night, but people routinely fish there. The
surf this week was especially high and people were warned to stay away.<br />
"You get one wave every three or four minutes. They feel they can get out and that's just not the
case." A wave knocked a Harbor Patrol officer into the water during the rescue. He was not hurt.
In San Diego, a large section of a cliff collapsed onto Ocean Beach below Wednesday afternoon. The
parking lot by Sunset Cliffs had been fenced off as chunks of sandstone had been sloughing off the
cliff face last week, part of a natural erosion process intensified by the winter storms.<br />
The high surf subsided by Thursday night, but a similar pattern will return to the California coast
Friday. Beachgoers were warned of dangerous waves, rip currents and possibly minor flooding.
Waves just to the north and south of San Francisco could hit 11 feet, while sets topping 18 feet are
expected along the Central Coast. Waves from 5 feet to 12 feet are predicted from Los Angeles to San
Diego.<br />
The cause is a large swell generated by a storm off Northern California.
Authorities say swimmers should watch the waves before entering the water or ask lifeguards for
advice.
Meanwhile, Southern California's winter heat wave continues due to a high pressure ridge. Downtown
Los Angeles hit 83 degrees on Thursday.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/monster-swells-slam-
hawaii_us_56ce50b8e4b0871f60ea185b?ref=yfp"> Monster Waves Slam Hawaii,</a> Damaging Oceanfront
Homes. And a second swell was barreling toward the islands.
In Hawaii, a pair of gigantic, back-to-back swells generated waves large enough to overtake beach
parks, wash across roadways and damage oceanfront properties.<br />
"We're seeing very, very huge wave heights. We're seeing very dangerous situations." The initial
swell brought wave faces of up to 70 feet in certain areas Monday. A stronger-than-usual El Niño was
fueling one of the strongest surf events in Hawaii in 50 years, according to the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.<br />
In an unprecedented move, state officials shut down a 12-mile stretch of Kamehameha Highway, on the
north shore of Oahu, in response to ocean surges that washed over the roadway.
In addition to flooding, several areas experienced severe coastal erosion. A 30-foot stretch of
beach on the north shore of Oahu reportedly disappeared overnight.
Despite numerous beaches being closed, lifeguards were kept busy, rescuing dozens of people and
issuing hundreds of warnings.<br />
The historic event also wreaked havoc on oceanfront properties, including a home on Oahu that all
but toppled into the ocean.
If Monday's pounding swell wasn't enough, the National Weather Service warned Wednesday that another
followed close behind. On north-facing shores, surf was forecast to rise rapidly from Wednesday and
reach heights of 40 to 50 feet through Thursday.
But the potentially perilous one-two punch had the Hawaii surf community abuzz. (videos at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Yalo is located approximately 327 nm southwest of Papeete, Tahiti.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://fijivillage.com/news/5-of-Fijis-population-in-evacuation-centres-9rs5k2/">
5 percent of Fiji's population is currently staying in evacuation centres </a> after Tropical
Cyclone Winston. 45,245 people are currently sheltering at 275 evacuation centres around the
country. The death toll after Cyclone Winston stands at 42 however this number is expected to
increase further.<br />
There are reports of 122 people getting injured during the cyclone while 45 people have been
hospitalized.The estimated cost of damage sustained around the country by Severe Tropical Cyclone
Winston is about $1 billion.
<br /><br />
<a href="https://eos.org/research-spotlights/fewer-tropical-cyclones-form-after-volcanic-eruptions">
Fewer Tropical Cyclones Form After Volcanic Eruptions </a> -
Volcanic eruptions aren't all bad—in some cases, they can lower the frequency of tropical cyclones
in the North Atlantic by emitting sulfate aerosols.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3254"> At Least 5 Killed
as Tornadoes, Howling Thunderstorm Winds Rake Eastern US </a> -
Whipping northward at interstate speeds, multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms raced from the
Carolinas to New England on Wednesday and early Thursday. The springlike round of severe weather -
which extended unusually far north for February - took one life in South Carolina and at least four
in Virginia, making Wednesday the latter state’s deadliest tornado day since the notorious Super
Outbreak of April 27, 2011. Three people, including a two-year-old boy, were killed in hard-hit
Waverly, VA, and another man died in Appomattox County. <br />
By 7 am EST Thursday morning, NOAA/SPC had racked up at least 17 tornado reports and more than 300
reports of high wind, extending from Florida to Maine. Hail up to baseball size was reported near
Tungsten, NC, and Castle Heights, VA. <br />
The surprise element Wednesday night was how far north the action extended. A wedge of cold air
eroded more quickly than expected, allowing warm, moist air to surge north ahead of a slow-moving
cold front. This warm front set the stage for late-night thunderstorms that would be impressive for
the region in May, much less February. By late Wednesday night, severe thunderstorm watches had been
placed as far poleward as southern Vermont and eastern Massachusetts “If not unprecedented, I'd
characterize yesterday as ‘highly unusual’,” said a warning and coordination meteorologist for
NOAA/SPC. The last time western Massachusetts experienced a severe thunderstorm warning in February
was nearly 20 years ago - on Feb. 22, 1997. <br />
Next week: rinse and repeat? After a more tranquil weekend and an uneventful start to next week, the
eastern U.S. could see another powerhouse storm system. Long-range models are suggesting the
potential for an inland nor’easter not unlike the one just departing, with severe weather again
possible from the South to the mid-Atlantic and perhaps northward from there. El NIño commonly
intensifies severe weather across the Gulf states during winter, but multiple rounds of severe
storms north of the Carolinas would be a more unorthodox happening.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wcvb.com/weather/heavy-rains-damaging-winds-still-ahead-wednesday-night-
thursday-morning/38168070"> Powerful storm moves across Massachusetts </a> - A second round of
stormy weather brought hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rains, leaving thousands of
Massachusetts residents without power early Thursday.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-under-extreme-cold-weather-alert-1.2792168"> Toronto
under extreme cold weather alert </a> early Thursday morning. Environment Canada says temperatures
are expected to drop to -12 C by the evening.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<a href="http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/record-breaking-warmth-hits-this-canadian-
city-/64175"> Record-breaking warmth hits this Canadian city </a> - Forget Florida for a winter
getaway, Nova Scotia is the place to be. The village of Greenwood located in the western part of
King's County was the country's hot spot Thursday morning with a staggering 17 degrees C. By
comparison, it's only 13 degrees C in Orlando Florida.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/punishing-drought-leaves-haitians-desperate-food-
n524971"> Punishing Drought Leaves Haitians Desperate for Food </a> -
For the last three years, a punishing drought has driven Haitians who were barely getting by on
marginal farmland even deeper into misery.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wcpo.com/storm-shield/storm-shield-featured/this-el-nino-wont-end-the-drought-
after-all"> This El Nino won't end the drought after all</a> - California's drought still remains,
and the worst of it is still unchanged from last week. This follows a continuing trend of dry
conditions returning to the West Coast.
At the beginning of winter, there were high hopes this El Niño, one of the strongest in recorded
history, would give California a much needed shot of rain water, something that's been in short
supply for years.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/extreme-weather-will-cost-government-almost-1
-billion-yearly-report/article28905047/"> Canada </a> - Extreme weather will cost Ottawa almost $1-
billion yearly. The federal government can expect to pay nearly a billion dollars a year in disaster
relief for extreme weather events – far more than the $100-million it has been budgeting – as the
increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes, winter storms and especially floods take a greater
toll, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says in a report.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/02/25/news/canadas-disaster-relief-costs-spike-due-
rise-extreme-weather"> Federal payments to the Canadian provinces for disaster relief have
skyrocketed </a> over the past five years because of the increasing number of extreme weather
events.
The liabilities have “increased substantially because of a number of weather events that have caused
heavy damage." <br />
Between 2016 and 2021-22, payments can be expected annually to reach $229 million because of
hurricanes, and winter storms. It is expected flooding will cost the DFFA program another $673
million over the five year period.<br />
Besides the increasing number of large storms with greater intensity, the PBO cited four events over
the last four years that ratcheted up the cost of the payments.
They were the heavy rains in June 2014 in Saskatchewan, which is expected to cost the program $160-
million; the Toronto ice storm of December 2013, which is anticipated to cost $120 million; and the
Southern Alberta and southeastern B.C. flood of June 2013, which an expected cost of $1.3 billion.
The fourth event was the flooding of the Assiniboine River in Manitoba in 2011. The program is
expected to pay out $524 million to Manitoba and another $245 million to Saskatchewan.
The report only mentions climate change in passing, and the reference is buried down near the bottom
of the document.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/microcephaly-705771-zika-brazil.html"> Some experts
contend Brazil is exaggerating Zika crisis </a> - Often drowned out by the dire warnings and fear
surrounding Zika, some medical professionals are saying that Brazil and international health
officials have prematurely declared a link between the virus and what appears to be a surge in birth
defects.
<br />
A few even argue that the Brazilian government is being irresponsible, given that a connection
hasn’t been scientifically proven between the mosquito-borne virus and the birth defect known as
microcephaly, which causes infants to be born with abnormally small heads.
<br />
“It’s a global scandal. Brazil has created a worldwide panic. I’m not saying that Zika is not causing microcephaly, but I am
saying that the ministry has yet to present any scientifically credible evidence to support that
conclusion.”<br />
Others argue there are still too many unanswered questions to blame Zika. Why are
the vast majority of the cases of microcephaly being reported in Brazil? Why haven’t they also shown
up in proportional numbers in other countries hit hard by Zika, such as Colombia? (The answer, some
say, is that Brazil was hit by Zika first, and microcephaly cases might be expected to crest
elsewhere in the months ahead.)<br />
And how can conclusions be drawn from government statistics that are flawed and possibly vastly
underreported in the past, before Brazilian officials required doctors to report microcephaly cases?
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-55800794750402293002016-02-25T04:43:00.001-06:002016-02-25T04:43:59.536-06:00 Thursday, February 25, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Our bravest and best lessons are not learned through success, but through misadventure.** <br />
Amos Bronson Alcott
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/a-caltech-seismologist-breaks-down-what-made-
tuesdays-quake-unique"> California</a> - While Kern County had little to no damage as a result of
Tuesday's 4.8 magnitude earthquake, a Caltech seismologist says that the earthquake stood out.
"This event was particulary deep. It was down around 22 kilometers which, statistically for our
area, is quite deep."<br />
22 kilometers is a little over 13 and a half miles. Many of the California earthquakes peak at
around 9 miles deep, depending on where the occur. Earlier this month, a study showed a correlation
between oil fraching and a string of earthquakes that occurred in Kern County in 2005.
Tuesday's quake probably had nothing to do with fracking.<br />
"These earthquakes were way deeper than any operations that would be occurring."
Instead, plate tectonics are most likely the reason for the earthquake.
A strike slip fault occurred between the Pacific and North American plates.
"One side of the fault moves sideways relative to the other. This was a right lateral motion, which
means if you stood on one side of the fault and you looked at the other side, you would see it
moving to the right."<br />
This right lateral motion is similar to what happens along the San Andreas Fault. So is this
Tuesday's earthquake a sign that bigger quakes are on the horizon?
No. "At this point, there's no reason to believe that it is anything other than the normal
earthquakes that we have here in Southern California because of our plate boundaries."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> BOOMS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://komonews.com/news/local/shaking-along-coast-tuesday-wasnt-an-earthquake-
seismologists-say"> Shaking along the Washington coast Tuesday wasn't an earthquake, seismologists
say </a> -
Social media started percolating Tuesday afternoon with a number of reports along the central
Washington coast of mild shaking, and wondering if they just had experienced an earthquake.
However, none of the sensors at the Pacific Northwest Seismology Network triggered an earthquake
alert - usually those alerts happen within moments of a quake.<br />
So, was it a quake?
A letter from PNSN seismologists to the Grays Harbor Emergency Management said that two seismographs
on either side of Ocean Shores about 10 miles apart did pick up some mild shaking, but it was not a
classic quake signature.
Instead, there was a 20-second delay between when the two seismographs started squiggling. The speed
of sound is about 10 times slower than the speed of quake energy spreading through the ground, and
the 20-second delay suggests it was a sound event. <br />
An earthquake would have shown up nearly simultaneously on the graphs.
Bottom line: The seismologists' hypothesis was that it was caused by airplanes - possibly sonic
booms, maybe from offshore military exercises.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.beachconnection.net/news/boom022416_301.php"> About 6 p.m. on Tuesday, a
massive boom rattled residents of the north Oregon coast </a> in a fairly wide stretch of nearly 20
miles – from Garibaldi all the way up to Manzanita. It shook homes and windows, sending some out
into the street to look for explosions, and it lit up social media. <br />
It turned out to be just what many thought: a sonic boom from military aircraft doing exercises in
the region. The incident echoed another similar situation earlier in the day at Ocean Shores,
Washington, where residents there got spooked by a sonic boom around 3:30 p.m.<br />
Sonic booms occur when a jet breaks the sound barrier, creating shockwaves in the air.
The answer to all of it lay in social media the whole time: Oregon Air National Guard’s (OANA)
Facebook page had a post about operations going from February 16 to 25. The OANA's 142nd Fighter
Wing have been conducting routine F-15 night training missions in the region, to help keep Citizen-
Airmen pilots based in Portland and Vancouver to stay current with mandatory Air Force
requirements.<br />
Nothing about this was known by residents at the time, however, so the community Facebook page for
Rockaway Beach went into high gear with a barrage of tales and worries. A few hours later, one
member discovered the post from OANA and the big questions were resolved.<br />
Some residents caught on quickly to the sonic boom idea, with one writing: “We did go outside right
after the boom that rattled the house and windows, and we could hear jets in the sky. We guessed
military drills. I really want to know what it was!” A few darted outside their front doors half
expecting to see smoke from an explosion.<br />
The boom was heard and felt near Garibaldi, throughout the seven miles of Rockaway Beach, in Nehalem
and in Manzanita – almost 20 miles of Oregon coastline. It's interesting to note Nehalem is a few
miles inland from the beach. There don't appear to be reports of it at Cannon Beach, so it's
possible Neahkahnie Mountain shielded the areas northward from the sound.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/496804/Yellowstone-eruption-2016-apocalypse">
A book </a> written by a revered Italian geologist Mario Tozzi explains what could happen if Yellowstone
super volcano erupted this year. It 'could erupt in 2016' and wipe out the Earth. Experts have long
warned the Yellowstone super volcano will one day erupt and wipe out the planet – but it could be
sooner than we feared.<br />
His book 'Pianeta Terra Ultimo Atto' – which translates to 'Planet Earth, The Last Act' – suggests
the volcanic caldera may awaken in 2016 and have disastrous consequences for the rest of the globe.
The author's book – set in 2019 – covers a scenario after the super volcano erupts between now and
the end of the year. He envisages the volcano exploding and covering the United States – and
potentially leading to catastrophic disaster around the world.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
- Tropical cyclone Fourteen is located approximately 273 nm northeast of Rarotonga. <br /><br />
- Final advisory has been issued on Tropical cyclone Winston which is located approximately 367 nm
northeast of Kingston Island. Winston is already exhibiting signs of being subtropical, with the
mid-level warm core weakening and the wind field expanding. The system is
forecast to complete subtropical transition, but is expected to maintain gale-force winds. The
system will be closely monitored for signs of regeneration.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-24/cyclone-winston-entire-villages-wiped-out-on-fiji's-
koro-island/7195842"> Cyclone Winston </a> - Fiji death toll reaches 42 with reports entire villages wiped
out on remote islands.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3253"> Tornadoes Kill
Three in Southern U.S.</a> - Significant Tornado Outbreak in VA, NC.
The deadliest severe weather outbreak thus far in 2016 hit the Deep South on Tuesday, when at
least eighteen tornadoes tore across portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and
Georgia. Hardest hit was Louisiana, where the town of Convent saw a tornado rip through an RV park,
killing two and injuring 31, with seven of those people in critical condition.
<br />
An additional fatality was reported in a mobile home near Purvis, Mississippi. Major damage
occurred late Tuesday morning in Prairieville, southeast of Baton Rouge, where a Gold's Gym and
several other buildings nearby were heavily damaged around the time a tornado was reported in the
area. Just 18 miles northeast, in Livingston, several homes had their roofs completely torn off.
<br /> For the second time this month, a tornado caused major damage in Escambia County, located in
the far western portion of the Florida Panhandle near Pensacola. A rotating supercell thunderstorm
that formed over the Gulf of Mexico moved ashore and spawned a tornado that crossed Interstate 10,
flipping several cars and a tractor trailer on the Escambia Bay Bridge, leaving the highway closed
from mile marker 17 to mile marker 43. Twenty-four units of The Moorings apartment complex in
Pensacola were completely destroyed, and an additional six suffered minor damage.
<br />
<A
HREF="http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/2016/02/powerful_storm_kills_4_in_virginia_raising_d
eath_toll_to_7"> Death toll rises to 7 </a> - A powerful storm system swept across the East Coast
on Wednesday, killing four people in Virginia and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes
and businesses in the region.
A day earlier, the system spawned about two dozen tornadoes along the Gulf Coast, damaging hundreds
of homes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. Three people were killed and dozens were injured.
<br />
Forecasters had warned that more than 88 million people were at risk of seeing some sort of severe
weather Wednesday. In the Midwest, heavy snow and biting winds led to mass flight cancellations at
Chicago airports and school closings in several states.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/asia-spring-2016-forecast-flooding-southeast-
chinga-japan-drought-philippines-indonesia/55481473"> Asia spring forecast </a> - Flooding to
threaten southeast China to Japan; Drought to persist in Southeast Asia. While much of Asia can
expect dry and mild conditions, there will be areas of ongoing drought as well as the risk of
flooding during the spring of 2016.<br />
"The main players in Asia this spring will be the typical ones, including the monsoon and
fluctuations in Indian Ocean water temperatures." In addition, El Niño may still have enough
influence to factor into the western Pacific Typhoon season during the approach of summer.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35656909"> An Australian icebreaker delivering
supplies to Antarctica </a> has broken free of its mooring in a blizzard and run aground. (video)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.agweek.com/crops/sugar-beets/3955011-south-africas-drought-hit-sugar-harvest-
be-smallest-1995"> Drought </a> - South Africa is expected to harvest 1.63 million metric tons of
sugar in the 2015/2016 season, the lowest since 1995 and down 22 percent on the previous period as a
severe drought hits production. The worst drought in a century has hurt sugar and maize producing
regions, piling pressure on sugar producers who are also grappling with cheap imports, forcing some
mills to remain closed and reducing jobs in the sector.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://traveller24.news24.com/News/Alerts/weather-update-widespread-rain-forecast-
despite-extreme-fire-dangers-20160223"> South Africa </a> - Widespread rain forecast despite
extreme fire dangers. Cape Town - The South African Weather Service has warned of extremely high
fire danger conditions expected in places over the northern interior of the Northern Cape, the Cape
Winelands, central and Little Karoo on Wednesday, 24 February.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/drought-threatens-return-in-new-mexico-
after-dry-stretch/article_d39764d0-a1a5-5600-84a7-78f7d70aedc9.html"> Drought threatens return in
New Mexico </a> after dry stretch. Marking an end to a record-setting stretch of warm, dry weather,
snow fell around New Mexico on Tuesday, but forecasters warned that meaningful moisture has been in
short supply and drought is threatening to creep back into the state.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11595209"> Is a rogue comet
on a collision course with Earth? </a> - Meteor shower was spotted in New Zealand during New Year
celebrations. Never previously detected, the shower has been named the Volantids. Astronomers say
they yet to trace the comet that produced the shower. They say the shower has provided an early
warning of a potential hazard.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160224-why-sleeping-in-could-make-you-a-better-worker">
If you find yourself hitting the snooze button every morning,</a> don’t blame yourself. Your work
schedule could be to blame. A researcher believes that the ideal work day should start at 10am. It’s
not rational to start the work day at 8am. <br />
A growing field of research now shows that, for many of us, more than 70%, our work schedules are
wildly out of sync with our natural body clocks — and experts are urging employers to take
notice.When work schedules are aligned with people’s natural sleep patterns, they produce higher
quality and more innovative work because they are more focused, less stressed and generally
healthier. The opposite is also true – when employees are sleep deprived they are more likely to
make major mistakes and suffer from workplace injuries. Research has even shown that night owls
behave more unethically in the morning than at night and that early birds were more unethical at
night. <br />
By the time they reach high school or secondary school, teenagers are getting up, on average, three
hours earlier than they should because of early school start times in some cases as early as 7:30am.
The result: chronic sleep deprivation, that hurts their ability to focus and could lead to longer
term health problems like obesity and diabetes.
<br />
----------<br />
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</b>
Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-39055206298002684872016-02-24T05:52:00.000-06:002016-02-24T05:52:26.626-06:00 Wednesday, February 24, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Live life fully while you are here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your
friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go wild. Screw up. You're going to anyway, so you might as
well enjoy the process.** <br /> Anthony Robbins
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/earthquake-swarm-in-new-brunswick-community-
starting-to-settle-down-369819591.html"> Earthquake swarm in New Brunswick community starting to
settle down </a> - The mayor of a small village in western New Brunswick says the earth - and
residents' nerves - are calming down following a recent swarm of earthquakes.
While the area is still experiencing tremors, they are nowhere near the strength of a 3.3 magnitude
quake that shook homes and broke windows on Feb. 9.<br />
"I think there's somewhat of a calming down over the last couple of weeks. It's almost like the
unexpected doesn't happen when you have all the equipment here to monitor everything."
Four seismic recording instruments were installed about 10 days ago and they have plotted about 30
minor tremors since then.
"This gives us more data that we can work with to try and come up with some answers as to where the
possible fault is that's generating the earthquakes and maybe provide some answers on a possible
mechanism on what's causing these earthquakes to occur."<br />
The equipment will remain in place for a few months, and scientists would like to get roughly 100 to
200 seismic events to have enough data. It's not possible to say if the tremors will continue.
"Each swarm of activity is unique and these fluctuations in the size of the events and the frequency
of the events, really it's not possible for us to come up with answers as to what's going to happen
in the future." <br />
An earthquake swarm occurs when numerous quakes happen in the same area over a short period of time.
The McAdam area experienced a succession of earthquakes in the days before and since the 3.3
magnitude event, which broke windows and shook items off shelves.<br />
This month's earthquakes were much stronger than those experienced in 2012 and again in 2015, but
residents are somewhat reassured that the strongest quakes were centred northwest of the village.
Asimilar earthquake swarm was recorded in neighbouring Maine about 10 years ago.
Earthquake swarms may be occurring more often than we realize, but this one was felt because it was
so close to homes in McAdam.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/travel/powerful-volcano-eruption-in-the-philippines/vp-
BBpRAwM"> Powerful volcano eruption in the Philippines </a> - Footage has emerged from Philippines
of the Bulusan Volcano eruption this week.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Winston is located approximately 404 nm southwest of Suva, Fiji.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35647854"> Cyclone Winston: Fears for isolated Fiji
communities as death toll jumps </a> - The death toll in Fiji has jumped to 42 amid fears for remote
areas and islands yet to be reached by relief teams, days after a devastating cyclone.
Cyclone Winston, thought to be one of the strongest storms to hit the Southern Hemisphere, left
8,500 sheltering in evacuation centres.<br />
Teams are still being deployed. Officials said they met "grim images of devastation" on reaching
Koro island.
The Red Cross has warned that the toll could still rise further.
The powerful cyclone, which struck last weekend, brought winds of over 320km/h (200mph), torrential
rain and waves of up to 12m (40ft), flattening many buildings in parts of the main Viti Levu island
and Koro islands. <br />
It has been described by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation as the worst to ever hit the country.
The damage in remote outlying areas - so far seen only from the air - is reported to be especially
bad.
Pictures taken from Koro on Tuesday showed battered and demolished homes on the island
Communication with many smaller and remote islands in the Pacific nation of 900,000 people have been
down since the cyclone hit.<br />
The death toll numbers "will continue to change as we have better access to information and
establish communications".
Officials are also warning of the threat of dengue and zika spreading, as both viruses are carried
by mosquitoes which can breed in stagnant water left by the storm.
The government has also advised families to bury or cremate the dead as soon as possible because of
a lack of facilities for storing bodies.<br />
Power is gradually being restored in the the main centres but mortuaries are still without
electricity. Though the devastation has been described as "catastrophic", officials have also said
the destruction could have been far worse had the storm not changed direction at the last minute,
sparing the capital Suva its full impact.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/feb/23/trail-destruction-fiji-cyclone-winston-
video"> Drone footage </a> shows the extent of damage left by Cyclone Winston in Fiji over the
weekend. Houses are seen to be destroyed and trees are strewn over the ladnscape after the storm
brought power and communication lines down. Officials say at least 29 people have died as
authorities and aid workers race to provide emergency supplies to survivors.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/cyclone-winston-frustration-grows-as-help-fails-to-
reach-devastated-communities-in-fiji/459308"> Cyclone Winston: Frustration grows as help fails to
reach devastated communities in Fiji </a> - There is growing frustration among Fijians who say they
are yet to receive any help after a devastating cyclone struck the country on the weekend.
More than 1,000 homes were destroyed in Rakiraki, a major town on the north coast of Fiji's main
island Viti Levu, and 500 have been partially damaged. The town looks like a bomb had gone off, with
barely a building left unscathed.
Despite the devastation, the only sign of any aid relief is coming from the business community,
which has handed out free cartons of water along Viti Levu's north coast. Authorities are yet to
make contact with smaller islands impacted by the cyclone.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35647901"> Three dead as tornadoes hit southern US
</a> - At least 7 tornadoes lashed Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida Tuesday, destroying homes and
businesses.
The deaths occurred when mobile homes were destroyed in Louisiana and Mississippi, officials said.
Meteorologists said the storm system could hit Alabama and Georgia later on Wednesday.<br />
Two people died at a trailer park in Convent, southern Louisiana, where 90% of the homes were
destroyed. "These travel trailers were picked up, thrown a considerable distance and just mangled."
The governor said it was a "minor miracle" that more people had not been killed because most of the
trailers were occupied when the storm hit.<br />
At least 30 people were taken to hospital in the state, most of them from the trailer park.
The other death occurred near the southern Mississippi town of Purvis.
A tornado was also reported in the northern Florida town of Pensacola. Local media reported that
three buildings in an apartment complex had been badly damaged and thousands of people in the region
were without power.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A
HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/weather/weather_wisdom/2016/02/extreme_weather_fluctuations_t.html"
> There are very few periods in New England weather </a> when the line “the weather’s been anything
but typical” doesn’t apply. Even by this region's standards, the recent temperature changes have
been extremely extreme. Researchers would need to do a statistical analysis of the most recent
fluctuations to see just how out of the ordinary they are, but some research shows the temperature
extremes, especially on the warmer side, are becoming more frequent.<br />
Ten days ago, temperatures in Boston reached record cold levels we haven’t seen in half a century.
This was followed a few days later by readings in the 50s. This past weekend, temperatures were
averaging 10 to 15 degrees outside the typical range. Over half of the days this month have seen
temperatures over 10 degrees above or below average: in other words, more evidence of wild swings.
Much of New England has seen a similar pattern this winter. <br />
In 2013, a study published looked at recent trends in winter temperature extremes in Eastern China
and their relationship with the Arctic Oscillation, or AO, and El Nino/Southern Oscillation, or
ENSO. The study found that, since the mid 1980s, parts of China were seeing more extremes during the
winter, some of which may be connected to both oscillations.
This year, both ENSO and the AO have been at the more extreme ends of the scale. There is likely a
connection between what we have observed this winter and those atmospheric players.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amazon-home-to-boiling-
river_us_56cb5ad0e4b041136f17bb2b"> This Incredible 'Boiling River' Is A Scientific Enigma </a> -
Hidden deep in the Amazon, this river "is a reminder that there are still great wonders to be
discovered."<br />
Located in a forest region called Mayantuyacu, the sacred boiling river, which is guarded by a
shaman, flows hot - between 120 and 196 degrees Fahrenheit - for almost 4 miles and is about as wide
as a two-lane road. While boiling rivers do exist in the world, they are usually found close to
active volcanos. This river is especially remarkable because it runs more than 400 miles from the
nearest active volcano - the only non-volcanic river known to boil on Earth.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35645854"> Large space rock burns up over
Atlantic </a> - The biggest fireball since the Chelyabinsk explosion has plunged through the
atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean.
The event, which has only just come to light, occurred off the coast of Brazil at 13:55 GMT on 6
February.
As it burned up, the space rock released the equivalent of 13,000 tonnes of TNT.<br />
This makes it the most powerful event of its kind since an object exploded over Chelyabinsk in
Russia in 2013.
That blast was much bigger, releasing the equivalent of 500,000 tonnes of TNT.
More than 1,000 people were injured in that incident on 15 February three years ago, most from
flying glass from shattered windows.<br />
But the fireball over the Atlantic probably went unnoticed; it burnt up about 30km above the ocean
surface, 1,000km off the Brazilian coast.
Measurements suggest that about 30 small asteroids (between 1m and 20m in size) burn up in the
Earth's atmosphere every year.
Because most of the Earth's surface is covered by water, most of these fall over the ocean and do
not affect populated areas.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-76568034609042594222016-02-23T06:29:00.000-06:002016-02-23T06:29:49.106-06:00 Tuesday, February 23, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Plans are nothing; planning is everything.** <br />
Dwight D. Eisenhower
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.koco.com/weather/earthquakes-stronger-this-year-but-quake-count-slightly-
less/38081970"> Oklahoma </a> - Earthquakes stronger this year, but quake count slightly less. This
year, seven earthquakes of 4.0 magnitude or greater have occurred in the state. Through the same
time last year, four earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 occurred. Since January 1 of 2016 until February
19 Oklahoma has recorded 339 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater.
Through the same period last year the state had recorded 389 quakes.
The strongest earthquake this year was a 5.1 that occurred February 13 in northern Oklahoma.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.hutchnews.com/kansas_earthquakes/major-county-oklahoma-records-quakes-over-
past-week-including-the/article_3a9c5f5d-8b26-5935-9ace-0af03d8eb543.html"> Major County, Oklahoma,
records 35 quakes over previous week,</a> including the rattling 5.1
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/767551/mt-bulusan-spews-500-m-high-ash-column"> Mt. Bulusan
spews 500-m high ash column </a> - Philippines- Mt. Bulusan in Sorsogon province spewed a 500-
meter high grayish ash column around 5 p.m. Monday, drifting toward villages in the towns of Juban
and Irosin.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0223/c90000-9019681.html"> Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung Eruption
Captured in Time Exposure </a> - Photos taken on February 21, 2016 show the eruption of the Mount
Sinabung volcano in Sumatra.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.ticotimes.net/2016/02/22/photos-nicaraguas-momotombo-volcano-still-putting-on-
a-show"> PHOTOS: Nicaragua's Momotombo Volcano still putting on a show </a> -
By all appearances, Nicaragua's formerly sleeping giant Momotombo isn't going back to bed just yet.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/taking-on-the-worlds-most-dangerous-
volcano/64028"> Taking on the world's most dangerous volcano </a> - Nyiragongo is a cone volcano
that dominates the sky above the city of Goma, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in
eastern Africa. It’s an active mountain that erupted in 2002; with the resulting lava flow
destroying a large area of Goma and nearly shutting down the airport.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/56518/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-
22-Feb-2016-Colima-volcano-Alaid-Momotombo.html"> Volcano Activity Worldwide </a> - Alaid Volcano
(Northern Kuriles): New thermal anomalies have been detected from the volcano during the past days
via satellite data. It is not known whether or not a new eruption is underway at the volcano which
is rarely visited, but one of the most active ones in the area.
Its most recent eruption from Oct 2015 to January this year produced spectacular lava flows that
flowed into the sea and enlarged the uninhabited island.
The Aviation Color Code was raised again to yellow.
Colima Volcano (Western Mexico): As had been suspected last week, a new (still small) lava dome has
appeared inside the volcano's summit crater. During an overflight on 19 Feb, it was seen to be
approx. 25 m in diameter and 10 m tall.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Winston is located approximately 314 nm west-southwest of Suva, Fiji. Winston is
forecast to weaken rapidly.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3251"> At least 21
deaths had been reported by late Monday Fiji time</a> as the island nation slogged through the
daunting early stages of recovery from ferocious Cyclone Winston, the strongest tropical cyclone on
record in the Southern Hemisphere. Officials expect the death toll to rise when they're finally able
to reach outlying islands that were hit hardest by the powerful storm, and it would not be
surprising if Winston ends up being the deadliest and costliest natural disaster in Fiji's
history.<br />
Fiji's deadliest tropical cyclone in recorded history was Category 3 Cyclone Eric of 1985, which
made a direct hit on the capital of Suva, killing 25. [29 now officially reported killed by Cyclone
Winston.] Since satellite records began in 1970 (with high-quality satellite images only available
since 1990), just eleven Catergory 5's (including Winston) have been observed anywhere in the South
Pacific east of Australia. Winston is the strongest of these.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/62015/extreme-weather-strikes-israel-as-sea-of-galilee-
rises-negev-floods-middle-east/#XYSL0clsDZo5dcXc.97"> Extreme Weather Strikes Israel as Sea of
Galilee Rises, Negev Floods </a> - Following a week of unusually mild weather, winter returned to
Israel this weekend as a large rainstorm struck from the north to the south, causing floods in the
desert and dropping snow on the mountains in yet another round of apocalyptic weather in the Middle
East.<br />
The storm made itself felt in every part of the country. In the north, Mount Hermon was closed to
visitors and skiers due to heavy snowfall, fierce winds, and heavy fog. The Sea of Galilee, which is
at a near-constant risk of depletion, fortuitously rose by 1.5 centimeters.<br />
In the southern Negev region, heavy rain has caused dangerous flash floods, washing out roads and
stranding those unlucky enough to be caught in the storm. Ten hikers were rescued near the Ramon
Crater by the volunteer Har Hanegev search and rescue unit.<br />
The Ein Gedi area, near the Dead Sea, was particularly hard hit, with several schools closed on
Monday following flash floods. Another rescue team was called in to extract a number of cars which
had become stuck in the nearby Arugot Stream.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160222-severe-droughts-explain-the-mysterious-fall-of-
the-maya"> Severe droughts explain the mysterious fall of the Maya </a> - We might finally know why
the Maya abandoned their impressive limestone cities about 1,000 years ago. Thousands of ancient
Maya cities are spread across southern Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Belize and Guatemala.
It’s likely that still more Maya ruins lie hidden beneath the region’s thick tropical forest.
The first wave of droughts had finished off the Maya in the south, it looks like the second wave may
have brought on their demise in the north. After this second wave of droughts there was to be no
real recovery for the Maya. The droughts in the 9th Century had certainly been severe. But the 11th
Century brought the worst drought that the region had seen for fully 2,000 years - a “megadrought”.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://nhv.us/content/16024481-drought-related-harmful-effects-likely-spread-eastern-side">
Drought-related harmful effects likely to spread eastern side of America </a> in near future.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-rain-february-heat-20160222-story.html">
Without a 'March miracle,' drought-like conditions will continue in Southern California </a> -
Southern Californians can expect dry conditions and above-average heat this week as a stubborn
high-pressure system continues to block the heavily anticipated El Niño rainstorms that weather
officials warned of over the winter. Though experts predicted that the Pacific warming phenomenon
known as El Niño could bring consecutive downpours to Southern California between January and March
- now some say as late as April - nothing of the sort has occurred since the first week of the
year.<br />
That’s because a high-pressure system hovering over the Eureka, Calif., area has deflected most of
the moisture and cooler temperatures that would flow south to Los Angeles and beyond. Downtown L.A.
has receive only 4.99 inches of rain since Oct. 1. The historical average by the end of February is
10 inches. <br />
This February has also been more than eight degrees warmer than its historical average. The current
pattern is like the drought pattern from these last four years. “If March doesn’t come through, and
April and May are typically drier months, we might be out of time by then.”<br />
Southern California needs a “March miracle” to avoid a fifth year of drought-like conditions
locally. But there is a silver lining for Californians. Though the high-pressure system may be
blocking storms in Southern California, vital rain and snow is being steered toward the Sierra
Nevada, which is seeing its highest snowpack in years.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2078374-mystery-wind-drought-that-cut-us-wind-power-
in-2015-is-back/"> Mystery wind drought that cut US wind power in 2015 is back </a> - There’s a
still in the air – and it is bad news for North America’s wind turbines.
Last year saw the lowest average wind speeds in half a century across much of North America. There
were long periods of motionless air across most of the Great Plains and the West, stretching through
to Texas and Florida, and from Mexico to Canada.<br />
And weather watchers say the wind drought was back again in the early weeks of 2016.
In much of the American West, average wind speeds were a fifth below normal in the first half of
last year. As a result, the electricity output of US wind farms fell 6 per cent despite their
generating capacity increasing by 9 per cent. “The possibility of a prolonged wind drought is on the
minds of many in the wind industry."<br />
The immediate cause, say meteorologists, is a large ridge of high pressure that formed over the
north-eastern Pacific and the western half of North America in mid-2013. This diverted wind-bringing
storms far north into the Arctic.
“The ridge was remarkable for its longevity, lasting from June 2013 through to mid-2015. It is the
strongest in records dating back to 1960."<br />
The still air in 2015 predated the formation of the current El Niño.
Most meteorologists believe that the persistent high pressure is at least partly a result of the
Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a fluctuation that is similar to El Niño but lasts for decades. In the
past two years, the oscillation has switched to its “warm” phase, meaning that the wind drought
could stick around through 2016.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/22/467428758/mysterious-ocean-buzz-traced-
to-daily-fish-migration"> Huge parts of the ocean are humming. </a> Scientists have puzzled over the
source of the sound for several years.
Huge clouds of small fish and crustaceans and squid tend to hide in the dark, deep water during the
day, and rise up nearer the surface to feed at night. This happens in all oceans in the mesopelagic
zone, a fish-rich area of little light that stretches from about 660 feet beneath the sea's surface
to depths of around 3,300 feet.<br />
It took hydrophones in the Pacific to reveal that the hum actually accompanies that daily rise and
fall of the fish migration.
Why the noise? Scientists can only speculate. It could be that the creatures "are truly, actively
communicating - potentially to initiate migration." In other words, maybe the buzz is just a signal
that "it's time to go."
But there's another more mundane possibility.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://globalnews.ca/news/2533519/unpredictable-february-weather-continues-to-hit-
toronto/"> Unpredictable February weather continues to hit Toronto </a> - February has already been
a month of extremes, and with a winter storm on the way in Toronto this week, it is still full of
surprises. It’s been a shock to many, lulled by a warmer than usual winter that has caused many to
think snow was a thing of the past. It is not just people who have enjoyed the balmy weather, also
wildlife.<br />
“Things like white-tailed deer and rabbits have a very easy go of it this year."
This month’s up and downs have been so unusual, even those who know weather best have been caught a
little off guard.
“I’ve been in this business a half a century and I’ve never seen a February like this year,” said a
senior climatologist with Environment Canada. Feb. 3 was 16 C while Feb. 14 saw record lows.
“Over 175 years of records there’s never been a warmer day and then we had the coldest in 22 years
on Valentine’s Day."<br />
Overall though, El Niño has meant a warmer than usual winter and relief for water birds, many of
which died over the last two winters.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/02/22/supercomputer-reston-noaa-cray-
ibm/80290546/"> Supercomputer quietly puts U.S. weather resources back on top </a> - Three years ago
European models delivered a blow to the U.S. weather apparatus. The European weather models
accurately predicted the path and strength of the devastating Hurricane Sandy that hit the New
Jersey coastline and caused $65 billion in damage.<br />
Now, the U.S. is on the rebound with this monumental supercomputer that collects, processes and
analyzes billions of observations from weather satellites, weather balloons, airplanes, buoys and
surface stations from around the world to help meteorologists make better weather forecasts.<br />
The brand-new Cray supercomputer — designed, owned and operated by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — processes 3 quadrillion calculations per second. You'd need
about 12,500 high-end laptops to get close to that kind of power. Still, the supercomputer is merely
the 18th fastest in the U.S. and 42nd fastest in the world.
NOAA's purchase stemmed partly from competition from the top European weather model — ECMWF
(European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasting). It predicted Sandy's now infamous and
unusual left hook in 2012 days before the top American model — the GFS (Global Forecast System).
The one-two punch pushed the U.S. to invest $44.5 million to develop better forecasts. NOAA
installed the Reston computer and its backup twin in Orlando, a safe distance away in case of a
natural disaster, late last year.<br />
Together, they provide a 10-fold increase in computer power over previous systems and put American
forecasting systems back on par or even above European ones. "It's a huge improvement over what they
had...it was a "national embarrassment."
In the months ahead, the supercomputer will focus on severe weather, storm surge and river
forecasting, just in time for spring's flood season and summer's hurricane season. <br />
The supercomputer showed its prowess last month, predicting an East Coast blizzard with great
accuracy days before the storm. That's only a glimpse of what's to come.
"We expect to see better forecasts for hurricanes, severe weather, floods and other extreme events
this year."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.newsweek.com/fears-zika-dengue-outbreaks-fijian-islands-cut-cyclone-429330">
FEARS OF ZIKA, DENGUE OUTBREAKS ON FIJIAN ISLANDS STILL CUT-OFF AFTER CYCLONE </a> - There are fears
the death toll could rise in the nation of 900,000 people when communication resumes with the
smaller islands hit by Cyclone Winston..
Aerial footage of outlying islands showed whole villages flattened and flooded after Winston's
destructive winds, up to 325 kph (200 mph), tore through the archipelago of 300 islands. Thousands
of Fijians live in tin or wooden shacks in low-lying coastal areas.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-80731381297868867002016-02-22T07:09:00.000-06:002016-02-22T07:09:53.800-06:00 Monday, February 22, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**When you relinquish the spectacular, you are rewarded with the quieter joy of the ordinary.** <br
/> Eric Weiner
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today, 6.0 or larger - </span><br />
None
<br /><br />
2/21/16 - 2/18/16 - <br />
None 6.0 or larger.
<br /><br />
2/17/16 - <br />
6.0 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
<br /><br />
2/16/16 - <br />
6.1 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
<br /><br />
2/15/16 - <br />
6.0 TONGA
<br /><br />
2/14/16 - 2/13/16 <br />
None 6.0 or larger.<br /><br />
2/12/16 <br />
6.2 SUMBA REGION, INDONESIA
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/no-damage-reported-after-severe-5-0-quake-
rattles-wellington"> New Zealand </a> - No damage reported after 'severe' 5.0 quake rattles
Wellington. A strong earthquake was felt across the lower North and upper South Islands on the 5
year anniversary of the Canterbury quake in which 185 died.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/few-hospitals-ready-for-post-nankai-
trough-quake-with-support-plans"> Japan</a> - Few hospitals ready for post-Nankai Trough quake with
support plans. Only 8% of about 600 responding hospitals that are likely to be affected by a
predicted massive earthquake in the Nankai Trough running south of Japan’s mainland have created
plans that would make it easier to receive outside support in the wake of disasters. <br />
The findings come five years after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami devastated areas
of northeastern Japan in 2011. The quake-tsunami disaster damaged some 300 hospitals, or nearly 80%
of the total, in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A
HREF="http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/nature_and_travel/2016/02/21/rare_eruption_of_iceland_s_most
_famous_hot_spring_g/"> Rare eruption of Iceland's most famous hot spring Geysir </a> -
The Great Geysir, Iceland's most famous hot spring, which has given the name to geysers all over the
world, erupted yesterday. This rare event was captured on camera. <br />
Earthquakes have been shown to revive the activity of Geysir and records from 1630 show that it
erupted violently many times that year. Until 1896 however the hot spring was almost dormant before
an earthquake that year caused eruptions to begin again, several times a day.
In 1935 a man-made channel was dug through the rim which caused a revival in activity, but gradually
the channel became clogged with silica making eruptions once again rare. In 1981 the channel was
cleared and eruptions were simulated on special occasions by the additon of soaps, something later
discouraged because of environmental concerns. <br />
An earthquake in the year 2000 revived the geyser again and an eruption took place for two days
straight, reaching 122 metres in height. In the last decade, eruptions have decreased considerably
and it is now considered almost inactive.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/kims-nuclear-tests-threaten-to-set-
off-mount-paektu-volcano/news-story/d7f7b2053a08b9809f436690d795cdd2"> Mount Paektu </a> -
Scientists say that North Korea’s nuclear program could cause a volcanic eruption of Mount Paektu,
the country’s highest mountain.<br />
The underground test site is 115km from the volcano and an explosion could increase pressure in the
magma chamber beneath the 2744m mountain, driving molten rock upwards.
“An underground nuclear explosion test near an active volcano constitutes a direct threat to the
volcano."<br />
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test last month and although the blast was not as large as
would be expected from the bomb that North Korea claimed to have set off, it still produced an
earthquake measuring 5.1. The team calculated that an earthquake of 7.0, which has been recorded
after nuclear tests in the United States, could create sufficient pressure to cause an eruption.
Mount Paektu last erupted in 1903 and its eruption in AD946 was one of the biggest of the past 2,000
years. Between 2002 and 2006, scientists reported an increase in earthquakes and ground swelling
around Mount Paektu, suggesting that the magma was shifting.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Winston is located approximately 337 nm west of Suva, Fiji.
<br />
<br>
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3250"> Cyclone Winston </a> - the Southern Hemisphere's Strongest Storm on Record. Mighty Category 5 Tropical
Cyclone Winston smashed through the islands of Fiji Friday night and Saturday morning with top
sustained winds estimated at 185 mph. These winds vaulted Winston into a three-way tie as the second
strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in world recorded history.<br />
Winston began its march at Category 5 strength through the Fiji Islands beginning at 18 UTC (1 pm
EST) Friday. At that time, Winston had 165 mph winds as it moved westwards over the small Fiji
island of Vanua Balavu (population 1,200). The island's airport was in the western eyewall of
Winston, and at 18 UTC measured 10-minute average winds of 106 mph (roughly equivalent to 120 mph
winds using the U.S. 1-minute averaging time.) <br />
Winston continued to intensify, then crashed ashore on the Fiji island of Koro (population 4,500) at
peak strength - sustained winds of 185 mph - near 02 UTC Saturday (9 pm EST Friday.) This is the
second strongest landfall by any tropical cyclone, globally, in recorded history. Only Super Typhoon
Haiyan's 190 mph winds at landfall in 2013 in Samar, Philippines have been rated higher.<br />
After likely demolishing most of Koro with a long period of sustained winds of EF4 tornado
strength, Winston weakened slightly, to 180 mph winds, while its northern (weaker) eyewall brushed
the south coast of Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Levu. The city of Nambouwalu on the south
coast of Vanua Levu reported 10-minute sustained winds of 121 mph at 06 UTC Saturday (roughly
equivalent to Category 4 winds of 135 mph using the U.S. 1-minute averaging time.) Winston then
wobbled more to the west-southwest, possibly due to interaction with the high terrain of the two
largest islands of Fiji. <br />
Maintaining winds of 180 mph, Winston slammed ashore along the northeast coast of Fiji's main island
of Viti Levu in Rakiraki, a district of close to 30,000 people, near 07 UTC Saturday. The eye of
Winston travelled westwards along the north coast of Viti Levu for two hours, pounding the entire
north coast of the island with the strongest part of the storm, the southern eyewall. When Winston
finally emerged from the island near 09 UTC Saturday, the storm was slightly weaker, but still had
Category 5 winds of 160 mph. <br />
At that time, the edge of Winston's south eyewall moved over the second largest city in Fiji,
Lautoka (population 80,000). The top sustained winds at the Lautoka tide station were 83 mph,
gusting to 110 mph. These 10-minute average winds imply that at least Category 2 hurricane
conditions (95 - 100 mph 1-minute averaged winds) were likely experienced there (thanks go to
wunderground member Carnivorous for this link.) Damage to Fiji is going to be severe to
catastrophic, but it will be several days before the true scope of the destruction is realized.<br
/>
Winston will likely weaken to Category 4 strength and head southwards during the remainder of the
weekend, with no other islands in its path, thankfully. The cyclone may restrengthen slightly on
Monday before a more significant weakening takes hold. (storm video at link)
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fiji-scrambles-to-restore-power-as-violent-cyclone-kills-6/">
Death toll from ferocious Fiji cyclone hits 18 </a> as aid sent to islands. Authorities were still
having trouble communicating with some islands, including places like Koro Island which suffered
some of the worst damage. And more than 6,000 residents across Fiji were staying in emergency
shelters after their homes were broken or swamped.<br />
Winds from Cyclone Winston, which tore through Fiji over the weekend, reached 177 miles (285
kilometers) per hour, making it the strongest storm in the Southern Hemisphere since record-keeping
began.
Getting emergency supplies to the group's far-flung islands and remote communities was the
government's top priority. Home to 900,000 people, Fiji has more than 100 inhabited islands.
"The logistics of getting supplies and equipment to remote communities is difficult. Some have lost
their jetties and it's uncertain if airstrips are able to be landed on."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.krtv.com/story/31268394/near-hurricane-force-winds-rip-midwest-chicago">
Winds Gusted to Near-Hurricane Levels in Chicago Area </a> - After Friday's wind storm, the Chicago
area is continuing to recover from damage inflicted by the 72 mile-per-hour winds ripped through the
city and shredded roofs, windows, trees and fences.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="w.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/weather/seattle-has-wettest-rainy-season-since-1894/">
Seattle, Washington, drowned its rain record Friday,</a> setting an all-time high for wettest rainy
season ever. They’ve had nearly 2 feet of rain, or 22.97 inches, since Dec. 1, breaking the previous
22.77-inch record set in the same time of year in 1998-99. <br />
The record is for the period from December through February, called meteorological winter because it
typically is the coldest stretch of the year. With more rain in the forecast, and more than a week
left in the month, the old record is sure to sink even further.<br />
After all the predictions of a monster El Niño this year, expectations were for a warmer, drier
winter. Warmer came through in spades, with temperatures in Seattle so far during the month of
February running about 5 degrees above normal.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://kdvr.com/2016/02/20/rain-barrel-ban-debate-rekindled-at-state-capitol/">
In Colorado, unlike almost every other state in the country, it is illegal to collect the rain </a>
that falls from the sky into a rain barrel. Several Denver residents support a bill at the General
Assembly that is scheduled to be heard in Committee on Monday.
The bill would permit Coloradans to use no more than 2 rain barrels collecting a maximum of 110
gallons of rainwater. <br />
A similar measure was introduced last year but failed after some Republican senators expressed
concern that collecting rainwater could deplete the water supply of rivers downstream and for the
rural residents who rely on them.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/snow-rain-winter-storm-eastern/55539836">
Disruptive snow, rain threaten eastern US, Great Lakes next week </a> - A winter storm is expected
to track from the southern Plains, threatening to unleash a large swath of disruptive snow and rain
across the eastern United States and Great Lakes this week.<br />
The springlike start to this weekend has not put an end to the risk of wintry weather in a part of
the eastern U.S. and Great Lakes when a winter storm arrives this week.
Latest indications point toward the worst of the winter storm impacting the eastern-third of the
U.S. on Wednesday into Thursday.<br />
Ahead of the main storm, a weaker system with rain will track from the Ohio Valley to the mid-
Atlantic to end the weekend. It is not out of the question for the rain grazing places from the
Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania to far southern New England to end as wet snowflakes.<br />
Another system will spread rain and thunderstorms across the South early in the new week, while the
more potent winter storm for the eastern U.S. takes shape in the southern Plains.
"[The storm next Wednesday and Thursday] has the potential to be disruptive to travel because it
could cover a large area with a wide variety of weather. How strong the storm becomes will determine
the amount of wind and extent of coastal flooding. Given the timing of the storm, the highest
astronomical tides related to the full moon will occur a couple of days ahead of the storm. Tides,
however, will still be higher than average." <br />
Regardless of which scenario pans out this week, colder air will sweep into the eastern U.S. in the
storm's wake. An even harsher blast of arctic air may then sweep from the Midwest to Northeast next
weekend or early in the following week.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/871408/drought-to-worsen-from-next-month">
More severe drought is expected to hit Thailand </a> between March and April, as authorities have
already declared 11 provinces disaster zones due to water scarcity.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wateronline.com/doc/zika-virus-enabled-by-shoddy-water-sewer-systems-0001">
Zika Virus Enabled By Shoddy Water, Sewer Systems</a> - Shoddy water and sewer infrastructure is
abetting the spread of the Zika virus, which has exploded throughout Latin America in the past year
and is now documented in 20 nations.
The virus is largely spread by mosquitos. Related to dengue, yellow fever, and West Nile, it has a
foothold in urban areas where decrepit water and sewer systems provide a comfortable breeding ground
for mosquitoes.<br />
“The mosquito lays its eggs in containers of water, of a sort that are especially common in the huge
slums of Latin American cities. With unreliable access to piped water, people there store water in
rooftop cisterns, buckets and the like. Old tires and other debris can also become mosquito habitat.
Water storage near homes is commonplace in areas where Zika has spread rapidly, like the cities of
Recife and Salvador in northeastern Brazil, and where dengue experienced a surge in 2015, like São
Paulo, Brazil’s largest state."<br />
Why is this virus so threatening? “The main fear is that it may cause birth defects if pregnant
women contract it. The possibility that the Zika virus causes microcephaly [in babies] — unusually
small heads and often damaged brains — emerged only in October, when doctors in northern Brazil
noticed a surge in babies with the condition."<br />
Claims have emerged that pesticides, not Zika, are to blame for the rise in birth defects, but
scientists and public officials, including U.S. health authorities, debunked that argument this
week, according to USA Today. Nevertheless, “Brazil’s southernmost state halted the use of a
mosquito larvicide that an Argentine doctors’ group warns could be behind the recent surge of babies
born with microcephaly.”
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-8003355859007160252016-02-13T05:08:00.000-06:002016-02-13T05:08:36.428-06:00 Friday, February 12, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**You cannot win if you never play.**
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION<br />
6.2 SUMBA REGION, INDONESIA
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 2/11/16 - <br />
5.4 SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
<br /><br />
2/10/16 - <br />
5.0 TONGA<br />
5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.2 TONGA<br />
5.0 COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.0 COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
6.3 COQUIMBO, CHILE
<br /><br />
2/9/16 - <br />
5.1 KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.0 CARLSBERG RIDGE<br />
5.3 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.0 NEAR COAST OF NICARAGUA<br />
5.2 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS<br />
5.2 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
5.0 BISMARCK SEA<br />
5.2 SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND
<br /><br />
2/8/16 -<br />
5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
5.4 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
5.3 TONGA<br />
5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
6.5 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.
<br /><br />
2/7/16 - <br />
5.1 ROTA REGION, N. MARIANA ISLANDS<br />
5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.8 TONGA
<br /><br />
2/6/16 - <br />
5.1 FIJI REGION<br />
5.5 FIJI REGION
<br /><br />
2/5/16 - <br />
6.3 TAIWAN<br />
5.0 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.3 XIZANG-NEPAL BORDER REGION<br />
5.0 VANUATU<br />
5.0 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.2 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.3 LUZON, PHILIPPINES
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/earthquake-swarm-rattles-east-coast-
village/63538/"> Canada </a> - People in southwestern New Brunswick have been rattled by a 'swarm'
of earthquakes over the past few days.
The village of McAdam has been particularly hard-hit by the swarm, which intensified in early
February. The strongest tremor has only been Magnitude 3.3, but the quakes are occurring at a very
shallow depth of one or two kilometres, enough to knock plates off of cupboards and crack
windows.<br />
Earthquakes Canada lists a little more than 20 such quakes, but there have been many more that have
not been strong enough to register on seismographs. Some estimates point to 20 to 30 small quakes on
Monday night, with many of them not picked up by monitoring equipment located in another location 95
km away. <br />
"Many people describe it like an explosion, almost, it's so quick." Monday night was particularly
active, with more than a dozen quakes. "Most of the community did not sleep very well, and there was
a lot of apprehension on Tuesday."<br />
Officials from Earthquakes Canada were in the village Thursday, setting up more seismographic
equipment to track the quakes. Even though there is a 95 per cent chance no major earthquake is
looming, village officials have been circulating instructions on what to do in the event of one, and
has an emergency plan on the books.
Most of the small quakes have all been within 5 km of McAdam, and are a continuation of similar
'swarm' activity that happened in the area in 2012, and again for a brief period in late 2015.
Carroll said the current spate has been stronger than past ones.<br />
That kind of stop-start activity isn't unusual for earthquake swarms, which can last for days, weeks
or months. They also aren't a reliable indicator of future quakes in the region.
"Each swarm is unique and the future size and frequency of earthquake activity in the region cannot
be predicted. The current earthquake swarm is a reminder that earthquakes can occur in this region,
and a larger earthquake, while unlikely, cannot be ruled out. The best advice, as always, is to know
what to do before, during and after an earthquake."<br />
Canada's West Coast borders the seismically active Cascadia Subduction Zone, where a Magnitude 9.0
quake occurred off the coast of B.C. in 1700, devastating First Nations communities in the area.
However, Canada's eastern half is far from the edge of continental plates, and earthquakes in that
area are relatively rare. Nevertheless, the East Coast does get the occasional tremor. In 1929, a
Magnitude 7.2 quake off the coast of Newfoundland triggered a tsunami that killed 28 people.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/world/strong-6-5-earthquake-hits-indonesia-no-tsunami-
alert/story-FM5mERjexboF2XEnitEfkN.html"> A strong 6.5 earthquake near an eastern Indonesian </a>
island knocked out telephone, radio communications and roads late on Friday, but there were no
reported casualties. Roads suffered the most damage.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.koco.com/news/big-quake-may-be-coming-to-edmond-oklahoma-city-area-experts-
say/37951472"> Big quake may be coming to Edmond, Oklahoma City area </a>, experts say.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.12news.com/news/watch-mount-ioyama-volcano-showing-signs-of-possible-
eruption/39580832"> A volcano in southwest Japan is showing increasing signs of activity </a> -
Officials say tremors are shaking Mount Ioyama on the border of Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures.
They say that's a sign of magma and gas moving underground. They've also detected swelling on the
peak's northwest side.
Workers placed cameras to monitor changes in gas and heat and officials are warning an eruption
could take place at any time.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://traveller24.news24.com/News/guatemalas-fire-volcano-spews-ash-on-nearby-towns-
20160210"> Guatemala's Fire Volcano spews ash on nearby towns </a> - A restive volcano near
Guatemala's capital spewed ash on nearby towns Wednesday, 10 February, including on a colonial-era
city popular with tourists.
The overnight eruption of Fuego Volcano sent ash billowing up to five kilometers into the sky and
rivers of lava up to two kilometers long. <br />
Light tremors were also felt up to 25 kilometers away. Strong gusts of wind could carry the clouds
of "fine ash particles" to Guatemala City, 45 kilometers distant.
But thus far authorities were maintaining a yellow alert and were not ordering evacuations. However
schools in the vicinity were ordered closed.
The ash had so far fallen on three towns - including Antigua Guatemala, a small, UNESCO-listed city
dating back nearly five centuries and which served as the capital until the 18th century.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://weather.com/news/news/super-bowl-volcanoes"> While the Super Bowl Was Being Played,
Three Different Volcanoes Erupted </a> - all in different countries.
Soputan in Indonesia provided the largest spectacle of the trio. Restless since the middle of 2015,
Soputan produced a lava fountain that left ash hazards for residents near the vent. The blast plume
reached heights of 8,200 feet, and exclusion zones reached as wide as 4 miles outside the
volcano.<br />
In Guatemala, Santiaguito produced several impressive explosions that blasted ash nearly 19,000 feet
high. The ash from those eruptions prompted nearby areas to post both aviation and respiratory/water
alerts. The eruptions could be heard from over 15 miles away. <br />
Turrialba in Costa Rica produced an eruption that only lasted 10 minutes and reached 1,600 feet at
the peak of its plume, but the ash it generated was exceptionally thick. Strong winds surrounding
the volcano brought the ash into a widespread area. Turrialba's last eruption occurred in October of
2015.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
- Tropical cyclone Winston was located approximately 446 nm southwest of Suva, Fiji.<br /><br />
- Tropical cyclone Tatiana was located approximately 362 nm west-northwest of Noumea, New Caledonia.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-12/tropical-cyclone-tatiana-intensifies-to-category-
two/7162634"> Tropical Cyclone Tatiana intensifies, </a> may bring dangerous swell to Queensland,
Australia coast. Tropical Cyclone Tatiana may cause an increase in easterly swells on beaches
south of Fraser Island on Sunday and Monday.
Queensland's first cyclone of the season poses no immediate threat to the coast but may whip up
dangerous swells for south-east beaches early next week.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/296407/warnings-as-cyclone-nears-
vanuatu's-south"> Warnings as cyclone nears Vanuatu's south </a> - Tropical cyclone Winson continues
to pass through the Pacific and is expected to pass close to the Vanuatu islands of Tanna, Erromango
and Aneityum.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/blizzard-causes-worst-flooding-in-nyc-since-hurricane-sandy/">
Blizzard causes worst flooding in NYC since Hurricane Sandy </a> - This week's blizzard caused the
worst flooding to hit the Rockaways since Hurricane Sandy devastated the same area in 2012.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/western-europe-faces-flooding/55367064">
Flooding rain, damaging winds aim for western Europe into Saturday </a> - Storms will take aim at
western Europe into this weekend, returning the danger of flooding rain and damaging winds.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/polar-vortex-bring-coldest-air-more-decade-northeast-
n517286"> Polar Vortex to Bring 'Coldest Air for More Than a Decade'</a> - The U.S. Northeast is
being warned to brace for what could be the coldest temperatures in 10 years.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.africanews.com/2016/02/12/severe-drought-to-hit-parts-of-africa-central-
america-asia-till-2017/"> Severe drought to hit parts of Africa, Central America, Asia till 2017
</a> - Central America, parts of Africa and Asia have been hit by a drought that is generating a
severe food crisis.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/76854432/papua-new-guineas-food-bowl-is-all-
but-empty-as-drought-affects-2-million-people"> Papua New Guinea's food bowl all but empty </a> -
Drought exacerbated by El Nino pushes already-poor communities in Papua New Guinea to edge of
starvation.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/10-million-are-starving-in-ethiopia-facing-worst-
drought-in-decades/vi-BBpmuTS"> 10 Million Are Starving In Ethiopia,</a> Facing Worst Drought In
Decades. Ethiopia is facing a major food crisis, leaving 10 million hungry.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://missoulian.com/news/local/western-montana-counties-face-extreme-drought-conditions-
in-february/article_4535bd59-0bcf-56a1-9cb4-f3271feda562.html"> 4 western Montana counties face
extreme drought conditions </a> in February.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-weather-record-breaking-temps/article_b73cde80-d0c7-
11e5-b1f3-d724b8324cfe.html"> Arizona </a> - Wildflowers here “may bloom as much as two weeks
earlier than they did before 1980,” one flower expert estimates.
This week's warm temperatures are mimicking mid to late-April weather, and there were two days
near-record highs.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/nation-world/national/article60102236.html">
Where did El Nino go? </a> Winter has suddenly switched off the rain and flipped on heat up to 95
degrees in California, raising jitters that the strong El Nino might not be the drought-buster the
crispy state had hoped.
Heat records have fallen across the West in recent days, from Oregon to Phoenix to Los Angeles.
Much of California marked its 10th straight day on Friday without measurable precipitation.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.wcvb.com/weather/wild-temperature-ride-from-subzero-to-50-and-rain/37964694">
Boston </a> - Wild temperature ride: from subzero to 50 and rain. Bitter weekend cold from the north
will be followed by a storm coming up from the south next week. After the Boston area experiences
the coldest temperatures in about a decade, a storm will arrive from the south later Monday. Eastern
Massachusetts will likely climb toward 50 degrees on Tuesday.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/winters-becoming-more-rainy-across-us-20017"> Winters
Are Becoming More Rainy Across the U.S. </a> - In many locations across the country, the snow season
is getting shorter.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.inquisitr.com/2786875/climate-change-causes-unpredictable-weather-because-the-
earth-has-tilted-on-its-axis/"> Climate Change Causes Unpredictable Weather Because The Earth Has
Tilted On Its Axis? </a> - The words “climate change” makes most people think of global warming and
what man has done to cause it. The Inuits live in the arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, and the
United States.
The Inuit elders claim the sun is higher than it used to be, and it is in a different position. One
of the positive things about this change is that it gives the Inuit people longer daylight hours to
hunt. The downside of this is that the sun shines at a more direct angle, and it warms the area up
faster than it did before.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/la-nina-expected-next-months-first-time-since-190913814.html">
La Nina expected in next months for the first time since 2012 </a> - Even as the El Nino weather
phenomenon continues to impact global temperatures and crops, its counterpart La Nina is
increasingly expected to emerge in the coming months for the first time in four years.<br />
The return of La Nina, characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures, is possible later this
year, the U.S. government forecaster said Thursday. It joined other forecasters in projecting La
Nina could follow on the heels of one of the strongest El Ninos on record.
When La Nina last appeared from August 2011 to March 2012, it hurt corn and soybean crops in
Argentina and Brazil, brought the worst drought in a century to Texas and increased the number of
storms that threatened U.S. coastal regions, like Hurricane Irene.<br />
Energy and agricultural commodities have been roiled by the current and much-watched El Nino, which
involves a pattern of warmer ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific every few
years. Over the last year, El Nino has parched fields in the Philippines and Indonesia, brought
unseasonable rains to areas of South America, driven up global food prices, and caused flash floods
in Somalia that destroyed thousands of homes.
El Nino is likely to keep affecting temperature and precipitation patterns across the United States
in the upcoming months.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.amsmeteors.org/2016/02/brigt-fireball-over-socal-morning-sky/"> Bright fireball
over Southern California morning sky </a> - More than 65 witnesses have reported a large blue-green
fireball over southern california on Februray 11th around 6:35am PT (14:35 UT).
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroids-meteors-meteorites/medium-size-asteroid-strike-
could-unleash-ice-age-160211.htm">
Medium-Sized Asteroid Hit Could Unleash Ice Age </a> - It would be cold, it would be dry, it would be unpleasant.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35566109"> Creeping paralysis: Possible link to Zika virus </a> - The Zika virus has moved north to Colombia where it is being linked by some doctors to cases of paralysis.
<br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-18947070144414096102016-02-05T06:51:00.000-06:002016-02-05T06:51:41.850-06:00 Friday, February 5, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Sometimes things have to fall apart to make way for better things.** <br \> Ted Mosby
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.0 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.2 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.3 LUZON, PHILIPPINES
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 2/4/16 - <br />
5.2 LUZON, PHILIPPINES<br />
5.0 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.3 MOLUCCA SEA<br />
5.0 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION<br />
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND<br />
5.2 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.<br />
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND<br />
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND<br />
5.0 SOUTHWESTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA<br />
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
<br /><br />
2/3/16 - <br />
5.2 TIMOR REGION, INDONESIA<br />
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.livescience.com/53597-himalayan-fault-is-kinked.html"> Underground Ramp Makes
Himalayas 'Grow' Between Big Earthquakes </a> - A subterranean ramp that is part of a major fault in
the Himalayas may push up the earth after major earthquakes, new research has found.
The new study mapped the fault line where the Indian Plate is diving beneath the Eurasian Continental
Plate, which snakes across Tibet and Nepal. The fault is kinked, with one steeply diving "ramp" pushing
up material that forms the world's tallest mountain.<br />
The new study also corroborated other research that showed that the April 2015 Gorkha earthquake, which
killed at least 8,000 people and injured thousands more, did not even come close to releasing all the
stress on the fault. This pent-up energy means big earthquakes in the region could potentially happen
sooner than one would otherwise expect.<br />
The earthquake shifted Kathmandu 5 feet (1.5 meters) to the south and pushed it up by almost 24 inches
(60 cm). The quake also caused Mount Everest to shrink by about 1 inch (2.5 cm).
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.dailycal.org/2016/02/03/research-team-finds-link-fault-line-slippage-large-
earthquakes/"> Research team finds link between fault line slippage, large earthquakes </a> - Movement
along fault lines may be a strong indicator of when large earthquakes will occur. A report outlined its
findings on how slow-slip events — movements between large tectonic plates — that occurred along a
fault line approximately 1,000 kilometers long in Japan seemed to precede large earthquakes.
In Japan, tectonic plates press into one another, leading to slow-slips. This movement often results in
small earthquakes and, as slow-slips accelerate, larger ones.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/japans-sakurajima-volcano-not-far-nuclear-plant-erupts-103358585--
finance.html"> A Japanese volcano </a> about 50 km (30 miles) from a nuclear plant erupted on Friday,
sending fountains of lava into the night sky.
The Sakurajima volcano, on the southernmost main island of Kyushu, erupts frequently.
The Sendai nuclear plant, run by Kyushu Electric Power, and on the same island, resumed operations last
year. It was shut down, along with all of Japan's nuclear plants, after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami
triggered a meltdown at a nuclear plant north of Tokyo.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/76610592/sharks-thriving-in-a-volcano-crater-baffle-
scientists"> Sharks in a volcano! </a> - Kavachi, near the Solomon Islands, is one of the most active
submarine volcanoes in the world.
The volcano's peak lies 25 metres below the surface, and when it isn't erupting the crater is
overflowing with orange hydrothermal fluid which can be seen for a kilometre or more downstream.
A team of scientists studying its geothermal activity made the unexpected discovery of sharks swimming
around in the hot, acidic waters inside its crater.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
No current tropical storms.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/02/04/hurricane-patricia-winds-215-mph/79828370/">
Hurricane Patricia's winds reached a record 215 mph </a> as it roared toward the west coast of Mexico
in October. That's 15 mph greater than Patricia's previously thought top speed. It's the strongest wind
speed ever measured in a hurricane in the Western Hemisphere. The record was set while the storm was
offshore.
Before it hit land, the storm "weakened" to 150 mph. That still made Patricia the strongest hurricane
to ever make landfall in Mexico. <br />
Patricia hit a sparsely populated part of the country, limiting damage. Two people were killed and
10,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
In terms of barometric pressure, it was also the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western
Hemisphere and second-strongest recorded anywhere in the world, trailing only Typhoon Tip in 1979.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2016/02/04/extreme-power-rapidly-intensifying-cyclones-drive-
odd-phenomenon/"> Rapidly Intensifying Cyclones Drive Odd Phenomenon </a> - In October 2015, Hurricane
Patricia became the strongest storm ever measured by the National Hurricane Center. But what really
worried authorities was the speed at which Patricia amassed her strength. The storm’s sustained winds
increased from 85 miles per hour to 200 in 24 hours — the greatest 24-hour rise in intensity ever
observed in the satellite era.<br />
While forecast models have made huge strides in the last 30 years predicting the tracks of hurricanes,
they still have a difficult time predicting the rate at which a storm will intensify and become
dangerous. Now, a new study shows that storms like Patricia that grow rapidly are responsible for an
odd phenomenon in tropical cyclones overall: stronger storms are sometimes more common than moderate
ones. In this, tropical cyclones stand in stark contrast to most other kinds of weather systems, in
which stronger events are uniformly rarer than moderate ones.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/76470070/New-Zealand-and-Pacific-not-off-the-
hook-as-tropical-cyclone-season-starts-to-peak"> New Zealand and Pacific 'not off the hook'</a> as
tropical cyclone season starts to peak. Conditions are ripe for a tropical cyclone to form over the
southwest Pacific as storm season reaches its height.
Tropical cyclone season heats up in February and March, the busiest time of year for severe storms in
the southwest Pacific including New Zealand.
More than a dozen "named" cyclones are forecast to form as the strongest El Nino system in years
gathers energy.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/641231/UK-weather-storm-gales-torrential-rain-washout">
Britain is back on storm alert </a> as experts warn to brace for fierce gales and torrential downpours
in the coming days. More than two inches of rain is forecast in parts of the country with up to 90mph
winds threatening a washout weekend.
Stormy weather will make a comeback on Friday with the south in the firing line for the worst of the
battering at the weekend.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for heavy and persistent rain reigniting fears of
floods and travel mayhem.
Northern regions will be affected by downpours on Friday before a stubborn band of rain moves
southwards across the UK.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-04/record-breaking-heatwave-tipped-for-perth/7141498">
Australia </a> - Record-breaking heatwave tipped for Perth as experts warn of heatstroke.
Some suburbs will fare worse than others as Perth braces for a record-breaking heatwave.
Saturday's temperature is predicted to reach a maximum of 36 degrees Celsius, following 35 on Friday,
then Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are all expected to have temperatures of 40 degrees or above.
It was the combination of high daytime and high night-time temperatures expected that caused heatwave
conditions.<br />
"To put this into some sort of context we have never before experienced - since we started taking
observations at Mount Lawley in 1992 - a run of four consecutive days of 39 or above. And it's only
ever happened twice before since we started taking records back in the 1870s. So whilst we are in
February, and it's hot in February, these are the sorts of conditions that we've not experienced
before."
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/business-breaking/drought-fears-rise-as-lack-of-
january-rain-sets-records/"> Hawaii </a> - Drought fears rise as lack of January rain sets records.
Last month’s weather may have been great for the beach, but the lack of rain made it the driest January
on record in several locations in Hawaii.
“Drought impacts, mainly to the agriculture sector, started on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island and will
likely spread and intensify over the coming weeks." <br />
All of Oahu’s rain gauges recorded below average rainfall. Only .03 inches fell at the Honolulu
Airport, about 1 percent of the normal 2.3 inches for January, setting a new record for the month.
All of the rain gauges at lower elevations on Oahu — from Downtown Honolulu to Waianae — got less than
10 percent of normal rainfall. The highest rainfall total of 5.6 inches was recorded at Poamoho, but
that is still 31 percent of the average for January.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/02/04/1549625/maguindanao-farmers-lose-crops-due-drought">
Philippines </a> - Farmers in 17 of Maguindanao’s 36 towns lost their rice and corn crops to the now
two-month dry spell, feared to cause widespread hunger without downpours until summer.
Field workers are still validating reports on the extent of crop damage in the other 19 Maguindanao
towns. Rats had also destroyed vast swaths of rice and corn farms in Maguindanao last January.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.irinnews.org/report/102409/139-children-die-in-one-month-in-drought-hit-pakistan-
district"> Pakistan </a> - At least 139 children died of waterborne disease in January in Pakistan's impoverished
desert district of Tharparkar, which has been devastated by drought since 2013.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3239"> Absurd January
Warmth in Arctic Brings Record-Low Sea Ice Extent </a> -
This winter’s freezing season in the Arctic is falling short. The extent of Arctic sea ice this week is
hovering near record-low values for early February, based on observations that extend back to the start
of satellite monitoring in 1979. <br />
Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) shows that last month had the lowest overall
Arctic sea ice extent of any January in the satellite record. The total extent of 13.53 million square
kilometers (5.2 million square miles) was 1.04 million sq km below the 1981-2010 average and 90,000 sq
km below the record from January 2011.<br />
Only a few weeks are left before the return of polar sunshine puts an end to the freeze-up that
typically starts in September and peaks in late February or March. Last year’s maximum extent occurred
quite early - on February 25 - and it was the lowest in the satellite record, at 14.54 million square
kilometers. This year appears to have a reasonable shot at breaking that record.<br />
Hand in hand with the skimpy ice cover, temperatures across the Arctic have been extraordinarily warm
for midwinter. Just before New Year’s, a slug of mild air pushed temperatures above freezing to within
200 miles of the North Pole. That warm pulse quickly dissipated, but it was followed by a series of
intense North Atlantic cyclones that sent very mild air poleward, in tandem with a strongly negative
Arctic Oscillation during the first three weeks of the month.<br />
“January was absurdly warm in the Arctic." The average surface temperature in January between latitude
60°N and the North Pole was -18.2°C (-0.8°F), topping the previous record of -20.6°C (-5.1°F) set in
January 2005. Just above the surface (925 mb), the average January temperature of -14.2°C (5.9°F) was
well above the previous record of -16.5°C (0.7°F), also set in 2005. The fact that average readings at
this level are warmer than at the surface reflects the strong inversion typical of the lower Arctic
atmosphere, especially in winter, as cold air hugs the surface and milder air flows just above it.<br
/>
Some of the most visible ice-extent deficits right now are in the Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia.
Warm waters carried by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current (AMOC) can push all the way
northeast into the Barents, making it one of the most variable of the seas that fringe the Arctic.Sea
ice now covers less than half the area across the Barents that it did a year ago at this time. The
difference in area -roughly 350,000 square kilometers - is bigger than the state of New Mexico. (Note
that sea ice area is a somewhat different index than sea ice extent.)<br />
Near the northwest corner of the Barents Sea, temperatures in Svalbard, Norway - at 78°N, the
northernmost civilian community on Earth - have been far above average for the entire last month. From
January 5 to February 3, the average in Svalbard was -4.7°C (23.5°F), which is a full 19°F above the
norm - remarkable for a 30-day period. The coldest reading of the whole period, -11.9°C, was still
above the average January high of -13.0°C! Temperatures pushed above freezing on four days, reaching
4.5°C on January 24 (still not a monthly record, though). The WU forecast shows Svalbard remaining
unusually mild for at least the next week, with lows at or above the average highs.<br />
The outlook for 2016 - Most of the attention around Arctic sea ice has focused on the dramatic losses
in summertime, especially over the past decade. The minimum yearly extent set new record lows in 2007
and again in 2012. Both of these minimums were followed by a year or two of quasi-recovery, but then
the long-term trend toward lower summer minimums resumed.
Could 2016 set another new record minimum? It’s far too soon to make any confident predictions.<br />
A record-low maximum could give the ice a head start on 2016 melting, but the ultimate outcome will
depend mainly on weather patterns still to come, especially in early summer. Warm southerly winds and
clear, sunny skies during June and July can make a huge difference in paving the way for a record
minimum in September.
Those on the front lines of experimental sea ice prediction stress the role of weather conditions in
modulating how any one season will fare. <br />
“Because the atmosphere is mostly unpredictable beyond 1 or 2 weeks, the sea ice forecasts initialized
in late spring may not be able to accurately predict sea ice features that develop as a result of
extreme summer atmospheric conditions."
Idealized experiments suggest that the state of Arctic sea ice might be predictable with some skill as
far as two years in advance. To reach this theoretical goal, we would need major advances in both
Arctic observations and modeling.<br />
There’s another catch: climate change itself may make the task harder. “Interannual variability of
summer sea ice extent will likely increase in coming decades,nand some scientists suggest that this
might lead to a reduction in predictability.”
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> A small asteroid named "2013 TX68" will fly by Earth </a> on
March 5th, and NASA says it could come as close as 17,000 km to our planet's surface. That would put it
well inside the Clarke Belt of geosynchronous satellites. The space rock is about 30 meters wide, or
50% larger than the asteroid that broke up in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, three years ago.
If an asteroid the size of 2013 TX68 were to enter Earth's atmosphere, it would likely produce an air
burst with twice the energy of the Chelyabinsk event.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> OZONE HOLE FORMS OVER THE UK </a> - For the past week, sky
watchers in the UK have witnessed a rare apparition of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). Normally
restricted to the Arctic Circle, the fantastically colorful clouds have appeared over the British Isles
almost every day since Jan. 31st.<br />
PSCs form in the lower stratosphere when temperatures drop to a staggeringly-cold -85ºC. High-altitude
sunlight shining through tiny ice particles ~10µm wide produce bright iridescent colors by diffraction
and interference. But there is more to PSCs than ice. Some polar stratospheric clouds contain very
small droplets of naturally occurring nitric and sulphuric acids. These droplets destroy ozone.
Indeed, a temporary ozone hole has formed over Ireland and the UK. <br />
"The acid droplets destroy the stratospheric ozone layer that protects us from harmful solar ultra-
violet rays. They catalyse unreactive forms of man-made chlorine into active free radicals (for example
ClO, chlorine monoxide). The radicals destroy many ozone molecules in a series of chain reactions.."
<br />
This outbreak of PSCs is truly unusual. "Prior to this outbreak I have seen PSCs over the UK only twice
in the last 20 years! This episode is exceptional at such low latitudes."
<br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-15076449170589562262016-02-03T01:24:00.000-06:002016-02-03T01:28:56.134-06:00 Wednesday, February 3, 2016 AND the week prior <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.** <br \> Martin Luther King
Jr.
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
None 5.0 or larger.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 2/2/16 - <br />
5.7 NORTHEAST OF TAIWAN<br />
5.6 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
<br /><br />
2/1/16 - <br />
5.2 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, N.Z.<br />
6.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION<br /><br />
1/31/16 - <br />
5.3 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.<br />
6.0 BALLENY ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.0 CENTRAL PERU<br />
5.6 ADMIRALTY ISLANDS REGION, P.N.G.
<br /><br />
1/30/16 - <br />
5.3 ADMIRALTY ISLANDS REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.5 BISMARCK SEA<br />
5.1 KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA<br />
7.2 KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA<br />
5.0 OFF COAST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA<br />
5.3 KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.1 STATE OF YAP, MICRONESIA
<br /><br />
1/29/16 - <br />
5.3 COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.2 MOLUCCA SEA<br />
5.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.0 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES<br />
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
<br /><br />
1/28/16 - <br />
5.0 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
<br /><br />
1/27/16 - <br />
5.3 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
5.0 TONGA<br />
5.1 STATE OF YAP, MICRONESIA
<br /><br />
1/26/16 - <br />
5.2 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN<br />
5.0 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.2 SUMBA REGION, INDONESIA<br />
5.1 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.4 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.0 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.4 FIJI REGION<br />
6.0 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.0 FIJI REGION
<br /><br />
1/25/16 - <br />
5.4 NORTH OF HALMAHERA, INDONESIA<br />
5.0 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR<br />
5.2 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR<br />
5.3 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR<br />
5.0 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR<br />
6.3 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR<br />
5.1 PALAU REGION<br />
5.7 TONGA
<br /><br />
1/24/16 - <br />
5.1 NORTH OF SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA<br />
7.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA<br />
5.2 SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS
<br /><br />
1/23/16 - <br />
5.5 EASTER ISLAND REGION<br />
5.2 VANUATU<br />
5.1 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
<br /><br />
1/22/16 - <br />
5.1 SOUTHERN IRAN<br />
5.5 VANUATU REGION<br />
5.3 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
<br /><br />
1/21/16 - <br />
5.0 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA<br />
6.5 OFF COAST OF JALISCO, MEXICO<br />
5.0 STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR<br />
5.2 SOUTHWEST INDIAN RIDGE<br />
5.4 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND<br />
5.0 MOLUCCA SEA<br />
5.1 TONGA REGION
<br /><br />
1/20/16 - <br />
5.1 KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.9 NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA<br />
5.4 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
<br /><br />
1/19/16 - <br />
5.0 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA<br />
5.4 SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS<br />
5.0 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.5 TAIWAN REGION<br />
5.3 SIMEULUE, INDONESIA<br />
5.5 TAIWAN REGION<br />
5.2 SIMEULUE, INDONESIA<br />
<br /><br />
1/18/16 - <br />
5.1 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA<br />
5.9 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS<br />
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.2 NORTH OF HONDURAS<br /><br />
1/17/16 - <br />
5.0 MID-INDIAN RIDGE<br />
5.2 BANDA SEA<br />
5.1 CUBA REGION<br />
5.2 CUBA REGION<br /><br />
1/16/16 - <br />
5.4 SERAM, INDONESIA<br />
5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.2 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA<br />
5.1 FIJI REGION<br />
5.2 OFF COAST OF BIO-BIO, CHILE
<br /><br />
1/15/16 - <br />
5.2 LA RIOJA, ARGENTINA
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/18/one-dead-22-injured-quake-hits-maluku.html">
Indonesia </a> - One dead, 22 injured as quake hits Maluku. A 5.4 magnitude quake that struck South
Buru regency in Maluku on Sunday killed one and injured many others. 19 suffered light injuries and
three suffered serious injuries in the quake.
The quake, at a depth of 10 kilometers, hit the southern part of Maluku's Buru Island on Sunday at 6:22
a.m.
It was also felt in the neighboring regency of Buru, damaging hundreds of houses and a mosque.
The local administration and South Buru Disaster Mitigation Agency had difficulty managing the disaster
and assisting victims because of limited access, high waves and bad weather in reaching the affected
location.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Rattled-Oklahoma-ponders-quake-control-6767720.php">
In Oklahoma, now the U.S.'s earthquake capital,</a> people are talking nervously about the big one as
man-made quakes get stronger, more frequent and closer to major population centers.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.adn.com/article/20160126/mushing-through-71-quake-rolling-cracking-spurting-river-
ice"> Alaska </a> - Mushing through a 7.1 quake on rolling, cracking, spurting river ice </a> -
While many Alaskans were uneasy during Sunday’s magnitude-7.1 earthquake, most had the security of
being at home, close to family and near reliable Internet and phone lines to find out exactly what
happened and where the worst damage occurred.
However, some mushers, including those competing in the weekend’s Northern Lights 300 Sled Dog Race
from Big Lake to Finger Lake and back, did not have such modern conveniences.<br />
“It was the longest two minutes of my life... One of the last places I want to be during a 7.1
earthquake was running dogs down the middle of a frozen river. The ice was rippling and waving like a
waterbed when someone jumps up and down on it. I was having a hard time keeping my feet. As the ice
rolled and jumped, it cracked and snapped all around me. Water came shooting up through the cracks, and
I was trying to figure out if we were all going to wash away.”
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.sott.net/article/311091-Continuous-tremor-under-Puget-Sound-as-Washington-state-
continues-rattling-since-4-3-earthquake-on-December-30th"> Puget Sound, Washington </a> - A continuous
tremor has been shaking from Vancouver Island south toward Olympia.
Hundreds of tremors registered across the Pacific Northwest within a 25-hour span starting Monday.
The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network plotted 427 tremors on a map.
"What's happening is there's an episode where the deep plate boundary is kind of rumbling." The tremor
can last three weeks and happens about once a year. It's been shaking 30 miles under Puget Sound since
Dec. 22. <br />
A seismologist believes the tremor is related to the 4.3 earthquake that shook under Victoria,
British Columbia on Dec. 30. That quake was the largest in the Puget Sound region since the Nisqually
quake of 2001. Seismologists are not alarmed.
<br /><br/>
<a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/quake-summit-set-after-nw-quake-story-
shakes-up-white-house/"> Really Big One’ article puts NW earthquake risk on White House agenda </a> -
A story in The New Yorker about the Northwest’s coming megaquake and tsunami helped inspire the White
House to plan a seismic resilience summit.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<a href="http://glacierhub.org/2016/02/02/a-glacier-covered-volcano-in-chile-will-it-erupt-soon/">
Chile </a> - Several recent events suggest that a set of glacier-covered volcanoes in the southern
Chilean region of Bío-Bío, which have been showing increasing activity since December, may be likely to
erupt. The three mountains, known as the Nevados de Chillán, reach over 3200 meters in elevation, and
have a set of glaciers totaling over 2 square kilometers in area on their summits. They have a long
record of eruptions, with historical documentation from the 17th century. Radiocarbon evidence records
eruptions that took place about 8000 years ago.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/92143.html"> Azerbaijan's largest volcano awakes </a> - One
of the largest volcanoes of Azerbaijan Akhtarma Pashali awoke in the country’s Hajigabul region on the
night of January 25. The mud volcano has ceased erupting. No victims were reported, as no settlements
are located around the area.
Akhtarma Pashali is located in 35 kilometers of the city of Shirvan. The diameter of the crater is
approximately 10 square kilometers.
The last eruption of this mud volcano occurred in 1963, while the first eruption of the volcano was
reported in 1948. Over a thousand mud volcanoes are known to exist in the world.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-arequipa-misti-volcano-is-awake-108691"> Peru </a> -
Arequipa: Misti volcano is awake. The last eruption of great magnitude at Misti was 2,000 years ago.
The Misti volcano has long been considered ‘asleep.’ However, studies by the Southern Volcano
Observatory reveal that it is awake and emitting gases. It is currently considered the greatest risk in
the South American country, as thousands of habitants reside near its crater.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://californiablog.org/content/worlds-most-dangerous-volcanoes-popocat%C3%A9petl-
billowing-vast-clouds-black-smoke-and-ash"> The Popocatépetl volcano </a> is one of the most dangerous
volcanoes of the world, located 35 miles from Mexico City. It billowed huge clouds of black smoke and
ash on Saturday.
People living within a distance of 10 miles from the mountain are on yellow alert, which means they are
all set to evacuate immediately in case activity increases. Before the last Popocatépetl eruption in
2000, 41,000 people were evacuated beforehand, due to early warnings.
With 20 million people, Mexico City is the fourth biggest city in the world.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.examiner.com/article/ancient-ice-caves-inside-hawaii-s-volcano-mauna-loa-danger-
of-melting"> Hawaii </a> - Mauna Loa is considered one of the largest active volcanoes on the face of
the earth. Lava reaching temperatures over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit cover almost 90 percent of Mauna
Loa, so one of the last things you would expect to find there are ice caves. The “Mauna Loa Ice cave”
and the “Arsia Cave” are hidden more than 11,000 feet up Mauna Loa’s northern slope and are in danger
of a complete meltdown.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/637849/Pompeii-2-Super-volcano-time-bomb-that-could-
explode-anytime-puts-2million-at-risk"> Half of the three million people living in Naples </a> in Italy
have now been told they live within a new yellow danger zone of the Vesuvius supervolcano, the infamous
peak which was responsible for the historic destruction of Pompeii in 79AD.
People have been warned in the event of a catastrophic eruption those in the yellow zone could be hit
by falling ash and rocks.<br />
Officials in the city have added around 1.5 million people living in 63 towns and villages on the
outskirts of Naples to an existing red-zone of 600,000 people, within the closest 200 square kilometres
to the peak, who were already deemed most at risk - taking the total to 2.1 million.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/637204/Panic-volcano-about-to-blow-amid-fears-lava-
sparked-forest-blaze-which-could-kill"> Philippines</a> - Authorities in Lanao del Sur are investigating
the cause of a fire that destroyed the mountain forests of Butig town near Cagayan de oro City, in the
Philippines on Thursday night, with the nearby Mount Makaturing volcano high on the suspect
list.
The magma mount is one of the most active in the Philippines and sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. <br
/>
The 1,940-metre peak is believed to have erupted 10 times in the past, and could be due another as the
last on record was in March 1882. According to locals, heavy smoke enveloped the area near the town as
well as Alamada in Wao town and the blaze appeared "lava-like," as it glowed from the distance
throughout Thursday night and into the early hours.
Officials will probe if there is a connection between the volcano and the forest fire and the risk of
any eruptions.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/636082/Fears-erupting-volcano-could-kill-hundreds-as-
people-given-gas-masks-and-ordered-to-flee"> Indonesia </a> - More than 1,200 people Wednesday remained
evacuated from a 1.9-mile containment zone around Mount Egon in Kupang, eastern Indonesia, after toxic
gas and volcanic ash erupted Tuesday. Within a 400 mile radius of Mount Egon there are also 25 other
volcanoes and five of them are said to be currently erupting, while there are ten other eruption
warnings in place.<br />
Russia - There are fears seismic activity is also growing in the area around the Zhupanovsky volcano.
Officials in Russia had to cancel flights near the Zhupanovsky volcano on Russia's eastern coast after
it spewed lava five miles into the air, also Tuesday.
The Russian explosion affected local air traffic, but the huge ash cloud is also drifting east over the
Pacific Ocean so the impact on flights could be much wider.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.discovery.com/earth/weather-extreme-events/el-nino-wave-flips-a-car-160127.htm">
Chile </a> - If you thought Snowpocalypse 2016 was bad, be thankful that you weren’t along the coast of
central Chile. El Niño whipped up a storm in the Pacific Ocean that battered the Chilean resort city
of Viña del Mar. The waves rushing into the streets were so powerful that a wall of water actually
engulfed a government SUV, overturning it.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPypT9dOvSY"> Oregon </a> - Sneaker wave south of Coos Bay:
Caught on camera. The owner of the High Tide Cafe in Coos Bay, was recording the scene at the beach
when a sneaker wave came in, sending him and others scrambling for safety.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/ancient-850-foot-tsunami-could-happen-again-
151002.htm"> There is evidence that a 9,300-foot-tall volcano on the island of Fogo, </a> one of the
world’s largest and most active volcanoes, collapsed during an eruption 73,000 years ago and generated
an 840 foot wave so big that it swept over nearby Santiago Island. The findings raise the possibility
that Fogo or another volcano could cause a similarly scary event today. Other volcanic islands,
including some in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, are close to heavily-populated areas.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://galwaybayfm.ie/safety-warnings-as-hurricane-force-gusts-set-to-batter-galway/">
Ireland</a> - Safety warnings Monday as hurricane force gusts set to batter Galway. The Road Safety
Authority and Galway City and County Councils have issued safety warnings as hurricane force gusts were
expected to batter Galway. Storm Henry was making landfall this lunchtime, bringing gusts of up to 130
kilometers per hour.
A status orange wind warning – MET Eireann’s second highest alert level – was issued for Galway and
eight other counties.<br />
A second yellow wave alert was in place for Galway’s coastal regions, as high winds were expected to
result in exceptional wave heights of up to 15 metres.
The RSA said drivers should beware of fallen debris and strong crosswinds on exposed roads.
Galway City Council was advising people to exercise extreme caution outdoors, especially near exposed
shores.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
No current tropical storms. <br /><br />
<a href="http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/state-briefs-emergency-response-shelter-planned-
for-bolivar-peninsula/article_f6bd2d4e-8855-55cf-b4df-7900299a1558.html"> Texas </a> - Galveston County
commissioners have approved final plans for a $4.2 million hurricane emergency response shelter on the
highest spot on Bolivar Peninsula.
The agreement was recently reached with the High Island Independent School District. The 9,500-
square-foot gymnasium-type building will be constructed, starting in March, on school property.<br />
The building, reinforced to withstand hurricane-force winds, will not be an emergency shelter during
mandatory evacuations. If a hurricane hits, the structure will be the base camp for emergency personnel
to distribute supplies and park vehicles.
Hurricane Ike slammed Galveston in 2008 and caused $29 billion in damage. More than three dozen people
died.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/photos-a-cyclone-which-started-in-wa-made-it-to-port-
lincoln-3200km-away-2016-2"> Australia</a> - Port Lincoln is experiencing severe flooding after being
hit by the remnants of Cyclone Stan more than 3,200km away.
The city located on the Eyre Peninsula in the Australian experienced strong rainfall after ex-Cyclone
Stan crossed the South Australian border last night.
The rain has hampered drivers and businesses with reports that there was 50mm of rain recorded at 9am
with an additional 20mm recorded at lunchtime.<br />
Cyclone Stan was previously a category two system with residents in Western Australia’s Pilbara region
preparing for a potential category three cyclone over the weekend after a red-alert warning was issued.
The ex-cyclone has since been downgraded but it was still strong enough to wreak havoc on Port
Lincoln, 3,206km away from Pilbara, before sweeping through Adelaide.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2016/02/01/strong-2016-2017-atlantic-hurricane-seasons-
predicted-gwo#axzz3z4i6TXjD#k4otK5bOiR7tRpCC.99">Global Weather Oscillations says the 2016 - 2017
Atlantic hurricane season </a> will be the strongest in over 4 years.
GWO has issued the most accurate predictions of any organization over the past 7 years, and says -
unlike the past three hurricane seasons that were dominated by hostile atmospheric conditions that
subdued hurricane activity since 2013, and during the 2015 El Niño season - The next few years will be
in a “Climate Pulse Hurricane Enhancement Cycle” that will provide very favorable conditions for
development of tropical storms and hurricanes.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201602020869.html"> Raining fish in Ethiopia </a> - Unusual
fish-rain occurred on Sunday at 11: 30 pm in Dire Dawa City in the Eastern part of Ethiopia for a few
minutes both in rural and urban areas.
People in these areas were stunned by the occurrence.
The Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute Livestock Director said that this phenomena occurs due to
cyclone. In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same
direction as the Earth. <br />
This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counterclockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. If it is high cyclone, it can pick up fish with
the help of air and come again down not far from the sea.
"But I do not think it sprung from the Red Sea. It could not happen due to simple cyclone for it does
not have the capacity to jack up fish."
"We have information but we dispatched a team of professionals to examine the causes and consequences
of the occurrence as it is the first of its kind in the country."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-snake-invasion-forces-beach-closures-175802193.html"> An
invasion of poisonous snakes </a> washed downriver in recent floods forced authorities to close beaches
to summer holidaymakers in northern Argentina, officials said Monday.
Floodwaters in the Rio Plata and Rio Parana carried a species of water lily and with it countless
crawling, slithering creatures, south to beaches at the mouths of those rivers near Buenos Aires.<br />
"We are raising awareness of the risk and danger present today. There are otters and species of snakes
that are poisonous. The beaches of Quilmes have been closed as a precaution. We were cleaning up the
coast during the week and while doing so we saw the snakes under the water lilies."<br />
Inland river beaches were also closed over the weekend in the northern city of Rosario.
Locals there spotted displaced animals such as otters, a wild boar and a fox cub as well as snakes,
scorpions and stinging insects.
Water covered the beaches and even the terraces of seaside bars in Rosario, as summer temperatures
reached 40 degrees Celsius. "It is dangerous because when there is not much beach there is more risk of
coming into direct contact with rodents or snakes, whose dens are all flooded."
Experts have blamed severe flooding in recent weeks in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on the El Nino
extreme weather phenomenon.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/village-suffers-biblical-non-stop-7186400"> United
Kingdom </a> - Village suffers 'biblical' non stop rain for 81 DAYS and even the livestock are
'depressed'.
Rain has fallen every day in the Welsh village of Eglwyswrw since October 26 and residents, farmers and
their animals are all fed up.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/STORM-Jonas-hit-Bristol-today-called-Jonas/story-28609925-
detail/story.html"> This year the Met Office announced a new scheme to name the most furious storms to
hit Britain </a> - Storm Jonas hit Bristol Wednesday, bringing with it flooding and strong gusts.
The Met Office confirmed it would not be naming this storm, which has killed nearly 30 people in the
United States, because its impact and intensity has not been strong enough.
But forecasters said that, had the storm ticked the criteria worthy of a name, it would have used Jonas
rather than selecting Gertrude - which is next on the Met Office's alphabetically ordered list.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/27/flood-warnings-in-place-as-met-forecasts-icy-
conditions"> Flood warnings in place as Met forecasts more rain for UK </a> -
Cumbrian village of Glenridding flooded for fourth time this winter as more rain is forecast for end of
week followed by cold snap at weekend.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for rain across much of the country as the tail-end of the
storm that battered the US at the weekend continued to sweep in from the Atlantic with more heavy rain
expected on Friday.
More than a dozen flood warnings remain in place for parts of north-west, north-east and south-west
England and Wales.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.9news.com.au/wild-weather/2016/01/27/15/06/severe-thunderstorm-warning-issued-as-
storm-cell-rolls-through-geelong"> Australia </a> - One-in-100-year' rainfall triggers flash flooding
in Geelong and surrounds. (Photos and video at link)
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/extreme-weather-warning-supercell-bring-severe-
sto/2913122/"> Australia</a> - Darling Downs residents have been warned to brace for a massive storm
and 'super cell' expected to reach the region tomorrow, bringing with it damaging weather conditions.
Higgins Storm Chasers have issued a warning with a surface and upper trough bringing large hail, up to
8cm in diameter, damaging winds over 90kmhr, heavy rain with flash flooding and frequent lightning.
The system will peak on Friday as a very potent storm set up.<br />
"As far as severe storm set ups are concerned this ranks in the top five over the past 12 months and
people need to be made well aware of the dangerous potential during Friday."
There is an extreme risk of severe storms and possible supercells are forecast to heavily impact the
entire South East of the state including central districts on Friday.
The rare weather conditions are stretching over 2000kms up and down Eastern Australia.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35346453"> French Foreign Legionnaires killed in Alps
avalanche </a> - Five French Foreign Legionnaires have been killed and six injured in an avalanche
while on a training exercise in the Alps.
The avalanche came down close to Valfrejus, not far from the Italian border, where some 50 soldiers
were training off-piste.
Search dogs and helicopters immediately began looking for the soldiers.
Last week, two school pupils and a Ukrainian tourist were killed by an avalanche nearby.<br />
A teacher is under investigation for manslaughter after he apparently led his pupils on to a closed ski
run shortly before the avalanche in Les Deux Alpes, 124km (80 miles) away from Valfrejus.
Heavy snow has fallen in the Savoie region recently.
About 10 of the military team were immediately found by rescuers - but five had gone into cardiac
arrest, and died.
All the soldiers taking part in the exercises had avalanche detection kits, and rescuers were on the
scene within minutes. <br />
Two of those found by rescuers were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia.
"For now the circumstances aren't very clear. We're still trying to carry out the rescue and trying to
count everyone in the area, to know if we still have people there who've been buried."
In 2012, an avalanche swept away five members of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment, killing one.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/us/winter-weather-iowa-nebraska/"> Winter storm in Midwest;
tornadoes punch Deep South </a> - Heavy snow and high winds continued to sweep across much of the
Midwest with near-blizzard force on Tuesday, causing highway closures in Nebraska and flight
cancellations in Colorado. Nasty weather also hammered the South, with tornado warnings issued in
Mississippi and Alabama. At least two tornadoes hit Mississippi.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-27363-Drought+Farmers+fear+the+worst/news.aspx"> Zimbabwe
</a> - Drought: Farmers fear the worst. Farmers have already lost cattle and crops in the severest
drought to hit the nation in a quarter of a century. But the worst may be yet to come.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/active/12122794/Low-water-levels-at-Victoria-Falls-highlight-
southern-Africas-worst-drought-in-30-years.html"> Low water levels at Victoria Falls highlight southern
Africa’s worst drought in 30 years </a> - Tourists post pictures on social media of iconic falls known
as “The Smoke That Thunders” looking decidedly tame as farmers endure record drought that will cause
hunger across the continent.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/drought-pushes-australian-wildlife-into-crowded-
care/443676"> Drought pushes Australian wildlife into crowded care </a> - North Queensland wildlife
carers are overrun with animals in care as drought conditions continue over much of the state.
"It has just been dry for so long. We haven't had a good wet season really since Cyclone Yasi, so since
then it has just been getting worse and worse." The group would normally attend about 500 macropods
(kangaroos and wallabies) each year, but last year the number was more than 800.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.care.org/newsroom/press/press-releases/el-ni%C3%B1o-urgent-need-support-drought-
affects-14-million-people-southern"> El Niño: Urgent Need for Support as Drought Affects 14 Million
People in Southern Africa </a> - Families in drought-affected areas in southern Mozambique are rapidly
running out of food, after the poor harvest of the previous year.
<br /><br />
<a href="https://www.trunews.com/ethiopia-seeks-donor-support-to-meet-drought-needs/">
Ethiopia </a> urged international donors on Sunday to offer aid promptly for relief operations to
support 10.2 million people critically short of food, and said it was committed to allocating as much
of its own funds as necessary.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/2nd-disastrous-drought-year-endangered-california-salmon-
36651691">
2nd Disastrous Drought Year for Endangered California Salmon</a> - Endangered native salmon suffered a
second straight disastrous year in California's drought, with all but 3 percent of the latest
generation dying in too-shallow, too-hot rivers, federal officials said Monday.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3225">
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has embarked on a whole new version of its international
cloud atlas,</a> used by weather observers worldwide to ensure that clouds are described in a uniform
fashion. The atlas was first published in 1939 based on work extending back to the 1800s. This opens
the door for entirely new ways of presenting and documenting the world’s seemingly endless variety of
clouds.<br />
Another cool feature this time: you’ve got a chance to pitch in. The WMO launched a website in October
that allows anyone to submit their photos and videos for consideration in the upcoming atlas. Your
odds of getting imagery accepted will be highest if you go for the more obscure, harder-to-document
cloud types and if you can provide details on the geographic and meteorological context of your image
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://katesolomon.tumblr.com/post/137611689604/prof-stephen-hawking-has-more-bad-news-for">
Prof Stephen Hawking Has More Bad News For Humanity: We’re About To Wipe Ourselves Out </a> - he said
that our rush to understand and improve life through science and technology could be humanity’s
undoing.
He has previously suggested that colonising other planets will be the only way that the human race can
survive, but he warns that we may lose Earth to some kind of major disaster before we have a chance to
properly do so.
Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over
time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years.<br />
By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not
mean the end of the human race.
"However, we will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years,
so we have to be very careful in this period.”
It’s not the first time the professor has mongered doom; he has previously warned that AI robots will
wipe us out unless we ban them first and that hostile aliens are about to destroy us.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://robwaugh74.tumblr.com/post/137612598604/this-could-be-humanitys-last-century-
scientist"> The 21st century could be humanity’s last,</a> according a leading scientific thinker - and
what replaces us could be very strange indeed.
Seth Shostak of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute in Mountain View,
California argues that three big scientific advances are on the cusp of changing humans forever.<br />
‘We can eventually produce offspring that are as different from us as dogs are from gray wolves.
‘The haphazard, bottom-up alterations to our species occasioned by Darwinian evolution will yield to
the directed improvements of future engineers.
Shostak believes that three technologies - genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and space
travel - are about to change the human race forever.<br />
Technologies such as ‘designer babies’ and computers which connect directly to human minds will soon
change us profoundly.
‘The development of general artificial intelligence will surely be the most dramatic driver of change,
because it is less a matter of improving our descendants than replacing them with our engineered
successors.
‘Perhaps we can promulgate our culture and ourselves by putting chips in our brains or simply uploading
our brains to the machines. But you can be sure that the result will not be Homo sapiens as we’ve known
him for 50 thousand years.<br />
He also says that genetically engineered humans will not just be possible - but inevitable.
‘The relentless interplay of science and technology ensures that genomic knowledge will spawn a growing
number of applications. Curing disease is one of these, and it’s obviously desirable. But our efforts
won’t be limited to merely fixing ourselves; we’ll also opt for improvement. You may hesitate to
endorse designer babies, but hot-rodding our children is as much on the horizon as the morning sun.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-nino-rain-deadly-mushrooms-california/"> El Nino rain spurring
growth of deadly mushrooms </a> - El Nino rain is helping to alleviate California's drought, but it's
also spurring the growth of mushrooms that can be deadly to pets.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/">
COLORFUL CLOUDS IN THE STRATOSPHERE </a> - Clouds in the stratosphere are very rare. Yet for the past
week they have been seen every day.
These fantasticaly-colored clouds are floating more than 80,000 feet above Earth's surface. Normally,
the thin air up there is crystal clear. Not this week. Water molecules are crystalizing in the lower
stratosphere and the resulting ice crystals are assembling into polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs).
<br />
Also known as "nacreous" clouds, PSCs form in the lower stratosphere when temperatures drop to a
staggeringly-cold -85ºC. High-altitude sunlight shining through tiny ice particles ~10µm wide produce
bright iridescent colors by diffraction and interference.
Because these clouds require extreme cold, they are most often seen around the Arctic Circle. In recent
days, however, they have been spotted as far south as the UK. Indeed, a "stratospheric cloud event"
appears to be underway.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://qz.com/596514/its-possible-that-there-is-a-mirror-universe-where-time-moves-backwards-
say-scientists/?utm_source=YPL"> It’s possible that there is a “mirror universe” where time moves
backwards,</a> say scientists. Although we experience time in one direction—we all get older, we have
records of the past but not the future—there’s nothing in the laws of physics that insists time must
move forward.
In trying to solve the puzzle of why time moves in a certain direction, many physicists have settled on
entropy, the level of molecular disorder in a system, which continually increases. But two separate
groups of prominent physicists are working on models that examine the initial conditions that might
have created the arrow of time, and both seem to show time moving in two different directions.
When the Big Bang created our universe, these physicists believe it also created an inverse mirror
universe where time moves in the opposite direction.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35341643"> Why hasn't the mystery of Gulf War Syndrome been
solved? </a> - The term Gulf War Syndrome first hit the headlines after US and British soldiers
reported unusual symptoms on their return home. The two governments set up disease registers, with more
than 100,000 veterans being assessed, but these failed to find a pattern to symptoms which could
indicate a new condition. <br />
A study in 2009 found Gulf veterans were two to three times more likely to report 53 different
symptoms, including chronic fatigue and nerve pain, compared with soldiers deployed to Bosnia. None of
the symptoms were unique to the Gulf War, but they were experienced in far higher numbers.
"They're known as medically unexplained physical symptoms...there is no obvious physical problem
causing it."<br />
One popular theory was that soldiers had become ill after exposure to depleted uranium in tank shells.
However, troops not exposed to this were just as likely to suffer chronic health problems later on. The
same was true of those exposed to fumes from burning oil wells. In fact, no link could be found between
veteran ill health and specific jobs or tasks.
Pesticides have also been suggested as a cause, perhaps affecting the nervous system. But detailed
studies found no evidence of damage that could explain this.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.realfarmacy.com/flu-shot-deaths/"> Healthy People Who Were Vaccinated for the Flu
Continue Dying </a> - More deaths among otherwise healthy people are being reported all across the
United States among children and adults who received this year’s flu vaccination.
The flu shot causes Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and is not very effective in preventing the flu. He also
explains that the CDC does not follow the law for vaccines in requiring long-term safety testing for
the influenza vaccine like they do with other vaccines, as it is impossible to test a vaccine that
changes every year.<br />
So the flu vaccine is basically an experimental vaccine that they want to give out to 300 million
people every year. There are also no studies showing the safety of giving the flu vaccine to the same
person every single year. However, Dr. Geier points out that the CDC is in the business of distributing
flu vaccines, because they represent 300 million doses per year, whereas all the childhood vaccines
together only number 20 million.<br />
He goes on to explain that flu is “the wrong thing to vaccinate against” because you have to keep re-
vaccinating against it every year, unlike childhood infectious diseases, such as smallpox, that are
only vaccinated for once.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/dole-salad-recalled-after-listeria-kills-1-sickens-
12-n502311"> One person has died and 12 others are hospitalized after eating packaged salads</a> linked
to a listeria outbreak. The salads were sold under a variety of names and came from a processing
facility in Springfield, Ohio, run by Dole.
The dozen who were hospitalized come from six states - Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania and Indiana. The fatality was in Michigan. Reports about these infections started coming
in July.<br />
The CDC is warning people not to eat salads packaged under the name Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple
Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President's Choice. The salads are sold to restaurants as
well. If you have one of these packaged salads in your fridge look for the letter "A" at the beginning
of the manufacturing code. Those are the ones you want to throw away.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/food-bill-marler-food-safety-lawyer-wont-
eat_us_56a77589e4b0172c659414ef?ir=Healthy+Living§ion=us_healthy-living&utm_hp_ref=healthy-living">
6 Things A Food Poisoning Expert Refuses To Eat </a> -
Pre-cut and pre-washed produce. Uncooked sprouts. Red meat cooked medium rare, especially ground meat.
Raw oysters and other raw shellfish. Raw or undercooked eggs. Unpasteurized (“raw”) milk and
unpasteurized packaged juices.
<br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a> with extra articles throughout the day.
</b>
Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-56822791969720968342016-01-15T05:20:00.000-06:002016-01-15T05:20:46.460-06:00 Friday, January 15, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Expectations are the enemy of happiness.<br /> They can raise the bar so high that your experience is bound
to fall short.** <br />
Eric Weiner
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
None 5.0 or larger.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 1/14/16 - <br />
5.4 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES<br />
5.3 MACQUARIE ISLAND REGION<br />
5.2 FIJI REGION<br />
5.1 TONGA <br />
5.1 FLORES REGION, INDONESIA<br />
6.6 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION<br />
6.1 SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-life-observatory-under-sea-144600807.html">
Volcanic eruptions at the bottom of the sea </a> are at the heart of how the Earth works, yet we know
surprisingly little about them. About 70% of the volcanism on Earth occurs underwater.
But now, thanks to a network of seafloor sensors connected to the internet, scientists are starting to
get a glimpse of the fundamental processes that shape our planet.<br />
This "ocean observatory" is situated atop an underwater mountain range off the coast from Oregon and
Washington, and can measure everything from the rumbles of deep-sea earthquakes to the chemical burps
of volcanic vents. And it just went online this month. One of the exciting things scientists can do
with this observatory is predict volcanic eruptions and monitor them while they're occurring.
Earthquakes tell scientists about how the ground is deforming, which can provide clues that there's
going to be an eruption.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the North Atlantic Ocean - <br />
Hurricane Alex - Conditions deteriorating over the central and eastern Azores. Hurricane conditions
expected over portions of the Azores later this morning.<br />
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira in the central
Azores.<br />
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Sao Miguel and Santa Maria in the eastern Azores.<br />
Alex is expected to produce total rain accumulations of
3 to 5 inches over the Azores through today, with possible isolated
maximum amounts of 7 inches. These rains could produce
life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.
A dangerous storm surge is expected to produce
significant coastal flooding near and to the east of the center of
Alex. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and
destructive waves.
<br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Seven is located approximately 320 nm east
of Pago Pago, American Samoa.
<br /><br />
* In the Central Pacific - <br />
Remnants of Pali dissipating near the Equator far southwest of Hawaii.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3223"> Alex Becomes the
Atlantic’s First January Hurricane Since 1955 </a> -
History spun up over the far reaches of the Northeast Atlantic on Thursday, as Subtropical Storm Alex
carved out a distinct eye within a core of intense thunderstorms, making it Hurricane Alex. The 10 am
EST advisory from the National Hurricane Center put Alex’s sustained winds at 85 mph. Alex was located
about 500 miles south of Faial Island in the Azores, moving north-northeast at 20 mph. <br />
A hurricane warning is in effect for the islands of Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira in
the central Azores. Given the strong steering currents driving Alex, there is high confidence that at
least some of the central Azores will experience tropical storm or hurricane-force wind, heavy rain,
and high surf. To get a hurricane making landfall in the Azores any time of year is quite unusual
(about once per 10-20 years); to get a landfall in January would be truly remarkable. <br />
Designated a subtropical storm on Wednesday, Alex took on a surprisingly healthy structure overnight,
with a symmetric core of showers and thunderstorms around its clear-cut eye. Sea-surface temperatures
beneath Alex are only around 20-22°C (68-72°F). Although these are up to 1°C above average for this
time of year, they are far cooler than usually required for tropical cyclone development. However,
upper-level temperatures near Alex are unusually cold for the latitude, which means that instability -
driven by the contrast between warm, moist lower levels and cold, drier upper levels - is higher than
it would otherwise be. That instability allowed showers and thunderstorms to blossom and consolidate,
strengthening the warm core that makes Alex a hurricane as opposed to an extratropical or subtropical
storm.<br />
Alex’s unusual life as a January hurricane will be a short one. The system is already accelerating
northward ahead of a strong upper-level trough, and by late Friday it should be a powerful post-
tropical low racing toward Greenland. Even though Alex will become absorbed in the higher-latitude
storm system, its warm, moist air may assist in pushing temperatures over parts of Greenland more than
35°F above average this weekend into early next week.
<br /><br />
Hurricane Pali weakens to a tropical depression near equator. Late Wednesday was the first time in the
modern era of tropical cyclone observing and prediction that we had simultaneous named systems in
January in the Atlantic (Alex) and Central Pacific (Pali) - or, for that matter, anywhere in the
Pacific. Pali is the earliest named storm and earliest hurricane on record between the International
Date Line and the Americas.<br />
It reached Category 2 strength (85 knots or 100 mph) on Tuesday. While Alex was strengthening into a
hurricane on Wednesday night, Pali was falling apart. By Thursday morning, Pali had decayed into
Tropical Depression Pali, located at 173.0°W and just 2.5°N. Now experiencing moderate to strong wind
shear, Pali should be history within the next few hours. Very few tropical cyclones have made it as
close to the equator as Pali, since they normally rely on the Corilis force (which is stronger at
higher latitudes) to give them a cyclonic spin.<br /> Only two other tropical cyclones have been known
to make it within 2° latitude of the equator. When it formed south of 5°N latitude on January 7, Pali
became the first tropical cyclone known to have existed in any of the equatorial regions used to
monitor El Niño sea-surface conditions.
<br /><br />
Which year should Alex and Pali belong to? One might argue that Alex and Pali are actually straggler
storms from the 2015 Atlantic and Central Pacific seasons, rather than the first storms of 2016.
Tropical sea-surface temperatures north of the equator typically bottom out around March, so there
might be some physical rationale for defining the Central/Northeast Pacific and Atlantic hurricane
“years” as being from March 1 to February 28/29.<br /> In practice, though, there are very few tropical
cyclones in January and February, so in most years this switch would make no difference, and it could
foster public confusion. There is a much stronger physical rationale for the practice of straddling
hurricane seasons across calendar years in the Southern Hemisphere, where summer arrives in late
December and cyclones often form before January 1.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35316509"> Atlantic hurricane in January linked to
El Nino </a> - The rare January hurricane formed far out in the Atlantic, the first to form in the
month since 1938.
A warning has been issued for the Azores Islands as Hurricane Alex heads in that direction with wind
speeds of 140km/h (85 mph).
The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the hurricane was likely to hit the islands on Friday.
Residents have been told to expect waves up to 18m (60ft) high and wind gusts up to 160km/h.
In calendar terms, Alex is one of the earliest tropical systems to form in the Atlantic Hurricane Basin
since records began.<br />
Meanwhile, another tropical storm, Pali, has formed over the Pacific, similarly rare at this time of
year.
Scientists have linked the storms to powerful winds and high sea surface temperatures resulting from an
unusually strong El Nino phenomenon this year.
The World Meteorological Organization has said the 2015 occurrence of El Nino will be among the three
strongest recorded since 1950.<br />
Severe droughts and significant flooding in many parts of the world are being attributed to the
phenomenon, which occurs every two to seven years.
El Nino is a naturally occurring weather episode that sees the warm waters of the central Pacific
expand eastwards towards North and South America.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/news/a18841/toxic-chemical-discovered-in-
san-franciscos-fog/"> Toxic Chemical Discovered in San Francisco's Fog </a> - Fog rolling in off the
Pacific brings iconic beauty to San Francisco, but scientists say it also carries with it something
much less pleasant: toxic mercury.
The fog along the coast of California deposits a neurotoxin called monomethyl mercury — at a
concentration about 20 times that of rain — as it sweeps across the city.
"On a relative scale, the levels of mercury are quite low and of no health concern. But it does
bioaccumulate," or build up in organisms.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/">
3 close asteroids went by earth this week </a> - closer than the moon's distance to earth: <br />
(2016 AQ164), January 10, 0.3 Lunar distance away, Estimated
Diameter 2.8 m - 6.3 meters. <br />
(2016 AH164), January 12, 0.07 Lunar distance away, Estimated
Diameter 3.2 m - 7.1 m. <br />
(2016 AN164), January 14, 0.1 Lunar distance away, Estimated
Diameter 2.1 m - 4.7 m.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/2016-meteor-shower-calendar-complete-122758037.html"> Complete Dates and
Times for Each Meteor Shower </a> in 2016.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/astronomers-baffled-discovery-most-powerful-190000715.html">
Astronomers are baffled by a newly discovered cosmic explosion </a> that shines 570 billion times
brighter than the sun. This particular super-luminous supernova, called ASASSN-15lh, doesn't just
break the record for most powerful — it obliterates it. On average, it outshines the average supernova
by 200 times. This goes so beyond the norm that one of the astronomers who first observed it wasn't
sure what to make of it.<br />
For a better idea of how bright that is, if you could combine all 100 billion stars in our Milky Way
Galaxy into one enormous, glowing sphere, this super-luminous supernova would still shine 20 times
brighter.
On June 14, 2015, the group spotted the new explosion that turned out to be much farther away - and
much, much brighter - than what they typically find. At its peak intensity, ASASSN-15lh was 570 billion
times brighter than our own sun. "We have to ask, how is that even possible?"<br />
The most powerful supernova on record, experts think that they might never see a supernova this bright
ever again. "At this point, that we do not know what could be the power source for ASASSN-15lh."
One theory is that a type of extremely dense star, called a neutron star, is at the source of it all.
Neutron stars are some of the densest objects in the universe and are thought to be the only thing
that's left of a star once it's gone supernova.<br />
Many neutron stars are believed to be spinning on their axis — the same way Earth rotates on its axis.
And in some neutron stars, the spinning action is so fast that it spawns powerful magnetic fields.
Astronomers call these cases magnetars.
One theory is that the magnetic fields of magnetars are so strong that they could fuel the power
necessary to generate the intense luminosity of observed hypernova. But if this is the case, it would
also mean that in order to produce the type of luminosity seen from ASASSN-15lh, the magnetar would
have to be spinning at 1,000 times a second.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>
Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-9510491364226749772016-01-14T05:34:00.000-06:002016-01-14T05:34:29.131-06:00 Thursday, January 14, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**The tongue hits where the tooth hurts.**<br /> **(La lingua batte dove il dente duole).** <br />
Italian proverb
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.1 TONGA <BR />
5.1 FLORES REGION, INDONESIA<br />
6.7 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION<br />
6.0 SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 1/13/16 - <br />
5.0 TAJIKISTAN<br />
5.4 NORTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA<br />
5.2 EASTERN XIZANG<br />
5.2 TONGA<br />
5.0 SAMAR, PHILIPPINES<br />
5.8 TONGA<br />
5.1 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
<br /><br />
1/12/15 -<br />
5.7 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN<br />
5.1 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA<br />
5.9 SOUTHWEST INDIAN RIDGE
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462708068/aleutian-quake-zone-could-shoot-
big-tsunamis-to-hawaii-california"> Aleutian Quake Zone Could Shoot Big Tsunamis To Hawaii, California
</a> - Tension is building along a major fault in the seabed off Alaska's coast, research shows. Two
teams of geologists say portions of the seafloor along the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska
could produce tsunamis more devastating than anything seen in the past century. They say California and
Hawaii are directly in the line of fire.<br />
Tsunamis — the giant waves generated by undersea earthquakes or landslides — have hit U.S. shorelines
before. Often they start along the Aleutian island chain that curves in an arc across the North
Pacific. Right underneath, there's a trench where two pieces of the Earth's crust are colliding. The
edge of the Pacific Plate is shoving itself under the edge of the North American Plate.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the North Atlantic Ocean - <br />
Subtropical storm Alex strengthens a little. Forecast to move toward the Azores, located about 665 mi
(1070 km) SSW of the Azores.
<br /><br />
* In the Central Pacific - <br />
Tropical storm Pali weakening rapidly as it approaches the Equator far
southwest of Hawaii, about 985 mi (1585 km) S of Johnston Island.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3222"> Unprecedented:
Simultaneous January Named Storms in the Atlantic and Central Pacific </a> - As we ring in the New Year
with record to near-record warm temperatures over much of Earth's oceans, we are confronted with
something that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago: simultaneous January named storms in
both the Atlantic and Central Pacific. <br />
The earliest named storm on record in the Central Pacific, Hurricane Pali, formed on January 7, and now
the Atlantic has joined the early-season hurricane party, with Subtropical Storm Alex spinning up into
history with 50 mph winds in the waters about 785 miles south-southwest of the Azores Islands. The
average date of the first named storm in the Atlantic is July 9; the Central Pacific also typically
sees its first named storm in July.
Alex could retain its subtropical characteristics till as late as Friday, when it will be shooting
northward toward Greenland en route to being absorbed in a high-latitude storm.<br />
Meanwhile, Pali is predicted to remain a tropical cyclone for at least the next five days, perhaps
coming within 2° latitude of the equator - something only two other tropical cyclones in world history
have been observed to do - as the storm arcs toward the southwest and eventually back northwest,
potentially becoming a typhoon when it crosses the Date Line.<br />
A January named storm in the Atlantic - how rare? Alex is just the fourth Atlantic named storm to form
in January since record keeping began in 1851. Alex can trace its genesis to an area of low pressure
that formed off the Southeast U.S. coast on January 7. Between January 8 and 12, pre-Alex tracked
generally eastwards over ocean waters that were 22 - 25°C (72 - 77°F); these temperatures were near-
record warm for this time of year (about 2 - 4°F above average). <br />
These temperatures were just high enough so that Alex was able to gradually gain a warm core and become
a subtropical storm. It is unlikely that Alex would have formed if these waters had been close to
normal temperatures for this time of year. The unusually warm waters for Alex were due, in part, to the
high levels of global warming that brought Earth its warmest year on record in 2015. <br />Global
warming made Alex's formation much more likely to occur, and the same can be said for the formation of
Hurricane Pali in the Central Pacific. To get both of these storms simultaneously in January is
something that would have had a vanishingly small probability more than 30 years ago, before global
warming really began to ramp up.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2016/01/13/rare-tropical-system-forms-over-atlantic-ocean/">
Subtropical Storm Alex in the Atlantic</a> - "A subtropical storm has both tropical and non-tropical
characteristics and has a large wind field," Alex is located well in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and
doesn't pose a threat to the United States; however, it will affect the Azores. Alex will bring gale-
force winds and several inches of heavy rain to the Azores.<br />
Alex is the first tropical system to form over the Atlantic Ocean in January since Subtropical Storm
One in 1978. The earliest tropical storm to form in January was Storm One on Jan. 3, 1939.
There has only ever been one hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin during the month of January, and
that was Hurricane Alice in 1955.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35263582"> Russia </a> - A blizzard survivor has
addressed an angry video message to Russian President Vladimir Putin after about 80 people waited 15
hours for rescuers in the Orenburg region of Russia.
A driver froze to death and many others suffered frostbite when their vehicles were trapped on a main
road in the region, in the southern Ural mountains.
Russia sends aid abroad but "we cannot save our own people".<br />
Some calls for help got the reply from rescue service staff: "You should have stayed at home, you had
no business going out." On the night of 3 January, when cars were buried in snow on the Orenburg-Orsk
road, survivors say the blizzard was so bad there was virtually no visibility.
A policeman who gave his workman's jacket to a freezing woman and his gloves to a man during the rescue
will get a medal from the regional interior ministry. Danil Maskudov's assistance is seen as a heroic
gesture - he is now in hospital too, with severely frostbitten fingers.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Some-Wisconsinites-experience-Frost-quake-Tuesday-night-
365159361.html"> People in parts of Wisconsin may have felt what's known as a "Frost quake" Tuesday
night. </a>
Twitter was abuzz with people who thought they may have felt one.
And the National Weather Service says they got several reports of "Frost quakes".
Cryoseisms, as they're officially known, happen when water in the soil expands as it freezes which can
cause a large boom and the ground can shake.
They're pretty rare.<br />
The conditions have to be precise for them to happen and a meteorologist at the weather service says
conditions were right. But they're not sure if what everyone felt was a "Frost quake" or something
else.
It's possible the noise and shaking were caused a sonic boom because of possible Air Force exercises
near central Wisconsin.
They point out that the area that felt the boom is really big from northwestern Dodge County all the
way to southwestern Waukesha County.
Usually "Frost quakes" are not that massive.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.thelocal.fr/20160114/questions-raised-after-french-alps-fatal-avalanche"> Fatal
French Alps skiing tragedy raises questions </a> - As France comes to terms with another fatal
avalanche in the French Alps, questions are being asked as to why a group of 19 school children were
skiing on a closed piste. others were saved after a mammoth rescue effort involving helicopters and
sniffer dogs.<br />
The avalanche on Wednesday claimed the lives of two teenage pupils and a Ukrainian man, who is
understood to have been skiing separate from the school group.
"How can you think of taking children, following periods of heavy snowfall, onto a piste which was
closed?"<br />
"What is surprising is the number of people involved, even though we keep on saying that they must take
it one at a time when the snow cover is unstable. There is a good change that it was the skiers
themselves that triggered the avalanche".
The avalanche risk on the black slope - the highest difficulty rating in France - was three on a scale
of five. <br />
The avalanche occurred after several groups of skiers dislodged a large snow slab. The area had been
closed off prior to the accident amid high avalanche warnings and it's unclear why the group ventured
onto the ski trail.
There had been little snow in the Alps until just after the New Year, so January's steady snow was
fresh and possibly less stable. <br />
The dangers of off-piste skiing have made headlines twice this year already, after four skiers died in
separate avalanches in the French Alps.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/why-greenland-ice-sheet-melting-000737703.html"> Greenland’s vast ice
sheet continues to melt, </a>and thanks to two recently-launched satellites we’re beginning to
understand why it’s happening so quickly. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison believe
increased cloud cover over the ice sheet itself may be to blame for up to a third of the ice melt that
is occurring, a new study indicates.<br />
One issue with present-day climate models is their inability to properly resolve cloud cover. Most
models have far underestimated the amount of ice-sheet loss, in something meteorologists and
climatologists studying climate change attribute to “cloud-climate feedback.”
Resolve that issue, and climate models may become a lot more accurate in the future. “This is something
we have to get right if we want to predict the future.”
<br /><br />
<A
HREF="http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Worlds_largest_canyon_could_be_hidden_under_Antarctic_ice_sheet
_999.html"> The world's largest canyon may lie under the Antarctic ice sheet</a> - The canyon system
is thought to be over 1,000km long and in places as much as 1km deep, comparable in depth to the Grand
Canyon in USA, but many times longer. Researchers believe that the landscape beneath the ice sheet has
probably been carved out by water and is either so ancient that it was there before the ice sheet grew
or it was created by water flowing and eroding beneath the ice.<br />
"Our analysis provides the first evidence that a huge canyon and a possible lake are present beneath
the ice in Princess Elizabeth Land. It's astonishing to think that such large features could have
avoided detection for so long."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/13/diseases-proliferate-mosquitoes-becoming-
public-enemy-no-1/78755284/"> As diseases proliferate, mosquitoes becoming Public Enemy No. 1 </a> -
Countries need to be prepared to fight simultaneous epidemics of mosquito-borne diseases, from dengue
to chikungunya and Zika virus, experts say.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pandemics-idUSKCN0UR20C20160113"> Preparing for
pandemics could cost less than $1 each a year </a> - Investing less than $0.72 a year for each person would
make the world far more resilient to potentially devastating pandemics, according to a global health
expert group convened in the wake of the Ebola crisis.<br />
A report by the Commission on Creating a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future said infectious diseases are as potentially dangerous to human life, health and society as
match wars and natural disasters.
Pandemics cost the world more than 40 billion pounds ($58 billion) each year, the report estimated, yet
preparations are chronically underfunded compared with other threats.<br />
"Few global events match epidemics and pandemics in potential to disrupt human security and inflict
loss of life and economic and social damage. Yet for many decades, the world has invested far less in preventing, preparing for and responding to
these threats than in comparable risks to international and financial security."<br />
Experts estimate that at least one new disease pandemic will emerge in the next 100 years, with a 20
percent chance of four or more in that time.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-51647174696391133852016-01-12T05:36:00.000-06:002016-01-12T05:36:32.476-06:00 Tuesday, January 12, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Fame itself … doesn’t really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant.** <br />
David Bowie
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.9 SOUTHWEST INDIAN RIDGE
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 1/11/16 - <br />
5.2 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA<br />
5.3 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS<br />
6.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION<br />
6.5 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/75800317/68-magnitude-quake-hits-near-indonesias-talaud-
islands"> A massive quake has hit near Indonesia's Talaud Islands, </a> but its impact is not
immediately known. The undersea quake, measuring 6.8 magnitude, hit on Tuesday at 5.38am (NZ time).
There was no tsunami threat to Australia from the quake.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://phys.org/news/2016-01-years-devastating-haiti-quake-high.html"> Six years after
devastating Haiti quake, risks still high </a> - The chief seismologist at the Bureau of Mines says the
risk of a major earthquake remains as high today as it was on January 12, 2010, when more than 200,000
people died in a catastrophic event that leveled much of Port-au-Prince. <br />
Six years after Haiti was devastated by the magnitude-seven earthquake, the government seismologist who
predicted it, warns little has been done to protect people in the likely event of a repeat disaster.
While this poorest country in the Americas has since been studied and carefully mapped by
seismologists, authorities have done little to translate what's been learned into practical measures to
limit the effects of another quake, he said. "This is where the problem lies. There has been a
construction code in Haiti since 2012, but who is in charge of enforcing it?"
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.ktvz.com/news/thousands-of-landslides-after-nepal-quake-raise-nw-
parallels/37372890"> Thousands of landslides after Nepal quake raise NW U.S. parallels </a> - Most
striking find: Huge number, severity of slides. Research teams have evaluated the major 7.8 magnitude
subduction zone earthquake in Gorkha, Nepal last April and identified characteristics that may be of
special relevance to the future of the Pacific Northwest. <br />
Following the Nepal earthquake – even during the dry season when soils were the most stable – there
were tens of thousands of landslides in the region. Experts said that these landslides caused pervasive
damage as they buried towns and people, blocked rivers and closed roads.
Other estimates, based on the broader relationship between landslides and earthquake magnitude, suggest
the Nepal earthquake might have caused between 25,000 and 60,000 landslides.<br />
The subduction zone earthquake expected in the future of the Pacific Northwest is expected to be larger
than the event in Nepal.
“In the Coast Range and other hilly areas of Oregon and Washington, we should expect a huge number of
landslides associated with the earthquake we face. And in this region our soils are wet almost all year
long, sometimes more than others. Each situation is different, but soils that are heavily saturated can
have their strength cut in half.”
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.emirates247.com/news/world/quake-fault-straining-underneath-kathmandu-study-2016-
01-11-1.616895"> Quake fault straining underneath Kathmandu </a> - A massive underground fault line
which ruptured last year, causing a killer earthquake in Nepal, is still under tremendous strain
underneath Kathmandu, a study said Monday. This means another major tremor could happen in an area home
to more than a million people within years or decades rather than the centuries that typically elapse
between quakes. <br />
The rupture, shooting upward through the fault line from deep below, stopped abruptly 11 kilometres
(6.8 miles) beneath the Nepalese capital, leaving an unbroken, upper portion nearer the surface.
High-resolution satellite images revealed that "only a small amount of the earthquake reached the
surface. The unbroken upper part of the fault, is continuously building up more pressure over time.
As this part of the fault is nearer the surface, the future rupture of this upper portion has the
potential for a much greater impact on Kathmandu if it were to break in one go in a similar-sized event
to that of April 2015."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Ula is located approximately 356 nm southeast of Noumea, New Caledonia.
<br /><br />
* In the Central Pacific - <br />
Hurricane Pali becomes the earliest hurricane on record in the central Pacific basin far to the
southwest of Hawaii, about 1305 mi (2100 km) SW of Honolulu.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/world/middleeast/neglect-may-do-what-isis-didnt-breach-
iraqi-dam.html?_r=0"> Mosul Dam in Iraq faces the danger that it may collapse </a> because of
insufficient maintenance, which would overwhelm major communities downstream with floodwaters.
In the worst-case scenario, an estimated 500,000 people could be killed while more than a million could
be rendered homeless if the dam, Iraq’s largest, were to collapse in the spring, when the Tigris is
swollen by rain and melting snow. The casualty toll and damage would be much less if Iraqi citizens
received adequate warning, if the dam collapsed only partially or if it were breached in the summer or
fall, when the water level is lower.
<br /><br />
<A
HREF="http://www.nj.com/weather/index.ssf/2016/01/records_fall_rainbows_rise_as_njs_wacky_weather_conti
nues_map.html"> Records fall as N.J.'s wacky weather continues </a> - In a season of wacky weather,
Sunday was another bizarre day in New Jersey, with drenching rain and balmy temperatures that broke
daily records in several towns, followed by strong winds and colorful rainbows.
Capping it off, the mercury plummeted as much as 20 degrees at night and was expected to drop another 5
to 10 degrees by Monday morning.<br />
Among the places that broke high temperature records Sunday were Newark and Trenton, both of which hit
65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Newark's old record for Jan. 10 was 59 degrees,
set in 2000, and Trenton's old record was 62 degrees, set in 1960. The normal high on Jan. 10 in both
cities is 39 degrees.
Atlantic City reached 65 degrees on Sunday, tying the city's old record from 1930. The city's normal
high on Jan. 10 is 42 degrees.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://ktla.com/2016/01/12/frigid-storm-transforms-car-parked-along-lake-erie-into-ice-
sculpture/"> Frigid Storm Transforms Car Parked Along Lake Erie Into Ice Sculpture </a> - A
photographer captured amazing pictures of a car that was left too close to Lake Erie in New York on
Monday.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/01/snow-cold-weather-grip-war-torn-syria-
160111081459652.html"> Snow and cold weather grip war-torn Syria </a> - Millions of Syrians are in need
of immediate humanitarian assistance, aid workers say. Buildings have collapsed under the weight of
snow. (photos at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2016/01/12/394753.htm"> Georgia Crops
Threatened by Warm Winter Weather </a> - Georgia farmers have endured a winter that wouldn’t start and
rains that wouldn’t quit.
The state’s pecan, peach and blueberry crops have been threatened by too many warm days and too much
water, growers across Georgia said recently. The final month of 2015 was the second-rainiest December
on record, with consistently warm days and nights.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-weather-el-nino-japan-idUSKCN0UQ0G420160112"> Japan weather
bureau says El Nino peaked between November-December </a> and there is a strong possibility that the
weather will return to normal only by summer.
The El Nino, or warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, led to scorching heat not only
across Asia and east Africa, but also caused heavy rains and floods in South America.
Last week, Australia's weather bureau said the 2015-16 El Nino weather event, one of the three
strongest in the past 50 years, has peaked in the recent weeks and is likely return to ENSO Neutral by
Quarter 2 of 2016.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.insidescience.org/content/arctic-warming-could-be-blamed-weird-weather/3561">
What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic </a> - One day last month, at a meeting of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, a prominent climatologist explained how the warming of the Arctic, which was greatly
affecting the animals the mammalogists study, could be driving the weird weather occurring around the
world.<br />
Several blocks away at almost the same time, at the American Geophysical Union meeting, another
prominent climate scientist told geologists and geophysicists that the science really isn’t so sure
what's causing the recent spate of weird weather.<br />
They weren’t really disagreeing but simply reflecting what every climate scientist knows: It’s
complicated.
To some scientists the weird weather is just part of natural fluctuation.
They believe if the climate gets warmer in the Arctic, it gets warm all over. <br />
Others disagree. “When it gets warm in the Arctic, more often than not, it cools the continents.”
When the computer was invented in the 1940s, the inventors believed one of the first uses would be
predicting weather and climate. They underestimated how complex that problem was. Now scientists trying
to develop climate models that mimic the Earth's weather use supercomputers and still have
difficulties.<br />
One thing has been sure: Things have been weird in the Arctic. The maximum extent of sea ice in
2015 occurred on Feb. 25, earlier than average, and the minimum ice extent in September was the fourth
lowest on record. The ice continues to get younger and thinner. All that has profound effects on the marine ecosystem.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/zika-699463-county-virus.html">
Tropical mosquito could carry a new threat to California </a> - the Zika virus. Aedes aegypti, a non-
native, tropical mosquito, was discovered in Orange County for the first time in 2015. It's an
aggressive, day-time biting insect capable of spreading such diseases as dengue, chikungunya and zika.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heartburn-pills-linked-to-increased-risk-of-kidney-
disease_5693f448e4b0cad15e659e73?ir=Healthy%2BLiving§ion=healthy-living">
Heartburn Pills Linked To Increased Risk Of Kidney Disease </a> - People who take popular heartburn
pills known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may be more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than
individuals who don't use these drugs, a study suggests.
<br /><br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-74794393172092133902016-01-11T06:40:00.002-06:002016-01-11T06:40:54.171-06:00 Monday, January 11, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**It's okay to be uncertain. You are an adult in a time when the leaders of the world are acting like children.** <br />
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</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
None 5.0 or larger.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 1/10/16 - <br />
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS<br />
5.0 CENTRAL TURKEY<br />
5.0 FIJI REGION<br />
5.1 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.7 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
<br /><br />
1/9/15 - <br />
5.5 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN<br />
5.2 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
<br /><br />
1/8/15 - <br />
5.3 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA<br />
5.4 OFF COAST OF JALISCO, MEXICO<br />
5.0 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN<br />
5.0 CENTRAL PERU<br />
5.6 COQUIMBO, CHILE
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-earthquakes-raise-calls-restrictions-energy-firms-195236517--
finance.html"> Oklahoma earthquakes raise calls for restrictions on energy firms </a> - Earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past week, including one of the strongest ever recorded in the state,
have led to calls for the governor to make changes to oil and gas drilling regulations and reduce
seismic activity scientists link to the energy industry.<br />
Two large earthquakes were recorded in northwest Oklahoma on Wednesday, including a magnitude 4.8
quake. The quakes were part of a surge in seismic activity over the past several years.
Scientists have tied a sharp increase in the intensity and frequency of quakes in Oklahoma to the
disposal of saltwater, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction, into deep wells. Oil fields have boomed
in Oklahoma over the past decade thanks to advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Ula is located approximately 249 nm east-southeast of Noumea, New Caledonia.
<br /><br />
* In the Central Pacific - <br />
Tropical storm Pali intensifies slightly as it continues to meander far southwest of Hawaii, about 1380 mi (2225 km) SW of Honolulu. The current forecast does not indicate Pali
will become a hurricane, but environmental conditions may improve
so that it could be upgraded to a minimal hurricane on Monday or
Tuesday.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/vanuatu-red-alert-cyclone-ula-category-4-storm-080731698.html">
Vanuatu on red alert as Cyclone Ula, category 4 storm, approaches </a> - Residents of Vanuatu are taking
shelter as a category four cyclone brings heavy rain and strong winds to the same area devastated by
the largest cyclone in the South Pacific island nation’s history last year. Disaster management
authorities have issued a red alert for islands in Tafea, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six provinces.
<br />
"Most people are sheltering in schools and churches, the only permanent buildings on these islands.
Some people are also sheltering in caves." The eye of the storm, Ula, is not expected to pass over any
islands but the ring of the cyclone was causing damage. Islanders are bracing for winds expected to
reach up to 165 kmph (100 mph), besides flash flooding, landslides and storm surges. Last March,
tropical cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, the highest classification, wiped out more than 90 percent of
Vanuatu's crops, tore up homes and power networks, killed 11 and disrupted the lives of most of its
252,800 people.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/spillway-swollen-mississippi-river-open-near-orleans-233836487.html">
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened a major spillway Sunday</a> near New Orleans for the first time in
nearly five years, seeking to decrease the vast flow of the swollen Mississippi River as a safeguard to
the low-lying city.<br />
Heavy Mississippi Valley rain has propelled the river to its highest levels since record flooding in
2011, the last time the Bonnet Carre spillway was opened as a key relief valve in south Louisiana.
The spillway was built 28 miles upriver from New Orleans
after a devastating 1927 flood.
"What we're witnessing right now is really an engineering miracle. So many of us for so long wanted
to make sure our homes and our lives were protected by creating a levee system."<br />
The Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District commander had said Tuesday that he was confident the
high Mississippi River will pass safely through Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Bonnet Carre has been opened 10 times since 1931. Corps officials said the spillway is intended to
help keep the immense flow of the Mississippi River at New Orleans below 1.25 million cubic feet per
second — enough to fill the equivalent of the city's Superdome in less than 2 minutes.<br />
The spillway opens up more than a mile of the Mississippi's east bank and pulls diverted river waters
into a 5.7-mile floodway that empties into Lake Pontchartrain and, eventually, into the Gulf of Mexico.
Authorities said it may be open for several weeks.
The National Weather Service said the river was cresting Sunday at Tunica, Mississippi, and Helena,
Arkansas, amid reports of some flooding in low-lying areas near Vicksburg and Natchez in Mississippi.
Some local officials in Mississippi said they were making plans in the event some residents need to
move temporarily.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/losses-mount-west-australian-bushfire-063221184.html"> Australia
bushfire kills two, destroys scores of homes </a> - At least two people have died in a bushfire which
has destroyed 121 homes in Western Australia, reports said Saturday as officials admitted the emergency
was not yet over.
Fire crews found two bodies in burnt-out houses in Yarloop, some 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of
Perth, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing police. Another two people are missing.
<br />
The bodies have not been formally identified but are believed to be those of two men in their 70s who
had been reported missing after fire tore through the old mill town early on Friday, destroying scores
of homes.
That number of houses rose to 121 on Saturday after a fuller assessment, as hundreds of firefighters
continued to battle the huge blaze which threatens nearby areas.
"It is still a cause for concern. It has been a very challenging fire for us - it's still a challenge, (we're) not out of the woods yet."<br />
Residents of Yarloop and other towns in the area were advised to evacuate if possible, with an bushfire
emergency warning still in place.
"There is a threat to lives and homes in Harvey, Cookernup, Wokalup and surroundings areas. Unless you are ready and prepared to actively defend your property, evacuate to the south via the
South Western Highway if safe to do so." <br />
The damage bill was going to be a "large one".
Bushfires are common in Australia's hotter months, with four deaths in Western Australia last November.
Australia's worst firestorm in recent years devastated parts of the southern state of Victoria in 2009,
razing thousands of homes and killing 173 people.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nasa-planetary-defense-office_5693359de4b0a2b6fb70aaee">
NASA's Armageddon Office Aims To Protect Us From Doomsday Asteroids </a> - Space agency unveils new Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
<br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-86587603229033477032016-01-08T07:37:00.000-06:002016-01-08T07:37:06.311-06:00 Friday, January 8, 2016 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.** <br />
Ernest Hemingway
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.0 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN<br />
5.0 CENTRAL PERU<br />
5.6 COQUIMBO, CHILE
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 1/7/16 - <br />
5.2 KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.0 OFFSHORE LOS LAGOS, CHILE<br />
5.0 NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND<br /><br />
1/6/16 - <br />
5.2 OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO<br />
5.0 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.2 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE<br />
5.1 NORTH KOREA<br /><br />
1/5/16 - <br />
5.7 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION<br />
5.1 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.9 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE<br />
5.2 BANDA SEA<br />
5.9 SOUTHEAST OF SHIKOKU, JAPAN<br />
5.1 OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO<br /><br />
1/4/16 - <br />
5.0 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES<br /><br />
1/3/16 - <br />
6.7 MANIPUR, INDIA REGION<br /><br />
1/2/16 - <br />
5.2 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN<br />
5.8 HEILONGJIANG, CHINA<br /><br />
1/1/16 - <br />
5.0 FIJI REGION<br />
5.8 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND<br />
6.3 WESTERN INDIAN-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.earthweek.com/2016/ew160108/ew160108f.html"> Strong Quake Kills 8 In Eastern India
</a> - A powerful temblor killed at least eight people before dawn on Monday as it rocked northeastern
India’s Manipur state and neighboring parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar for nearly a minute.
Falling debris from the 6.8 magnitude shaking injured more than 100 people as the quake left huge
cracks in walls, damaged bridges and caused a new six-story building to collapse.
The disaster left nearly 2,000 people homeless across the region.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/small-earthquakes-shaking-oklahoma-blamed-deep-
injection-wells/78421444/"> Oklahoma hit with 70 quakes in a week </a> -
A swarm of more than 70 small earthquakes has rattled Oklahoma in the past week, raising concerns that
the state’s quake problem is getting worse.
The largest quake measured magnitude 4.8 and struck around midnight Wednesday near the town of
Fairview. No significant damage has been reported, although it shook pictures and crockery.
“It was felt all over the county, pretty much all over the state."
Smaller quakes continued Thursday.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_29350524/earthquakes-are-hayward-and-rogers-creek-faults-
linked?source=rss"> California quake danger grows: Two Bay Area faults linked in new research </a> -
Two East Bay earthquake faults long thought to be dangerous, but separate, may be linked in a 99-mile-
long fault that could set off a much stronger quake than the 1989 Loma Prieta temblor, a federal
scientist says.<br />
As a linked fault, the two are more likely to cause a magnitude-7.2 quake, about three times stronger
than the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta quake, which in 1989 violently shook the Bay Area, killed 63 people
and caused an estimated $6 billion in damage.
The Rodgers Creek Fault runs from above Santa Rosa into San Pablo Bay near Sears Point in Sonoma
County. The Hayward Fault runs from below San Jose through the Oakland and Berkeley hills to West
Contra Costa County and into San Pablo Bay.<br />
The two faults were long thought to be about 2 miles apart under the bay, but "now it does look like
there is a good chance that the faults are connected."
A team in 2014 seismically mapped the earth under San Pablo Bay. Their search produced an image of a
strand linking the two faults. Until then the Rodgers Creek and Hayward faults had been thought to be
independent but capable of influencing each other.
"It's been a bit of a mystery because no one has been able to locate the faults in the bay before."
<br />
The USGS calls the Hayward-Rodgers Creek lines a "fault system" with a 31 percent likelihood of a
magnitude 6.7 quake or greater in the next 30 years, the highest probability among Bay Area faults.
But the Bay Area might now have one 99-mile fault that could deliver quite a jolt - up to 7.2 in
magnitude - because they are more likely to shift at the same time.
Such a quake would affect millions of people and billions of dollars worth of property with widespread
destruction of houses and apartments, studies show.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35240579"> Video </a> - High waves in Hawaii are
tempting surfers - despite warnings from officials to stay out of the water.
Life guards in Oahu rescued more than two dozen people from waves up to 35 feet (10.6m) high on Monday.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Southern Pacific - <br />
Tropical cyclone Ula is located approximately 225 nm west of Suva, Fiji,
<br /><br />
* In the Central Pacific - <br />
Tropical Storm Pali, is located far southwest of Hawaii, about 1430 mi (2300 km) SW of Honolulu,
Hawaii.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3218">
Rare January Depression in Central Pacific; Atlantic Subtropical Storm Next Week?
</a> -
After a record-smashing hurricane season in 2015, the Central Pacific is off to a record-early start
with Tropical Depression One-C, which formed on Thursday morning in the waters about 1,500 miles
southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. TD 1-C's genesis date of January 7 breaks by six days the record for
earliest formation of a tropical cyclone in the Central Pacific set by Tropical Storm Winona on January
13, 1989. <br />
TD 1-C was able to form because of an unusual wind pattern near the equator associated with El Niño - a
burst of westerly winds near the equator, when combined with a more typical east-to-west flow of trade
winds farther to the north helped create an area of counter-clockwise spin. A sprawling region of
showers and thunderstorms associated with TD 1-C is located squarely atop some of the warmest waters
associated with the powerful El Niño event now under way - 29.5°C (85°F).<br />
Weak steering currents make it difficult to judge TD-1C's future path, although a slow motion
northwestwards appears likely over the next couple of days.
The models support the idea of TD 1-C attaining tropical storm strength between now and Saturday,
January 9. If so, it will be named Tropical Storm Pali. <br />
Only two tropical storms have been recorded in January across the Central and Northeast Pacific (the
region north of the equator and east of the International Date Line) since reliable records began in
1949. The first one was 1989’s Winona, which attained tropical storm strength on January 13 and peaked
with sustained winds of 55 knots. In 1992, Ekeka was christened as a tropical storm on January 28 well
west of Hawaii before becoming a rare February hurricane, with Category 3 winds reaching 115 mph.<br />
Remarkably, TD 1-C appears to have roots on the other side of the equator! Last week, a short-lived
tropical depression (TD 9-C) originated as the northern member of a pair of twin cyclones. Such sets of
twins usually straddle the equatorial Pacific, with the northern member rotating counterclockwise and
the southern member clockwise. <br />
In between, these circulations produce a zone of low-level westerly winds that can act to reinforce or
intensify El Niño conditions across the equatorial Pacific. Last week’s twin cyclones were displaced so
far south that the northern member (eventually to become TD 9-C) was located just south of the equator,
close to the International Date Line, with a powerful westerly wind burst in between the cyclones. <br
/>
On the south side of this wind burst, Severe Tropical Cyclone Ula has been threading its way around
several Southwest Pacific islands since becoming a depression on December 29 and strengthening to a
Category 3 cyclone by January 1. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects that Ula will continue its
winding path well south of Fiji over the next few days, remaining at weak to middling tropical-storm
strength.<br />
Tropical cyclones developing near the equator are very rare, since the Coriolis force (a function of
Earth’s spin) does not force areas of low pressure to rotate in either direction at 0° latitude. But
tropical cyclones near the equator are not unprecedented. In 2004, the center of low pressure that
eventually became Severe Cyclonic Storm Agni in the Northwest Pacific briefly moved south of the
equator. <br />
Agni became a depression at 1.5°N, tying with Tropical Storm Vamei (2001) as having the most
equatorward development of any tropical cyclone on record. The recent strong westerly wind burst
between the Pacific’s twin cyclones no doubt helped give TD 9-C some of the spin that it would have
otherwise been unable to gain due to its equatorial location.<br />
Elsewhere in the tropics - Unusual activity has been percolating in the Atlantic as well. On Tuesday,
Brazil’s Navy Hydrographic Center identified a subtropical depression east of Rio de Janeiro. It was
briefly classified as a tropical depression on Wednesday, although both designations had been removed
in the center's analysis on Thursday morning. <br />
It was once thought that tropical cyclones never formed in the South Atlantic, but Category 1 Hurricane
Catarina shocked Brazil - and the world of tropical meteorology - when it crashed into the coast of
Brazil’s Santa Catarina province on March 27, 2004, causing more than $300 million in damage.
Forecasters are now tracking down subtropical systems in the South Atlantic about once per year, on
average, though tropical storms (those with fairly symmetric warm cores) are much less common. <br />
There is also potential for a large and powerful January cyclone to evolve over the North Atlantic
subtropics between Bermuda and the Azores Islands early next week, as consistently predicted by the
models. This cyclone is now several hundred miles northeast of the Bahamas, strengthening as an non-
tropical system ahead of a subtropical jet stream typical of El Niño winters.<br />
A strong upper-level ridge will develop to the north of the cyclone as it races east and then
southeast. Phase-space diagrams show this system taking on subtropical characteristics (asymmetric warm
core) this weekend and early next week. Upper-level winds will remain strong in the vicinity of this
system, and ocean temperatures will be a marginal 24-25°C (75-77°F), suggesting that any potential
development would be subtropical rather than tropical. <br />
If this storm were to get a name, it would be "Alex." The Atlantic’s most recent tropical cyclone
during January was Tropical Storm Zeta, which served as the closing act of the blockbuster 2005
hurricane season. Zeta formed on December 30 and survived until January 7, 2006, west of the Cape Verde
Islands.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-35249939"> Migrating auks blown off course to inland
Scotland </a> - Hundreds of birds have been blown off course to inland Scotland by recent stormy
weather.
The Scottish SPCA said it has been caring for many little auks at its rescue centre in Alloa with
reports of sightings in the Cairngorms, Perth and Stirling. Each winter, the seabirds migrate from the
Arctic to northern Europe.<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://floodlist.com/europe/albania-floods-january-2016-tirana-dibra-lezha"> Albania – 100s
Evacuated After Floods in 5 Counties
</a> - Two days of heavy rain in Albania has caused flash floods, river overflow and landslides in
several parts of the country, including the counties of Tirana, Durrës, Lezhë, Shkodër and Dibër.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://floodlist.com/america/uruguay-floods-13000-displaced-january-2016"> Flooding from the
overflowing Uruguay and Cuareim Rivers in Uruguay </a> has been affecting tens of thousands of people
since late December in the departments of Salto, Paysandú, Artigas, Río Negro and Florida.
By 31 December over 23,000 people had been displaced.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://floodlist.com/africa/kenya-3-months-of-flooding-leaves-112-dead-and-over-100000-
displaced"> Kenya </a> – 3 Months of Flooding Leaves 112 Dead and Over 100,000 Displaced.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35258692">
Huge bushfire destroys Australia town </a> -
About 95 homes are destroyed and three people are missing in a massive bushfire that engulfed a small
town in Western Australia.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35231843"> Video </a> - In Britain, December 2015 was
a double record-breaking month. Last month was the warmest December on record since 1910 - and the
wettest of any calendar month in that time. Temperatures have been around 4C above the long-term
average. Some garden plants are still in bloom.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-explosions-earth-atmosphere-temperature-2016-1"> One
small atomic war could trigger cruel nuclear winters and global famine </a> -
North Korea's fourth test of a nuclear weapon — whether it was a hydrogen bomb or not — calls attention
to a well-known but sobering fact: There are a terrifying number of nuclear weapons in the arsenals of
major powers around the world.<br />
But worse, unprecedented and widespread devastation doesn't require the unlikely scenario of all those
powers unleashing all the firepower at once, according to a recent study.
In fact, that study found that a "limited, regional nuclear war" using 100 "small nuclear weapons" —
the size of the bomb dropped at Hiroshima — could cause a nuclear winter that would last decades.<br />
In the researchers' scenario, the after-effects of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan alone would
eliminate between 20% and 50% of the ozone layer that protects us from the sun's radiation over
populated areas; at the same time, surface temperatures would become colder than they've been for at
least 1,000 years. Those combined effects "could trigger a global nuclear famine."
<br /><br />
<A HREF="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/01/07/scientists-say-humans-
have-now-brought-on-an-entirely-new-geologic-epoch/"> Scientists say humans have now brought on an
entirely new geologic epoch </a> - A group of 24 geoscientists on Thursday released a bracing
assessment, suggesting that humans have altered the Earth so extensively that the consequences will be
detectable in current and future geological records. They therefore suggest that we should consider the
Earth to have moved into a new geologic epoch, the “Anthropocene,” sometime circa 1945-1964.<br />
The current era (at least under present definitions), known as the Holocene, began about 11,700 years
ago, and was marked by warming and large sea level rise coming out of a major cool period, the Younger
Dryas. However, the researchers suggest, changes ranging from growing levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere to infusions of plastics into marine sediments suggest that we’ve now left the Holocene
decisively behind — and that the proof is already being laid down in polar ice cores, deep ocean
sediments, and future rocks themselves.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.businessinsider.com/chipotles-e-coli-outbreak-is-stumping-scientists-2016-1">
The mystery of Chipotle's E. coli outbreak is stumping scientists </a> and fueling conspiracy talk
The first reports of E. coli sickening Chipotle customers were revealed in October. Three months and
thousands of tests later, health investigators still can't find the source of the outbreak, which has
since sickened 53 people in nine states.<br />
That's unusual, according to several food-contamination experts. In five similar high-profile cases of
major foodborne-illness outbreaks over the last couple decades, the source of the outbreaks was
determined relatively quickly. <br />
So will we ever identify the source of the outbreak?
Probably not, according to an infectious-diseases specialist.
The tests that various agencies are conducting to determine the source of Chipotle's outbreak are so
rigorous that they would have already discovered the source, if it was going to be found, he
said.<br />
The mystery surrounding Chipotle's outbreak has sparked some conspiracy theories, including one that
claims Chipotle's competitors planted E. coli on the company's food.
More questions were raised about the Chipotle outbreak when a second, more recent wave of illnesses was
reported.
Five people fell ill in late November after eating at Chipotle in the previous week, and the strain of
E. coli in those cases was different than the strain discovered in the larger, original outbreak.<br />
The strain in the second wave of illnesses is rare in cases of foodborne outbreaks, according to
the spokesman for the CDC.<br />
Conspiracy theorists have used this oddity to support their case that the E. coli was planted on
Chipotle's food. But the E. coli, while rare, has been seen before.
"It's just not a common E. coli that we see behind many of the foodborne outbreaks that we
investigate." <br />
On top of the E. coli outbreaks, Chipotle restaurants have also been the source of norovirus and
salmonella outbreaks in the last five months.
The company revealed on Wednesday that it has been subpoenaed as part of a federal criminal
investigation into one of the norovirus outbreaks linked to a restaurant in Simi Valley, California.
Criminal investigations into foodborne-illness outbreaks are uncommon, and they typically indicate some
suspicion of intent behind the food contamination.<br />
But the sheer number of outbreaks has led to some questions.
"The fact that Chipotle has an outbreak is not in and of itself unusual, but there are some unusual
features. Even the E. colis are different and then they had this norovirus outbreak.
One of the questions that comes up immediately is: Is this a coincidence or is this a systematic
problem of food-handling distribution at Chipotle?"<br />
Chipotle has committed to making major changes to its food preparation and testing to improve safety
going forward. For example, the company will be moving some food preparation and testing to a central kitchen.
Tomatoes, cilantro, and lettuce are among the ingredients that will now be prepared in the central
kitchen and shipped to restaurants in plastic bags. Cooks will also take extra measures to kill germs,
such as dipping onions in boiling water before they are chopped and adding cilantro to hot rice to get
rid of microbes.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-36180745901705281952015-12-29T04:13:00.000-06:002015-12-29T04:13:24.515-06:00 Tuesday, December 29, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**The wisest person may be the one who can admit he knows nothing.** <br /> Socrates
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.6 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 12/28/15 - <br />
5.2 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE<br />
5.3 SERAM, INDONESIA<br />
5.6 MARTINIQUE REGION, WINDWARD ISL.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/nepal-quake-architecture-idUSKBN0UC05820151229"> Famed
architect builds quake-proof homes from rubble in Nepal </a> - After twin earthquakes in April and
May claimed 9,000 lives and left vast swathes of Nepal in ruins, survivors worried if they reused the
brick rubble, they would end up with the same vulnerable, seismically unsound structures.<br />
Renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban - who helped bring global attention to humanitarian
architecture and continues to influence fellow architects and disaster-relief workers - devised a
solution. The prototype for his latest humanitarian housing project in Nepal consists of standard
timber door frames joined together and reinforced with plywood. The frames are filled in with brick
rubble, and the roof is covered with a plastic sheet and thatched for insulation.<br />
The resulting structure is strong enough to meet Japan's stringent earthquake standards.
"I'm hoping people will copy my design. If we make 20, some other NGO might make more. I'm encouraging
people to copy my ideas. No copyrights." He has also built shelters for Rwandan refugees in 1994, Sri
Lankan survivors of the 2004 tsunami, and victims of major disasters in Japan.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br />
No current tropical storms.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.herald.ie/news/storm-frank-rolls-in-to-wreak-havoc-with-even-worse-flooding-
34319599.html"> Ireland </a> - Storm Frank rolls in to wreak havoc with even worse flooding. The
Atlantic storm, Frank, will bring downpours, strong winds and high-risk conditions.
Storm Frank is set to hit the country today, with fears that the resultant flooding could be even worse
than that caused by pre-Christmas torrential rain.<br />
There is a status yellow wind warning in place for Dublin and the rest of Leinster, with gusts of up to
110kph expected this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Met Eireann announced a status orange alert for the whole west coast where winds are
expected to be even stronger.
"It's a very vigorous Atlantic storm, which will bring very heavy rain and strong winds, up to storm
force off the west coast." <br />
The public have been told to stay away from at-risk coastal areas.
Locations close to the seafront, such as piers and coastal walks, should be avoided over the next 48
hours.
High waters are breaking over pier walls, and high-risk areas should be especially avoided by parents
with younger children.
As conditions worsen, entire communities along the River Shannon have been told to stay indoors if
possible.<br />
An expected 100mm of rain will fall in villages and towns already devastated by Storm Desmond.
Water levels may exceed those experienced during that storm.
All low-lying areas along the Shannon catchment are at risk of potential flooding.
Flood warnings were issued again last night for large parts of counties Westmeath, Clare, Limerick.
Galway, Mayo, Kerry and Cork.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/paraguay-more-flee-worst-floods-decades-flood-defenses-195125154.html">
In Paraguay, more flee worst floods in decades as levee creaks </a> - Floods force mass evacuations in
4 South American countries. With further rain looming, more families abandoned their homes on Sunday
in Paraguay, the country hardest hit by the worst flooding in decades in the area bordering Uruguay and
Argentina, which has already forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate.<br />
The El Niño weather phenomenon has exacerbated summer rains, swelling rivers in the region. The River
Paraguay, which flows by the country's capital, Asuncion, has already reached 7.82 meters (25.66 feet),
its highest level since 1992.
Around 90,000 people have already left their homes in Asuncion, and are camping in makeshift wood and
tin shelters around the city in parks and public spaces or finding refuge in schools and military
buildings. In Alberdi, authorities have called for 7,000 more people to evacuate because of cracks
detected in the town's levee.<br />
In Uruguay, the number of evacuees was 11,300 on Sunday. River levels were stabilizing now.
This has allowed about 1,000 people to return to their homes, while an additional 5,600 were also
returning.
In southern Brazil, flooding has forced 1,801 families to leave their homes, in the latest update late
on Saturday.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3213"> U.S. Reeling From
Violent Tornadoes, Epic Flooding, Winter Weather, and Weird Heat </a> -
Wild weather continued to plaster the nation’s midsection on Monday as a multi-barreled storm system
shifted eastward. Thankfully, the severe weather threat has ramped down somewhat, with the highest
risks now shifting to river and flash floods - from eastern Oklahoma to the Appalachians - and snow and
ice, from Nebraska to New England. More than 40 weather-related deaths have been reported since
Wednesday. <br />
North Texas cleans up from Saturday’s deadly tornadoes - Ahead of a strong cold front in west Texas,
supercell thunderstorms that ripped across the sprawling eastern part of the Dallas area spawned
several tornadoes that killed at least 11 people. One violent tornado that killed eight people in
Garland was rated EF4, while “at least EF3” damage was found in Rowlett, just east of Garland, due to
the same tornado or one that closely followed. Two people died in Copeland, about 15 miles to the
northeast, where EF2 damage was documented. Several other weaker tornadoes struck North Texas.<br />
As many as 1000 structures were damaged across north Texas, many of them severely. The storms were fed
by a very strong upper-level jet as well as unusually high instability for December (around 3000 joules
per kilogram, which would be concerning in springtime, much less wintertime). Temperatures reached 80°F
in Dallas just hours before the tornadic supercell arrived, with a summerlike dew point of 67°F. <br />
The widespread persistence of warm, humid conditions over the last few days has led to an unusual U.S.
stretch of severe weather for December, including tornadoes from Mississippi to Michigan on Wednesday.
The EF1 tornado that touched down in Canton, Michigan on December 23 was Michigan's first December
tornado on record. <br />
Winter weather shifting from High Plains to Midwest, Northeast -
While severe weather rumbled across east Texas on Sunday, the western part of the state was dealing
with a crippling blizzard that extended into eastern New Mexico, while freezing rain knocked out power
to tens of thousands of western Oklahomans. Exceptionally strong winds - gusting above 70 mph in some
areas - have led to near-zero visibilities and drifts of 6 feet or more, paralyzing travel across the
region. Roswell, NM, had racked up 12.3” for the day by 8 pm CST Sunday, topping its one-day record of
11.5”; the two-day total of 15.5" was approaching Roswell's two-day record of 16.9”.<br /> Lubbock, TX,
picked up 2.7” between 6 and 7 pm CST Sunday, pushing its storm total to 9.2”. The city’s heaviest-on-
record storm total of 16.9” was picked up on January 20-21 during (you guessed it) the super El Niño of
1982-83.
As the upper-level storm and associated low head northeastward on Monday, more snow and ice is
plastering a swath extending from Kansas and Nebraska to Wisconsin and Michigan. A mix of sleet, snow,
and freezing rain is bedeviling parts of the Great Lakes, including the Chicago and Detroit areas. A
band of heavier snow (6” to 12” in spots), coupled with freezing rain in some areas, is expected from
northern Wisconsin into much of Maine.<br />
Massive flooding hits Missouri and Illinois, killing 13 -
The weekend storm brought incredibly heavy rains to eastern Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas, and Southwest
Missouri, with 10.0" falling in a 30-hour period ending Sunday evening on the south side of
Springfield, Missouri. The heavy rains drove rivers in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas above
major flood stage, with the Illinois River reaching its highest crest on record at two locations. Eight
people died Saturday night in Missouri in floods; six of the deaths occurred in two separate incidents
where cars drove into flooded roadways in Pulaski County and were swept away by water. In southern
Illinois, three adults and two children drowned Saturday evening when their car was swept away and sank
in a rain-swollen creek. Mercifully, the rains have ended in Missouri and dry weather is expected the
rest of the week.<br />
A historic flood is building on the Mississippi River -
The updated flood forecasts for the Mississippi River issued Monday afternoon by NWS River Forecast
Center are about two feet higher than the forecasts issued on Sunday. Nearly all of the Lower
Mississippi is expected to enter major flood stage over the next few weeks, as are the lower portions
of two main tributaries, the Ohio and Arkansas Rivers. The Mississippi River near St. Louis was already
near flood stage late last week due to excessive rains of 2 - 4" (400 - 600% of average) that fell
during the past two weeks farther upstream in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. <br />
A massive pulse of flood waters from the epic December 26 - 28 rains will pile into the Mississippi
River over the next few days, bringing the river to flood levels that will be the highest on record
outside of the usual spring to early summer flood season. The Mississippi River at St. Louis was at
moderate flood stage on Monday afternoon, and is forecast to crest on Wednesday at the second highest
level ever observed, just five feet below the all-time record set during the disastrous flood of 1993.
Flood records at this location extend back to 1785.<br />
Downstream from St. Louis, the Mississippi River is forecast to crest late this week in Chester, Cape
Girardeau, and Thebes at the highest levels ever recorded. NOAA warns that at the flood levels
expected, the Degognia, Fountain Bluff, Stringtown, and Prairie DuRocher levees will be overtopped near
Chester. NOAA projects that the massive flood crest will propagate downstream to the Gulf of Mexico
during the first three weeks of January, bringing flood heights that are expected to be between the 2nd
highest and 4th highest on record all the way to Louisiana.<br />
The capital of Christmas commerce, New York City, basked in record warmth of 72°F on Thursday and 66°F
on Friday. As of Sunday, Central Park had yet to get below 32°F this fall or winter; its monthly
average (12/1 – 12/26) of 52.0°F was running at an astonishing 13.8°F above normal and 7.9°F above the
previous December record, going back to 1871. A cooldown this week will reduce that value, but a
warmest-on-record December is all but certain for much of the eastern U.S. It’s no wonder that flowers
and shrubs are blossoming from Washington to New York.<br />
Floods, holiday warmth extend to Britain and beyond -
Northern England continues to deal with relentless bursts of rain and resulting floods. The accounting
firm KPMG estimates the cost of the disruption to Britain’s economy at up to 5.8 billion pounds
(roughly $8.6 billion US). More heavy rain is expected on Wednesday. The venerable Central England
Temperature index - the world’s oldest continuous instrumented record of temperature - remains on track
to set its warmest December reading in more than 350 years. The estimated average from 12/1 to 12/27 is
at 9.8°C (49.6°F), which is 5.0°C (9.0°C) above the norm. Other European nations are also likely to set
records for December warmth, including the Netherlands.
(maps, charts and photos at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/28/461282129/warm-weather-spells-danger-for-
maine-s-lobsters"> Warm Weather Extends Maine's Lobster Season </a> - The unusually warm weather in New
England has made for an unusually long lobstering season in Maine. The mild weather means there is an
abundance of lobsters in the Gulf of Maine and many lobstermen are continuing to fish.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> AURORAS LIKELY THIS WEEK</a> - 2015 could end with an
outburst of auroras. NOAA forecasters say there is a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Dec.
30th when a CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. There is an equal 60% chance that the
storms will spill over into Dec. 31st, New Year's Eve. <br />
After several days of pent-up quiet, big sunspot AR2473 erupted on Dec. 28th (12:49 UT), producing a
slow but powerful M1.9-class solar flare.
For more than an hour, UV radiation from the flare bathed the top of Earth's atmosphere, ionizing
atoms and molecules. This, in turn, disrupted the normal propagation of shortwave radio signals on the
dayside of our planet. Ham radio operators, mariners and aviators in South America, Africa and the
south Atlantic Ocean may have noticed fades and blackouts of transmissions below 20 MHz.<br />
The slow explosion also produced a coronal mass ejection (CME). Images from the Solar and Heliospheric
Obseratory (SOHO) show a ragged, full-halo CME heading almost directly toward Earth.
NOAA analysts have modeled this CME, and they say it could reach Earth as early as Dec. 30th, with a
60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the CME arrives. Maximum storm levels are expected to be in
the range G1 to G2.<br />
Sunspot AR2374 has an unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that could explode again in the hours ahead.
NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of additional M-class flares and a 10% chance of X-flares on
Dec. 29th.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/guinea-ebola-free_5671aa88e4b0648fe301d3e1"> After 2 Years
And 2,500 Deaths, Guinea Is Ebola-Free </a> - For a country to be declared free of the virus, it must
go 42 days without seeing a new infection.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wdsu.com/health/the-asthma-epidemic-levels-off-for-most/37160110"> Asthma epidemic
in children levels off for most </a> - The "asthma epidemic" became a serious public health concern as
more children were diagnosed with asthma in the last few decades, but those numbers may finally have
plateaued for children overall, according to a new study.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/news/a36142/dangers-of-tea/"> Teas with added citric
acid</a> had elevated aluminum, cadmium, and lead, and lemon tea bags produced levels 10 to 70 times
higher.
Fluoride levels in economy teas exceeded daily recommended levels and had three times the amount of
more expensive varieties. <br />
86% of herbal teas intended for babies and pregnant and breastfeeding women tested positive for
pyrrolizidine alkaloids, toxins produced by some flowering plants that can cause liver damage. This
finding has particular importance for pregnant and lactating women because they can pass the compounds
along to the fetus or baby, who is more vulnerable to the toxic effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids
because of their low body weights.<br />
Keep brew time under three minutes, and "avoid tea from regions that are more contaminated," like
China, India, and Sri Lanka.
Go for tea leaves over bag tea or lemon teas. Powder-based "lemon tea in bags is usually of worse
quality than tea leaves" and has "higher amounts of noxious metal than tea infusions made from whole
leaves."<br />
Brew bag tea for less time to get less noxious metals, and hold off on adding lemon to your tea until
it's done brewing and you've removed the leaves or bag. Otherwise, "when you add lemon to the tea, its
pH becomes lower and more noxious metals are extracted to the tea."<br />
To reduce fluoride exposure, again, limit brewing time, and stick to the pricier blends if you drink
more than four cups of tea daily. "If anyone wishes to reduce their fluoride intake, consuming pure
blends such as Assam, Ceylon, Oolong, or Darjeeling would be a way to achieve this."
Mix it up – don't stick to one brand or product. "Instead, mix different suppliers and products."<br />
----------<br />
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</b>
Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-60834820513482721862015-12-28T09:29:00.001-06:002015-12-28T09:29:54.098-06:00 Monday, December 28, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**When natural disasters or other globally traumatic events occur, there’s a collective experience of
shock and grief. Often there’s widespread media coverage of the event, which reinforces a sense of
national tragedy. People feel the need to share their sorrow and acknowledge loss even if the event
hasn’t directly impacted them...Grief and the love of life are twins, natural human skills that can be
learned first by being on the receiving end and feeling worthy of them, later by practicing them when
you run short of understanding.**<br />
Stephen Jenkinson
</center><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3212"> U. S. </a> -
An incredible variety of weather hazards made their presence felt over Christmas weekend across the
central U.S., from blizzard to tornado to freezing rain to flash flooding and river floods. More than
40 weather-related deaths have been reported since Wednesday. The multi-day storminess is related to a
gradual realignment of the large-scale pattern over North America. A stunningly warm, moist air mass
across the eastern and southern U.S. - by some measures the most tropical on record for early winter -
is in the process of being displaced by a strong upper-level storm across the West, bringing much more
seasonable cold. <br />
Deadly tornadoes struck near Dallas on Saturday - Ahead of a strong cold front in west Texas, supercell
thunderstorms that ripped across the sprawling eastern part of the Dallas area spawned several
tornadoes that killed 11 people.<br />
The widespread persistence of warm, humid conditions over the last few days has led to a unprecedented
U.S. stretch of severe weather for December, including tornadoes from Mississippi to Michigan on
Wednesday. Sunday was the seventh day in a row with at least one U.S. tornado reported - the first such
week-long stretch for any December in NOAA Storm Prediction Center records dating back to 1950. The
previous record string of six days, December 22-27, 1982, occurred during the “super El Niño” of 1982-
83. <br />
2015 is the first year in records going back to 1875 that has seen more confirmed tornado-related
deaths in December than in the rest of the year combined. The only other year with December having more
deaths than any other single month was 1931. <br />
Blizzard pummels southern High Plains
As severe storms continued to rumble across east Texas on Sunday, the western part of the state was
dealing with a crippling blizzard that extended into eastern New Mexico, while freezing rain knocked
out power to tens of thousands of western Oklahomans. Exceptionally strong winds - gusting above 70 mph
in some areas - have led to near-zero visibilities and drifts of 6 feet or more, paralyzing travel
across the region. <br />
Massive flooding hits Missouri and Illinois, killing 13 - Only days after major flooding across central
and northern Alabama late last week, the weekend storm brought incredibly heavy rains to eastern
Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas, and southwest Missouri, with 10.0" falling in a 30-hour period ending
Sunday evening on the south side of Springfield, Missouri. An additional 1 - 2" of rain is expected
over most of Missouri and Arkansas by Monday evening, but dry weather is mercifully expected the rest
of the week. <br />
Historic flood imminent on the Mississippi River - The Mississippi River near St. Louis was near flood
stage late last week due to excessive rains of 2 - 4" (400 - 600% of average) that fell during the past
two weeks farther upstream in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. A massive pulse of flood waters from this
weekend's epic December rains will pile into the Mississippi River over the next few days, bringing the
river to flood levels never recorded this time of year. The Mississippi River at St. Louis was
approaching moderate flood state on Sunday evening, and is forecast to crest on Wednesday at the second
highest level ever observed, just five feet below the all-time record set during the disastrous flood
of 1993. <br />
On January 20, the Mississippi flood crest is expected to arrive in New Orleans, bringing the river to
its 17-foot flood stage in the city, just 3 feet below the tops of the levees. The damage from the
December 2015 - January 2016 Mississippi River flood is expected to run into the hundreds of millions
of dollars. <br />
The Big Christmas Warm - Hundreds of records were buried by sunshine, warmth, and humidity instead of
white-Christmas snowfall all across the eastern U.S. during the holidays, especially on Thursday and
Friday. Christmas Day was the apex for the north-south breadth of warmth, with record highs set from
Florida (82°F in Jacksonville) to Maine (62°F in Portland). Many records on Thursday and Friday were
smashed by margins of 10°F or more. Philadelphia has seen eight days this month (through Sunday) with
record daily highs. <br />
For the period 12/1 – 12/24, December saw a phenomenal 3164 daily record highs and 4511 record warm
lows, compared to 147 record cold highs and 147 record lows. Despite the intense cold in the eastern
U.S. early in 2015, this year will end up with more than twice as many U.S. daily record highs as lows.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.6 MARTINIQUE REGION, WINDWARD ISL.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 12/27/15 - <br />
5.3 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
<br /><br />
12/26/15 - <br />
5.0 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE<br />
5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES<br />
5.1 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.0 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.4 DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
<br /><br />
12/25/15 - <br />
6.2 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN<br />
5.7 WEST CHILE RISE<br />
5.1 VANUATU
<br /><br />
12/24/15 - <br />
5.8 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA<br />
5.1 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
6.1 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE<br />
5.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/strong-6-2-magnitude-quake-rocks-northeast-afghanistan-195345362.html">
Scores injured as powerful quake jolts Afghanistan, Pakistan </a> - A 6.3-magnitude earthquake centred
in the Hindu Kush jolted Afghanistan and Pakistan, damaging homes and leaving dozens of people injured
just two months after a killer quake rattled the same mountainous region.
The earthquake late Friday hit at a depth of 203.5 kilometres (126 miles), sending people fleeing
shaking buildings into a bitterly cold night and prompting fears of aftershocks.<br />
The epicentre of the quake, which was felt as far away as New Delhi, was in the remote Afghan province
of Badakhshan, close to the Pakistani and Tajik borders.
A pregnant woman was killed when a boulder fell on her house in Peshawar and up to 50 others were left
injured in the northwestern Pakistani city.
Initial information suggested at least 45 houses were damaged in Badakhshan where communication with
remote, mountainous villages is typically slow, and 12 people were injured in the Afghan province of
Nangarhar.<br />
In October, a 7.5-magnitude quake in the same region ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing
nearly 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain.
For many in Pakistan, October's quake brought back traumatic memories of a 7.6-magnitude quake that
struck in October 2005, killing more than 75,000 people and displacing some 3.5 million.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies
near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
In Nepal a quake in April and a strong aftershock in May killed more than 8,900 people.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br />
No current tropical storms.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35188146"> There needs to be a "complete rethink" of the UK's flood
defences </a> following unprecedented flooding across northern England, the Environment Agency says.
Christmas downpours left parts of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester inundated after rivers
at record levels burst their banks. The Environment Agency has nearly 30 severe flood warnings, meaning
danger to life, in place for north-east and north-west England, with more than 180 other flood warnings
and alerts in England and Wales.<br />
On Sunday, the government said 200 soldiers were being deployed to affected areas in addition to 300
already on the ground.
A further 1,000 personnel are being held in reserve in case the situation gets worse.
Although Monday will be drier than the weekend, more heavy rain is forecast for the middle of the week.
Many places have seen record river levels over the past 24 hours, including the River Aire in Leeds,
and the rivers Calder and Ribble, affecting places such as Whalley, Hebden Bridge and Ribchester.
<br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35185607"> Photos </a>
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a40707/lake-tahoe-64-billion-gallons-water/">
More than 6 billion gallons of water have poured into Lake Tahoe </a> in less than two days, helping
the lake begin to recover from four years of crushing drought.
Since midnight Monday, the lake has gone up 1.92 inches, the equivalent of 6.39 billion gallons of
water. The water comes as a winter storm slams the Sierra, bringing several feet of snow to higher
elevations and rain at lake level.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/severe-flooding-in-south-america-slideshow/people-travel-boat-
near-flood-affected-houses-asuncion-photo-154834195.html"> Severe flooding hits South America </a> -
More than 100,000 people have had to evacuate from their homes in the bordering areas of Paraguay,
Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina due to severe flooding in the wake of heavy summer rains brought on by El
Niño, authorities said on Saturday.
In the worse affected country, Paraguay, around 90,000 people in the area around the capital city of
Asuncion have been evacuated. Many are poor families living in precarious housing along the banks of
the River Paraguay.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35177759"> Argentina floods force thousands to
evacuate </a> - At least 7,000 people have been evacuated in north-eastern Argentina as heavy rains
cause rivers to swell.
Those living close to the Uruguay River in Entre Rios province are reported to be among the worst
affected.
The mayor of the town of Concordia, on the border with Uruguay, was quoted as saying a quarter of the
town was underwater. <br />
Thousands of people have also been affected by the rains in neighbouring Paraguay and Uruguay.
"There's never been flooding like this...Today the river is going to rise another 40cm [16in]. We are
going to... keep evacuating more families all day."
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/28/week-severe-weather-leaves-at-least-43-dead-across-
seven-states.html"> Blizzard conditions were the latest subset of extreme weather</a> to hit the U.S.
heartland Sunday after a string of severe storms left at least 43 people dead across seven states over
the previous four days. Heavy snow fell across New Mexico, west Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/damage-sinking-land-costing-california-billions-152206851.html">
A canal that delivers vital water supplies </a> from Northern California to Southern California is
sinking in places. So are stretches of a riverbed undergoing historic restoration. On farms, well
casings pop up like mushrooms as the ground around them drops.<br />
Four years of drought and heavy reliance on pumping of groundwater have made the land sink faster than
ever up and down the Central Valley, requiring repairs to infrastructure that experts say are costing
billions of dollars.
This slow-motion land subsidence — more than one foot a year in some places — is not expected to stop
anytime soon, experts say, nor will the expensive repairs.
"It's shocking how a huge area is affected, but how little you can tell with your eye."
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/scenes-bushfire-razed-homes-australia-braces-more-heatwaves-
070012349.html"> Australia braces for new heatwave as residents return to charred homes </a> -
Residents returned on Sunday to charred homes after a Christmas Day bushfire in southern Australia
destroyed more than 100 properties, with firefighters bracing for a new heatwave forecast in the lead-
up to the new year. <br /> Some 116 homes southwest of Melbourne in the wooded coastal area along the
Great Ocean Road tourist drive were razed as about 500 firefighters battled to put out the inferno.
Scenes of burnt-out homes, blackened cars, fallen trees and downed power lines greeted residents
allowed back into the zone to inspect their properties. Temperatures were also set to soar again in the
lead-up to the new year, rising to as high as 38 degree Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the
state,
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/california-wildfire-60-percent-contained-evacuations-lifted-
070645248.html"> California wildfire 75 percent contained </a> - Hundreds of firefighters on Sunday
mopped up the remnants of a wind-whipped wildfire that threatened dozens of Southern California coastal
homes. Authorities said their new worry is a landslide if rain pounds the charred hills.<br />
The fire that scorched about 1,230 acres north of Ventura was 75 percent contained, with full
containment expected Tuesday.
The blaze erupted Friday night when high winds caused power lines on an oil field to arc.
At its peak, the fire closed a 15-mile stretch of an adjacent, six-lane freeway, U.S. 101, and another
major north-south route, the Pacific Coast Highway.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-85939289166583206262015-12-16T04:29:00.001-06:002015-12-16T04:29:28.289-06:00 Wednesday, December 16, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.** <br /> C.S Lewis
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
None 5.0 or larger.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 12/15/15 - <br />
5.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.2 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION<br />
5.3 VANUATU<br />
5.1 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.mb.com.ph/indonesias-volcano-in-east-java-continues-eruption/"> Indonesia's
volcano in East Java continues eruption </a> - Mount Bromo volcano in East Java, Indonesia erupted
Tuesday spewing column of ash by up to 1.5 km. to the sky. Mount Bromo last erupted in January 2011,
forcing airlines to ground their planes. Mount Bromo is one of Indonesia’s 129 active volcanoes.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.ibtimes.co.in/mexico-colima-volcano-triple-eruption-spews-ash-and-smoke-into-sky-
659637"> Mexico: Colima volcano triple eruption spews ash and smoke into sky </a> - Located in the
southwestern Mexican state of Colima, the Fire Volcano has been exhibiting continuous activity since 9
July. It was previously active in January and February of 2015 and is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanos, but only 14 are considered active.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Western Pacific - <br />
Typhoon Melor is located approximately 65 nm west-southwest
of Manila, Philippines.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nine-killed-storm-causes-chaos-central-philippines-022343399.html"> Nine
killed as storm causes chaos in central Philippines </a> - Nine people were killed and hundreds spent
the night huddled on their roofs in the central Philippines as floods generated by a powerful typhoon
inundated villages, disaster officials said on Wednesday.
Typhoon Melor had paralyzed the capital, Manila, by late Tuesday, with floodwaters chest-deep in some
areas disrupting train services and causing traffic gridlock on major roads. Five people were listed as
missing.<br>
The typhoon, known locally as Nona, was about 150 km (95 miles) northwest of Mindoro island, just to
the south of Manila, with winds at its center of 130 kph (80 mph).
It was described as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the province in years.
In Northern Samar, where Melor first made landfall further south, about 90 percent of the province was
affected.
"Many people will spend Christmas in evacuation centers without power and potable water."<br>
Thousands of lightly constructed houses had been reduced to "matchsticks". "It may take three to four
months to restore power in the province after power lines and electricity posts were toppled by strong
winds."
Five fishermen were missing in Albay gulf on the heavily populated main island of Luzon.
About 120 domestic flights were grounded and nearly 200 ferry services were stopped.<br>
The storm forced the evacuation of about 800,000 people to shelters. Another storm is expected to hit
the southern Philippines later this week, forecaster Accuweather said.
An average of 20 typhoons pass through the Philippines each year. In 2013, typhoon Haiyan killed more
than 6,300 people and left 1.4 million homeless in the central Philippines.<br>
"It will be a very sad Christmas and a dark one because we have no power. But the important thing is
everyone around me is still moving." The typhoon tore in off the Pacific Ocean on Monday afternoon and
hit farming and fishing communities in the eastern Philippines with winds of up to 185 kilometres (115
miles) an hour.
Civil defence officials said they were checking reports of additional deaths in isolated areas but were
struggling to confirm new casualties due to "communication issues" caused by the storm.<br>
The road out of Bulan was littered with fallen trees and toppled power lines, making travel difficult,
while nearby wooden and thatched houses lay in ruin.
Melor weakened slightly as it cut across the central islands of the archipelago, but its wind gusts
were still reaching 170 kilometres an hour as it passed over the island of Mindoro Tuesday afternoon.
By evening the typhoon had begun to move out into the South China Sea and based on current forecasts
was unlikely to directly hit any further land masses, although a level three storm warning - the second
highest signal - remained in place for northern Mindoro island. <br>
In Bicol, a vast region in the east often hit by typhoons, authorities credited the early evacuation of
720,000 people for what they believed would be a low death toll.
"We have zero floods, zero deaths, zero casualties." But the entire province of 1.2 million people was
without power. Residents of neighbouring Sorsogon, which takes in Bulan town, were also without power
on Tuesday, and authorities could give no guarantees if electricity would be restored by Christmas.<br>
The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year, many of them deadly, with the strongest
often happening towards the end of the year.
Last year, 53 people died in floods and landslides after Typhoon Jangmi hit another part of the eastern
Philippines five days after Christmas.
The last deadly storm to hit the country this year, Koppu, killed 54 people and forced tens of
thousands to flee their homes after it pummelled rice-growing northern provinces in October.
In November 2013, one of the strongest typhoons on record, Haiyan, flattened entire communities in the
central region with tsunami-like waves, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/melor-to-threaten-philippines/54139705"> Powerful
Typhoon Melor to Batter Philippines Into Wednesday </a> - Melor will continue to bring heavy rain and
damaging winds to the Philippines into the middle of the week.
Since Melor first moved into the Philippines on Monday as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, the
storm has fluctuated in strength multiple times. After weakening, the storm grew back to a Category 4
strength early Tuesday morning local time as it approached Mindoro Island and made its fourth landfall
in the Philippines.<br>
Melor weakened back to the strength of a Category 1 hurricane early Wednesday local time.
Melor brought more than 200 mm (8 inches) to Calapan City on Mindoro Island in only 12 hours on
Tuesday.
Powerful winds in excess of 160 km/h (100 mph) threaten to cause widespread damage in northern Mindoro
and southern Batangas provinces through Tuesday night.
Storm surge of 1-2 meters (3-6 feet) is possible in areas near the path of Melor into Wednesday.
<br>
"Melor is a very compact typhoon, so that will prevent its most devastating impacts from extending too
far from its center."
Winds in excess of 115 km/h (73 mph) extend only 45 km (30 miles) away from Melor's center.
Melor will weaken as it crosses the western Philippines into Wednesday. However, damaging wind gusts
and flooding rain will remain likely.
Rainfall amounts could top 300 mm (12 inches) in the western Philippines, especially across the higher
terrain of western Luzon. This heavy rainfall combined with the rugged terrain of the region will
result in an elevated threat for life-threatening mudslides.<br>
Rainfall totaled over 175 mm (7 inches) in Masbate City and 150 mm (6 inches) in Legazpi City as the
cyclone tracked through the central Philippines on Monday.
Manila will experience impacts from the typhoon as well. While strong winds will bypass the city to the
south and west, heavy rainfall is likely.
After blasting the Philippines, Melor is expected to weaken further as it eventually turns
southwestward into the South China Sea later this week.<br>
Another potential tropical system will follow in the footsteps of Melor later this week. This tropical
threat will bring another round of heavy rain to the Philippines as early as Thursday or Friday.
This time the heaviest rain is expected to be farther south impacting the southern half of the
Philippines regardless of whether development occurs.(maps and video at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=87131&src=eoa-iotd"> On December 1–2, the
Indian city of Chennai</a> received more rainfall in 24 hours than it had seen on any day since 1901.
The deluge followed a month of persistent monsoon rains that were already well above normal for the
Indian state of Tamil Nadu. At least 250 people have died, several hundred have been critically
injured, and thousands have been affected or displaced by the flooding that has ensued.<br>
Meteorologists in India and abroad attributed the rains to a super-charged northeast monsoon. In the
winter, prevailing winds blow from northeast to southwest across the country, which tends to have a
drying effect in most places, particularly inland. But those northeasterly winds also blow over the
warm waters of the Bay of Bengal, where they evaporate a great deal of moisture from the sea and dump
it over southern and eastern India. Coastal eastern India receives 50 to 60 percent of its yearly
rainfall during this winter monsoon.<br>
In 2015, this pattern was amplified by record-warm seas and by the long-distance effects of El Niño.
The city of Chennai recorded 1218.6 millimeters (47.98 inches) of rain in November 2015. India’s
meteorological department noted that rainfall was 50 to 90 percent above normal in the eastern states.
Then 345 millimeters (13.58 inches) more fell on Chennai in the December 1–2 storm, which was fueled by
a low-pressure system offshore.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/storm-drops-2-feet-colorado-425-flights-canceled-n480731">
Storm Drops up to 2 Feet on Colorado; 425 Flights Canceled </a> - A powerful late-autumn storm dumped
up to 24 inches of snow in the Colorado mountains on Tuesday before barreling onto the plains,
prompting airlines to cancel 425 flights at the Denver airport and leaving hundreds of miles of
highways slippery with snow and ice.<br>
The snow tapered off Tuesday afternoon as the storm moved northeast, leaving behind drifts up to four
feet high. "It's going to be western Nebraska's turn next. It's going to end up eventually in
Minnesota."
It was the first big storm of the season for most of Colorado and Utah. Schools closed in some towns in
at least four states.<br>
Some flights at Denver International Airport were more than four hours late after at least seven inches
of snow fell there.
More than 600 miles of Colorado Interstate highways were snowpacked or icy, and gusts as strong as 58
mph left near-whiteout conditions in isolated areas of Colorado's eastern plains. Few highways were
closed, however.<br>
A snowplow slipped off a highway in the foothills west of Boulder early Tuesday and landed up-side-down
in a creek, but the driver wasn't injured.
The wind piled up drifts three to four feet deep in the small northeastern Colorado town of Merino.
Schools and the town offices were closed but some businesses opened as usual.
About 24 inches of snow fell in the west-central mountains near McClure Pass. <br>
The town of Larkspur, in the foothills north of Colorado Springs, reported 17 inches of snow, and
cities along the north-south Interstate 25 corridor reported up to a foot. Farther east, the Colorado
plains received four to eight inches of snow.
The storm struck Utah before moving into Colorado, leaving about a foot of snow in the Salt Lake City
area and more than two feet in other places. The Utah Highway Patrol worked more than 400 accidents
over the last two days as people struggled to get to work and school on icy, snow-packed roads.<br>
The storm left a foot of snow in parts of Wyoming and Montana, leaving icy highways. School kids in
Billings, Montana, the state's largest city, got their first snow day in more than 25 years.
Parts of Interstates 25 and 80 were closed in Wyoming, but travel was a lot more fun in Yellowstone
National Park, where recent snow allowed the park to start welcoming snowmobile and tank-like snowcoach
traffic.<br>
Elsewhere, rain and snow pushed into New England after an unseasonably warm and dry weekend. Sherman,
Maine, reported six inches of snow at midday Tuesday.
Much of the West Coast was dry with below-average temperatures. The Tuesday morning low was -13 degrees
in Bridgeport, California, and 6 degrees in Big Bear City, California.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/storm-train-to-return-to-northwest-seattle-
portland/54208233"> Storm Train to Return to Northwestern US by Late Week </a> - Though much of the
northwestern United States will receive relief from the continuous storm train through midweek, storms
will return to the region late this week and into next week.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/us-christmas-2015-week-travel-weather-forecast-
snow-rain-fog-delays/54194950"> Snow, Rain and Fog to Disrupt Christmas Travelers Across US </a> -
The weather during the week of Christmas will closely mirror the weather during much of December thus
far in the eastern and western United States.
People traveling in the East will not have to pack much cold weather gear, while a snow shovel and tire
chains may come in handy for parts of the West. Many people across the nation will need a good set of
windshield wipers, working headlights and an umbrella for their travel ventures. Others in the Central
states may need to keep an eye out for severe weather.<br>
Cold and Snow in the West, Record Warmth in the East - of the approximate 100 million people who will
take a year-end trip, about 90 percent will travel by automobile. Approximately 6 percent will travel
by airline and the remaining 3-4 percent will travel by train, or water.
The weather could have major impact on the airport hubs of San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and New York
City next week.<br>
During the fourth week of December, storms from the Pacific will continue to bombard the West with
outbreaks of cold air reaching southward toward Mexico and eastward through the Rockies.
Meanwhile, the week leading up to Christmas will bring another surge of warmth with areas of dense fog
with patchy rain from near the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Seaboard.<br>
Rounds of heavy rain will drench the West Coast and the Interstate 5 corridor from northern California
to western Washington. Seattle, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, are among the cities likely to be
impacted by adverse travel conditions at times next week.
Waves of cold air will continue to settle southward over the West.
Enough rain can fall at times to not only slow travel, but also continue the risk of flooding and
mudslides from the western slopes of the Cascades to the shoreline of the Pacific.
<br>
There is the likelihood of one or two storms dipping well to the south along the Pacific coast with
significant rain coastal and low snow levels in Southern California as well. Los Angeles and San Diego
could experience travel issues on one or more days next week.
During the middle of next week, heavy snow could take aim at on the Colorado Rockies, including the
Denver area.<br>
Weather Battle Zone to Set Up Over Plains - From the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast, the vast
majority of travelers will not have to contend with snow or ice. However, severe weather could be a
threat.
In portions of the Plains to the Mississippi Valley the storm track will allow episodes of rain and
snow in the north and the potential for locally gusty thunderstorms in the South.
Areas most likely to get a dose or two of accumulating snow next week will stretch from western
Nebraska to northern Minnesota.<br>
Building chill in the West and returning warmth in the East will add extra volatility to the atmosphere
over the middle of the nation next week.
According to AccuWeather, "There is the potential for an outbreak of severe thunderstorms, including
tornadoes, from parts of Texas to perhaps as far north as Illinois on Christmas Eve."<br>
East to Bask in Warmth, Crawl Through Fog - At least two storm systems will sweep from the South
Central states to the Great Lakes region bringing rain and warmth for much of the eastern half of the
nation during next week.
The rainy rounds can be enough to slow down travel on the many major highway corridors of I-10, I-20,
I-40, I-80, I-81, I-90 and I-95.<br>
However, the prevailing and recurring warmth will also present some significant problems.
"The major concern for travelers will be episodes of fog that could be dense enough to impact airlines
and drivers from the Midwest to the East Coast during part of the week of Christmas."
Major airport hubs that could be impact by foggy episodes include Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta,
Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
"There is a chance the fog will retreat northward and out of the picture after Wednesday from the lower
Mississippi and Ohio valleys to the southern and middle-Atlantic coasts."
Locally dense fog could still be a problem around parts of the Great Lakes and New England through the
week.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/748105/arctic-air-temperature-highest-since-1900-report"> Arctic
air temperature highest since 1900</a> —
The Arctic is heating up, with air temperatures the hottest in 115 years, and the melting ice
destroying walrus habitat and forcing some fish northward, a global scientific report said Tuesday.
Air temperature anomalies over land were 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.3 degrees Celsius) above average,
“the highest since records began in 1900."<br>
Meanwhile, the annual sea ice maximum occurred February 25, about two weeks earlier than average, and
was “the lowest extent recorded since records began in 1979.”
“Warming is happening more than twice as fast in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world. We know
this is due to climate change, and its impacts are creating major challenges for Arctic communities.
We also know what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic."
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/record-high-temperatures-warmth-december-
northeast-eastern-us/54187422">
Weekend Warmth Breaks 142-Year-Old Record Across Eastern US </a> - Warmth built across much of the eastern United States this past weekend, breaking record highs dating
back to the 1800s.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> All Sky Fireball Network </a> - On Dec. 15, the network
reported 244 fireballs. (143 Geminids, 90 sporadics, 4 December Leonis Minorids, 2 sigma Hydrids, 1
December Monocerotid, 1 Comae Berenicid). Every night, a network of NASA all-sky cameras scans the
skies above the United States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software maintained by NASA's
Meteoroid Environment Office calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth in Earth's atmosphere
and many other characteristics.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2015/12/15/NASA-Asteroid-to-pass-by-Earth-on-Christmas-
Eve/8631450208628/"> Asteroid to pass by Earth on Christmas Eve </a> -
If the asteroid whizzes by without being seen, there will be another chance at a glimpse in just a few
years. NASA scientists calculate that asteroid 163899, also known as 2003 SD220, will make its closest
approach to Earth on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2015.<br>
The asteroid is rather large, thought to measure between 0.5 and 1.5 miles wide. Contrary to reports
that it will graze Earth or trigger earthquakes, the asteroid won't actually come all that close.
The space rock will remain at a safe distance of 6,787,600 miles, more than 28 times the distance
between Earth and the moon. By comparison, the asteroid on Halloween flashed by at just 1.3 times the
Earth-moon distance, and even that flyby wasn't a cause for concern.<br>
"Again, there is no existing evidence that an asteroid or any other celestial object is on a trajectory
that will impact Earth. In fact, not a single one of the known objects
has any credible chance of hitting our planet over the next century."
If the asteroid whizzes by without being seen, there will be another chance at a glimpse in just a few
years.
"The 2015 apparition is the first of five encounters by this object in the next 12 years when it will
be close enough for a radar detection."
<br />
----------<br />
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</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-57309968259965103282015-12-15T08:03:00.000-06:002015-12-15T08:03:19.295-06:00 Tuesday, December 15, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.1 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 12/14/15 - <br />
5.0 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.2 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS<br />
5.3 BANDA SEA<br />
5.1 BANDA SEA
<br /><br />
12/13/15 - <br />
5.4 BANDA SEA<br />
5.1 LAKE BAYKAL REGION, RUSSIA<br />
5.4 KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.4 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the Western Pacific - <br />
Typhoon Melor is located approximately 177 nm southeast of Manila, Philippines. The system has
significantly degraded as it dragged across the Philippine archipelago. Melor will continue to track
generally westward to west-northwestward under the steering influence of a deep layered subtropical
ridge over the next 36 hours. Afterwards, the cyclone will track southwestward with the
low level wind flow in the South China Sea. Land interaction,
increasing vws and the intrusion of cold dry air associated with a
strong Continental cold surge in the South China Sea will accelerate
its decay, leading to dissipation.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35090409"> Video </a> - Typhoon Melor: 'The strong winds
are terrifying'. Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in the Philippines after
Typhoon Melor made landfall on Monday.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-west-coast-is-getting-its-first-taste-of-el-nino-2015-12">
States in the Pacific Northwest were hit this week with El Niño weather</a> that brought record
rainfall, flooding, mudslides, and power cuts, causing two deaths and leading state officials to
declare a state of emergency in multiple counties.<br />
Weather experts and federal agencies have warned that California could be hit with severe seasonal
weather patterns whose effects could be worsened by the state's ongoing drought.
According to a recently released Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)preparedness guide, this El
Niño season — which some expect to be the strongest on record — could combine with existing conditions
in California to create a slew of borderline disaster-scenarios in the state. The guide warns of
increased flooding risks because of too-dry soil, a higher likelihood of landslides from wildfire
destruction, and abnormally high tides along coastal regions.<br />
While the seasonal warming of the Pacific Ocean affects localities spanning the entire West Coast,
California's environment is particularly suited to magnify the effects of those weather patterns.
While the state's drought-induced low reservoirs will likely take in some of the heavy rainfall,
tributaries in flat areas could be prone to flooding, and several levees in the Sacramento Valley "have
a significant chance of failure during the next high water mark."
Along coastal areas, especially high tides could result from what's known as the "Blob,"a patch of warm
water in the Pacific that could contribute to a rise in water levels by between eight and 11 inches.<br
/>
Strong El Niño seasons have wreaked havoc on the state before. In the 1997-1998 season, the strongest
on record, the state evacuated 100,000 people from affected regions. It resulted in landslides,
mudslides, floods, and home destruction. Some have speculated that changes in the weather linked to
climate change could be a contributing factor in making this year's season one of the strongest.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/florida-keys-flood-property-worries-seep-041916596.html"> As Florida
Keys flood, property worries seep in </a> - Adams Drive in Key Largo, Florida has been flooded for
nearly a month, after high tides were exacerbated by a super moon. Extreme high tides have turned
streets into canal-like swamps in the Florida Keys, with armies of mosquitoes and the stench of
stagnating water filling the air, and residents worried rising sea levels will put a damper on property
values in the island chain.<br />
On Key Largo, a tropical isle famous for snorkeling and fishing, the floods began in late September.
While people expected high tides due to the season and the influence of a super moon, they were taken
by surprise when a handful of streets in the lowest-lying neighborhoods stayed inundated for nearly a
month with 16-inches (40-centimeters) of saltwater.
By early November, the roads finally dried up. But unusually heavy rains in December brought it all
back again. "Like a sewer." <br />
Residents have signed petitions, voiced anger at community meetings and demanded that local officials
do something, whether by raising roads or improving drainage.
Sometimes, they clash over whether the floods are, or are not, a result of man-made climate change.
"We get vocal residents who show up and argue," said the president of the Island of Key Largo
Federation of Homeowners Association, who has never seen such high waters - or high tempers - in her 30
years of living here." Residents tend to agree on one thing, which is for many their life's biggest
investment.
"We are all concerned about our property values."<br />
"It is like taking a peek at the future," said a geologist of the Key Largo floods, which he says were
driven by abnormal tides and made worse by rising seas.
Scientists cannot predict exactly how fast sea levels will mount in the years ahead as the oceans warm
and glaciers melt.
But they can broadly predict how much more water to expect - up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) above the
1992 average in the next 15 years and 26 inches (0.6 meters) by 2060. <br />
Absent measures to adapt the properties, that amount of sea level rise by 2060 would wipe out 12
percent of property value in the Keys, a string of 1,700 small islands built on porous, prehistoric
coral reefs, said a 2011 reports.
Forecasts for 2100 are more dire. Since most of the islands are less than six feet (two meters) above
the current sea level, a five-foot (1.5 meter) water rise in the Keys would erase 68 percent of
property value in the area.<br />
For now, south Florida real estate is booming.
Even in the Keys, sales are up 17 percent and the average home sale price is $512,000, up three percent
from last year.
"So far we have not been seeing buyers being concerned with sea level rise, which I'm a little
surprised given all the media attention it has garnered lately."
But experts warn that plenty of cash and land stand to disappear in the next 15 years.
As much as $15 billion could be lost in Florida property by 2030.<br />
In the Keys, local officials are still studying ways to address the floods, and are planning a pair of
demonstration projects to showcase the possibilities.
But sea walls are impractical for the 113 miles (182 km) of islands. Pumps can't keep up with water
that comes in from all sides and also up through the porous ground. Simply raising roads could send
excess water into people's yards.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/landslide-leaves-oregon-town-on-brink-of-disaster/?
ftag=YHF4eb9d17"> Landslide leaves Oregon residents on brink of disaster </a> - The storm system may be
on its way out of the Northwest, but it's not done doing damage. The road leading to houses used to be
a road, but now it's a cliff. They've watched the landslide on their property for the last six days.
What started as a crack, caved into a crater.<br />
A week's worth of nearly non-stop rain in the picturesque part of Tillamook, Oregon, has left residents
literally living near the edge.
Now seven homes are in danger of being destroyed after nearly 11 inches of rain fell in seven days,
opening a hole big enough to fit 11 SUVs.
"Not a sound warning. It just, the land went away." <br />
People are pitching into help - more than 200 sandbags are holding down a tarp intended to stop the
ground from sliding any more.
"If it starts to move, I'm not going to be stubborn and stay. I will get the hell out. But until it
starts to move, I'm staying."
The hole in front of one house is 100 feet long, and 50 feet wide. On Monday, he will find out if his
home is condemned. He has found out the insurance company will not pay for the damage.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://gizmodo.com/heres-where-noaa-thinks-well-have-a-white-christmas-1747803758"> Here's
Where NOAA Thinks We'll Have A White Christmas in the U.S. </a> - NOAA released a graphic that charts
out the probability that you’ll have some snow on December 25th, based on historical norms.
NOAA’s graphic shows the “climatological probability of at least 1 inch of snow being on the ground”:
This map is based on the 1981–2010 Climate Normals, which are the latest three-decade averages of
several climatological measurements. This dataset contains daily and monthly Normals of temperature,
precipitation, snowfall, heating and cooling degree days, frost/freeze dates, and growing degree days
calculated from observations at approximately 9,800 stations operated by NOAA’s National Weather
Service.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/earth-may-spin-faster-glaciers-melt-150016710.html"> Earth May Spin
Faster as Glaciers Melt </a> - Scientists say a section of the West Antarctic ice sheet has reached a
point of inevitable collapse, an event that would eventually raise sea levels more than 3 feet (1
meter).
Melting ice triggered by global warming may make Earth whirl faster than before and could shift the
axis on which the planet spins.
This could also affect sunset times, as the length of Earth's day depends on the speed at which the
planet rotates on its axis. Prior research found the rate at which Earth spins has changed over
time.<br />
For instance, ancient Babylonian, Chinese, Arab and Greek astronomers often recorded when eclipses
occurred and where these phenomena were seen. This knowledge, in combination with astronomical models
that calculate what the positions of the Earth, sun and moon were on any given date and time, can help
reveal how fast Earth must have been spinning. To do so, researchers calculate the speed necessary for
the planet to face the sun and moon in ways that allowed those astronomers to observe the eclipses. <br
/>
In general, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on Earth is relentlessly slowing the planet's
rate of spin. However, in the short term, a variety of different factors can also speed up and slow
down how fast Earth whirls.
Previous research has found that melting glaciers triggered by global warming helped cause a
significant amount of global sea-level rise in the 20th century. In theory, rising sea levels — once
estimated to be climbing at a rate of about 0.06 to 0.08 inches (1.5 to 2 millimeters) per year —
should also have slightly shifted Earth's axis and increased the rate at which the planet spins.<br />
When polar ice caps melt, they remove weight off underlying rock, which then rebounds upward. This
makes the poles less flat and the planet more round overall. This should in turn cause Earth to tilt a
bit and spin more quickly.
However, previous research mysteriously could not find evidence that melting glaciers were triggering a
shift in either Earth's rotation or axis that was as great as predicted. This problem is known as
"Munk's enigma," after oceanographer Walter Munk who first noted the mystery, in 2002.<br />
Now, in a new study, researchers may have solved this enigma and shown that rising sea levels are
indeed affecting Earth's spin and axis.
"The rise of sea level and the melting of glaciers during the 20th century is confirmed not only by
some of the most dramatic changes in the Earth system — for example, catastrophic flooding events,
droughts [and] heat waves — but also in some of the most subtle — incredibly small changes in Earth's
rotation rate."
First, the scientists noted that recent studies suggested 20th-century glacial melting was about 30
percent less severe than Munk assumed. This should significantly reduce the predicted amount of shift
in Earth's spin and axis.<br />
Moreover, the research team's mathematical calculations and computer simulations found that prior
research relied on erroneous models of Earth's internal structure. This meant previous studies did not
correctly account for how much glaciers would deform underlying rock and influence Earth's spin.
Furthermore, interactions between Earth's rocky mantle and the planet's molten metal outer core should
have helped slow the planet's spin more than was previously thought.<br />
Altogether, these adjustments helped the scientists find that ongoing glacial melting and the resulting
sea-level rise are affecting the Earth in ways that match theoretical predictions, astronomical
observations, and geodetic or land-survey data.
"What we believe in regard to melting of glaciers in the 20th century is completely consistent with
changes in Earth's rotation [as] measured by satellites and astronomical methods. This consistency was
elusive for a few years, but now the enigma is resolved.
Human-induced climate change is of such pressing importance to society that the responsibility on
scientists to get things right is enormous. By resolving Munk's enigma, we further strengthen the
already-strong argument that we are impacting climate."
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article49787445.html"> California's stranded sea
lions suffering from brain damage caused by algal blooms </a> - Scientists have gleaned fresh insight
into the havoc wreaked by a microscopic culprit that has disrupted marine life this year along the
Pacific Coast, not only tainting Northern California's delicious supply of Dungeness crab but also
sickening or killing hundreds of sea lions.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER IS UNDERWAY </a> - Canada's Meteor
Orbit Radar is picking up strong echoes from the constellation Gemini. It's a sign that the annual
Geminid meteor shower is underway. Geminid meteoroids are gravelly debris from "rock comet" 3200
Phaethon. They hit Earth's atmosphere traveling ~35 km/s (78,000 mph) and typically disintegrate about
80 km (50 miles) above Earth's surface.<br />
Earth is moving through the densest part of the stream today. Under ideal conditions this would produce
as many as 120 meteors per hour. Winter weather around the northern hemisphere is, in most places,
reducing actual sightings far below that number. On Dec. 14, the network reported 148 fireballs.
(107 Geminids, 33 sporadics, 4 sigma Hydrids, 1 December Monocerotid, 1 , 1 Comae Berenicid, 1 December
Leonis Minorid)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/12/14/taking-antidepressants-during-pregnancy-linked-
increased-risk-autism/77277946/"> Taking antidepressants during pregnancy linked to increased risk of
autism </a> - Children are more likely to be diagnosed with autism if their mothers took
antidepressants during pregnancy, a new study shows. In the new study, women who took antidepressants
in the last six months of pregnancy were 87% more likely to have a child later diagnosed with autism.
Doctors saw no increase in autism rates in women who took medication for depression in the first three
months of pregnancy. <br />
It's part of a growing body of research that suggests that the events that cause autism largely occur
before birth. Studies have found that children are at higher risk for autism, for example, if they are
born early or very small. Children are also at higher risk if they are in medical distress during
delivery; if they have older mothers or fathers; or if they are born less than a year after an older
sibling. <br />
Autism risk also goes up for women who are obese; if they have diabetes or high blood pressure; if they
are hospitalized for an infection; if they're exposed to significant air pollution during pregnancy; if
they had low levels of folic acid in early pregnancy; or if they take an anti-seizure drug called
valproic acid. "It's really during pregnancy that the hard-wiring of the brain takes place." <br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-19100560958051802272015-12-04T14:55:00.001-06:002015-12-04T14:55:27.682-06:00 Friday, December 4, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**One does not fall in love; one grows into love, and love grows in us.** <br />
Karl A. Menninger
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.0 SOUTHERN IRAN <br />
5.5 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 12/3/15 - <br />
5.3 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE<br />
5.3 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.1 TAIWAN REGION<br />
5.0 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.2 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE<br />
5.0 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://blog.cinfin.com/2015/07/30/earthquakes-in-the-breadbasket/?
utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=Content%20Syndication&utm_campaign=2015%20National%20Desktop">
Earthquakes in the U.S. breadbasket?</A> Understand the risk. (Hazard map at link, article by insurance
company)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br />
No current tropical storms.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35003353"> India </a> - Floodwaters recede as Chennai
rain eases. More than 7,000 people have been rescued so far, but many are still stranded, reports say.
More than 260 people have died in the floods in the state after the heaviest rainfall in a century.<br />
A depression in the Bay of Bengal has triggered rains in coastal areas.
Last month, non-stop rain for nearly a week brought the city to a standstill.
Three days of fresh rains have again led to massive flooding, inundating homes, hospitals, roads,
railway tracks and the city's airport. Forecasts of more showers remain in place.
Reports say there has been no rain in Chennai on Friday morning and water levels are receding in some
parts of the city. <br />
Schools, colleges and factories are shut, exams postponed and power supply suspended in most parts of
the city. An oil refinery has stopped operations.
A naval air base at Arakkonam, 70km (43 miles) from the Tamil Nadu state capital, is now being used as
a makeshift airport with seven commercial flights expected to operate on Friday and Saturday.
Train services will remain suspended until Saturday, officials say.<br />
Flood affected people queued up for food.
Some areas are still badly affected and remain cut off. Rescue teams are now focusing on these
neighbourhoods while trying to get food and medicines to thousands of people who have been affected.
Shops and markets have opened as well and people are queuing up to buy food and fuel, although there
are shortages of essentials supplies such as milk.
But the airport and the main railway station are still closed - a naval air base outside the city has
been cleared for a limited number of civilian flights.<br />
Although the rain is part of the normal monsoon, Chennai received AS MUCH RAIN IN TWO DAYS AS IT DOES IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
A massive rescue operation is continuing to reach stranded people. Some 5,000 houses are still under
water with many people trapped inside them, reports say.
Troops have set up 25 shelters and community kitchens for the flood victims.
Officials said they were investigating the deaths of 14 patients on life support after a power failure
at a private hospital in the city.<br />
"The hospital was flooded and it was adjacent to the river. The patients have died over a period of
three days. 57 other patients who were also on ventilator support have been shifted to other hospitals
in the city. The deaths have definitely not occurred due to power cuts. They were all critical patients. This will
in any case be a matter of investigation." <br />
Many people were queuing at bus stops to leave the city.
"There are people who haven't eaten for days. They have seen their possessions float away from the
house. Food, clothes - all gone."
The federal weather office has predicted two more days of torrential rain in the southern state, where
nearly 70 million people live.
A total of 269 people are now known to have died in floods in Tamil Nadu state since last month.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34992004"> 'Unnatural disaster'</a> - How human folly
has contributed to the Chennai deluge. Many parts of India suffer flooding every year during the annual
monsoon rains from June to September. The northeast monsoon has been particularly vigorous over
southern India and more so in Tamil Nadu state, of which Chennai is the capital.<BR />
Last month was the WETTEST NOVEMBER IN A CENTURY in the city of 4.3 million people. And, at 490 mm,
rainfall on 1 December was the highest in 100 years.
The floods are a wake up call for India's teeming cities that were built with the expectation that the
environment would adjust itself to accommodate the need for the city to grow. (PHOTOS AT LINK)
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3200"> Twisters Give Nation
a Pass in 2015:</a> LOWEST DEATH TOLL ON RECORD?
Amid all the genuinely awful news making the rounds in recent days, here is one bright spot: the year
2015 may end up with the lowest number of U.S. tornado fatalities in at least 141 years. As of December
2, preliminary numbers from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center show only 10 tornado-related deaths
nationwide. If this number holds through the end of the year, it will beat the 12 deaths reported in
1910 to become the lowest annual total on record.<br />
The U.S. nation has
indeed seen a remarkably safe year tornado-wise in 2015. The year is not done, though: 5 of the last 10
Decembers produced at least one tornado fatality, with the highest total of that period being 9 in
December 2010. Part of the story this year is sheer good luck. The strongest tornado of 2015 so far occurred on April
9: a violent EF4 twister that tracked over 30 miles of northern Illinois just west of Chicago.<br />
Just a
small shift in that tornado’s track could have produced far more havoc. And the unseasonably late
tornadic swarm of November 16 over the southern Great Plains produced three large EF3 tornadoes but
comparatively little damage. Apart from these two outbreaks, the year’s crop of tornadoes was generally
on the weak and short-lived side. A single outbreak can make an otherwise quiet year devastating, but
in general, “a low number of tornadoes correlates to a low number of tornado deaths." <br />
After the horrific tornado season of 2011 (with 553 fatalities, the nation’s deadliest since 1925), the
U.S. has seen four consecutive years with below-average activity, if we count 2015 in advance. For this
quietude, we can thank the same predominant upper-level pattern that’s stoked four years of intense
drought in California and shunted a large fraction of hurricanes away from the East Coast.<br />
“The
stagnant large-scale pattern of generally northwest flow that has dominated central North America for
the past few years has certainly played some role in suppressing conditions more supportive of tornado
outbreaks. whether this shift to more tranquil conditions is part of some longer-term
oscillation, a result of climate change dynamics, or both, or just a random occurrence, is hard to
say.”<br />
An uptick in tornado deaths over the last decade - There is the possibility that a quiet stretch could
soften people’s resolve to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from tornadoes. The decade from
2005 to 2014 produced a total of 1092 tornado-related deaths. That’s roughly double the death rate that
prevailed over the three prior decades (1975-84, 1985-94, and 1995-2004). Clearly, the numbers for the
past decade are skewed by the huge death toll in 2011, but a total of six of the ten years in 2005-2014
produced at least 50 deaths. That wasn’t the case in any of the three previous decades. <br />
“The annual death toll in the modern era is likely influenced more by the number of tornadoes than by
our improved ability to predict them. The conditions to support a widespread
killer tornado outbreak can come together in a matter of 2-3 days. We need to maintain vigilance!”
(photos and charts at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/1204/Migratory-birds-are-losing-ground.-Study-
cites-key-areas-needing-protections"> Migratory birds are losing ground.</a> Study cites key areas
needing protections. Migratory birds are at risk from increasing habitat destruction of stopover
points, especially in North Africa, Central Asia, and the coast of East Asia.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/radiation-japan-nuclear-disaster-spreads-off-u-shores-222502042.html">
Radiation from Japan nuclear disaster spreads off U.S. shores </a> -
Radiation from Japan's 2011 nuclear disaster has spread off North American
shores and contamination is increasing at previously identified sites, although levels are still too
low to threaten human or ocean life, scientists said on Thursday.<br />
Tests of hundreds of samples of Pacific Ocean water confirmed that Japan's Fukushima nuclear power
plant CONTINUES TO LEAK RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES more than four years after its meltdown.
Trace amounts of cesium-134 have been detected within several hundred miles (km) of the Oregon,
Washington and California coasts in recent months, as well as offshore from Canada's Vancouver Island.
Another isotope, cesium-137, a radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons tests conducted from the 1950s
through the 1970s, was found at low levels in nearly every seawater sample tested. <br />
"Despite the fact that the levels of contamination off our shores remain well below government-
established safety limits for human health or to marine life, the changing values underscore the need
to more closely monitor contamination levels across the Pacific."
In March 2011, a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, 130
miles (209 km) northeast of Tokyo, causing triple nuclear meltdowns and forcing more than 160,000
residents to flee from nearby towns. It was the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.<br />
Last year, there wa reported detectable radiation from about 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of
northern California, and in April radiation was found off Canada's shores.
The latest readings measured the highest radiation levels outside Japanese waters to date some 1,600
miles (2,574 km) west of San Francisco.
The figures also confirm that the spread of radiation to North American waters is not isolated to a
handful of locations, but can be detected along a stretch of more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) offshore.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/arctic-sea-ice-well-below-average-november-213505427.html"> Arctic Sea
Ice Is ‘Well Below Average’ for November </a> - Sea ice on both sides of the Arctic Ocean was well
below average in November, according to an update released Wednesday by the United States National Snow
and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.<br />
According to the center, sea ice covered 3.9 million square miles of the Arctic Ocean at the end of
November — an area 351,000 square miles smaller than the 1981 to 2010 average extent, although 230,000
square miles greater than 2006’s record low.
“At the end of the month, extent was well below average in both the Barents Sea and the Bering Strait
regions,” the center reported. “Extent was above average in eastern Hudson Bay, but below average in
the western part of the bay.”<br />
The low growth of winter sea ice is a continued signal that climate change is rapidly transforming
conditions in the Arctic, which are important drivers of climate and weather conditions around the
Northern Hemisphere. Sea ice is also crucial to the survival of polar bears, narwhals,ice seals, and other species. U.S.
federal wildlife officials declared polar bears a “threatened” species in 2008 because of diminishing
Arctic sea ice, and gave similar protections to populations of Arctic bearded and ringed seals in 2012.<br />
The Pacific walrus is also being considered for endangered species protections. For the past several
years, the walruses have been turning up in unprecedented numbers during early autumn on shorelines
around the Chukchi Sea, in Alaska and Russia, as the loss of Arctic sea ice forces them to come to
land.<br />
Above-average air temperatures above the region contributed to the slow growth of winter sea ice,
reported the snow and ice data center. “The area north of the Barents Sea, between Svalbard and the
Taymyr Peninsula, was unusually warm, at 11 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit above average,” and 2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit above average in other parts of the Arctic.
The absence of sea ice around Svalbard this fall could affect the region’s pregnant polar bears, which
need the ice to reach traditional denning sites in the archipelago’s eastern islands.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">SPACE WEATHER - </span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.spaceweather.com/"> SIGMA HYDRID METEORS</a> - Last night, Dec. 3-4, NASA's
network of all-sky meteor cameras recorded 8 fireballs from the sigma Hydrid meteoroid stream. These
meteoroids come from an unknown comet or asteroid. Earth passes through the sigma Hydrid stream every
year in early- to mid- December. Typically, the shower produces no more than 1 or 2 faint meteors per
hour. The detection of 8 bright fireballs in a single night suggests that sigma Hydrid activity could
be higher than usual.<br />
On Dec. 4, the network reported 32 fireballs.
(22 sporadics, 8 sigma Hydrids, 1 Geminid, 1 Puppids-Velid)<br /> <br />
GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is entering a stream of gravelly debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon,
source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. On the night of Dec. 2-3, NASA's network of all-sky cameras
detected three Geminid fireballs over the USA. <br />
The Geminid hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 36 km/s (81 thousand mph) and disintegrated completely 47
km (29 miles) above Earth's surface. These values are typical of Geminids.
Meteor sightings will increase in the nights ahead as Earth plunges deeper into the debris stream.
Forecasters expect peak rates to occur on Dec. 13-14, when dark-sky observers in both hemispheres could
see as many as 120 meteors per hour. Observing conditions will be nearly ideal because the shower peaks
just a few days after the New Moon.
<br /><br />
VAST HOLE OPENS IN SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: A vast hole in the sun's atmosphere - a "coronal hole" - has
opened up in the sun's northern hemisphere, and it is spewing a broad stream of solar wind into space.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the coronal hole during the early hours of Dec. 3rd.
Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. <br
/>
Hot plasma flows outward at speeds exceeding a million mph. Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole
will reach Earth beginning ~Dec. 6th, and our solar wind environment will be dominated the stream for
days after first contact. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.wsj.com/articles/chipotle-linked-e-coli-outbreak-widens-to-three-more-states-
1449251438"> Chipotle-Linked E. Coli Outbreak Widens to Three More States </a> -
Restaurant chain announces new food-safety measures in wake of reported illnesses. The illnesses in
Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania bring to nine the number of states affected by the outbreak. The
CDC said a total of seven more people over the past two weeks have reported becoming sick in the
outbreak, for a total of 52 — though all fell ill in October and November.<br />
The outbreak was first detected just over a month ago in Washington and Oregon, which still account for
most of the cases. Officials last month determined the outbreak extended outside the Pacific Northwest
to Minnesota and New York, among other states. The cause of the outbreak hasn’t been determined, though
authorities in Oregon and Washington pointed to produce as the likely culprit.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/salmonella-outbreak-linked-organic-nut-butter/story?id=35580419">
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Organic Nut Butter </a> has sickened 11 people. Health officials are
investigating the link to the JEM Raw Chocolate, LLC brand of nut butters.
All reported feeling ill between July 18 and Oct. 15. There have been no hospitalizations or deaths
reported in connection with the outbreak.
"This contaminated item has been widely distributed over a fairly wide period of time, it looks like a
low level of contamination."
<br /><br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-31261619279405533872015-12-03T03:24:00.002-06:002015-12-03T03:24:36.042-06:00 Thursday, December 3, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
I'm back! Fresh off a trip to Guatemala. A little natural disaster adventure on the trip, no
earthquakes or further big eruptions from Fuego volcano, just a landslide overnight that blocked the
mountain road.
<br /><br />
**One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.** <br />
Golda Meir
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
5.4 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE<br />
5.2 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE<br />
5.0 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 12/2/15 - <br />
5.4 EASTERN TURKEY<br />
5.3 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.
<br /><br />
12/1/15 - <br />
5.0 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS<br />
5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS<br />
5.8 FIJI REGION<br />
5.0 SOUTHERN PERU<br />
5.0 TONGA<br />
5.2 KYRGYZSTAN
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">VOLCANOES -</span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicaragua-momotombo-volcano-
photos_565f5190e4b08e945fedc989?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592"> Nicaraguan Volcano Erupts For The First
Time In 110 Years </a> - on Tuesday, spewing lava and plumes of ash into the sky.
Residents in nearby communities reported hearing a loud explosion before seeing gas and ash spout from
the volcano.
The eruption closed over a dozen schools in the surrounding regions. There are currently no reports of
any injuries or deaths.
The volcano is located 30 miles from Nicaragua's capital Managua, and is near Leon, which is the
country's second largest city. Around 3,500 people live in areas around the volcano. <br />
Earlier this month, Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupted some 320 miles away, covering at least six
villages with ash and forcing guests at a nearby hotel to evacuate. (photos and video at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
No current tropical storms.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3198">
The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season is officially over,</a> and it will go into the books as the most
memorable hurricane season to occur during a strong El Niño event. Strong El Niño events typically
reduce Atlantic hurricane activity by increasing wind shear over the tropical Atlantic, and this year's
El Niño conditions did indeed create unusually high levels of wind shear over the Caribbean, making it
difficult for tropical systems to organize and strengthen in those waters. Wind shear in 2015 was the
strongest on record.<br />
The 200-850-mb vertical wind shear in the Caribbean (10-20°N, 90-60°W) averaged from June through
October was the highest since at least 1979 (28.5 knots.) However, this high wind shear did not extend
as far east as usual, allowing several tropical storms to form near the coast of Africa over waters
that were near-record warm. Near record-warm to record-warm ocean temperatures were also over more
northern reaches of the Atlantic, and helped spur the formation of Hurricane Joaquin and Hurricane
Kate. <br />
As a result, the 2015 season was able to tally numbers that were not that far below average - 11 named
storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 intense Category 3 or stronger hurricanes. The 1981-2010 average numbers
were 11.5 named storms, 6.1 hurricanes, and 2.6 major hurricanes. <br />
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) is a measure of the total destructive power of a hurricane season,
based on the number of days strong winds are observed. ACE for an individual storm is computed by
squaring the maximum sustained winds of the storm at each 6-hourly advisory, and summing up over the
entire lifetime of the storm. The ACE for the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season was about 60% of average,
reflecting the relative lack of hurricanes. Hurricane Joaquin accounted for 46% of the season's ACE.<br
/>
Top ten notable events of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season at link. (also charts, photos and video at
link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/world/chennai-india-floods-irpt/index.html?eref=rss_latest">
India </a> - Deadly Chennai flooding leaves residents in fear. Weeks of heavy rain and flooding have
knocked out power, suspended public transportation and left people stranded in Chennai, one of India's
largest cities.<br />
The Indian army and navy are carrying out rescue operations. The Indian Coast Guard is also working to
rescue people.
At least nine people have died so far in severe flooding that has hit Chennai in recent days, according
to a Tamil Nadu state official tally released Wednesday.<br />
Emotional images of dramatic rescues in inflatable boats and civilians hoisting people over muddy flood
waters have inundated social media under the hashtag #Chennaifloods.
More than a foot of rain fell in the last 24 hours in Chennai - that's about the amount of rain London
would receive in six months.
It has rained 34 of the past 40 days and the heavy-rain-warning continues. The rain warning for the
southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and neighboring Puducherry are forecast through December 5,
according to India's main weather office.
(photos and video at link)
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34981246"> Fresh rains in the southern Indian city of
Chennai </a> (Madras) have caused serious flooding, with flights and trains suspended and hundreds of
people without power.
The army has been deployed to rescue thousands of stranded people after two days of heavy rain.
At least 188 people are now known to have died in floods in Tamil Nadu state since last month.<br />
A depression in the Bay of Bengal has triggered rains in coastal areas.
Last month, non-stop rain for nearly a week brought the city to a standstill.
Two days of fresh rains have again led to massive flooding, so much so that flights from the city's
airport have been indefinitely suspended after flood waters entered the runway and tarmac areas on
Tuesday evening.<br />
Reports say some 400 passengers are stranded at the airport, and all flights have been cancelled.
More than a dozen trains have also been cancelled after flood waters inundated the tracks.
The army and the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the city's worst-affected
southern suburbs to rescue people stranded in their flooded properties.
At least 10,000 policemen and swimmers have also been employed in the rescue effort. <br />
"The police want to help but there are no boats. We are trying not to panic."
Reports say that power supply has been suspended in nearly 60% of the city's neighbourhoods.
Most of the main streets are waterlogged and schools were closed for the 17th day since November. Schools and colleges have been shut in six districts due to the rains.
Patients have been evacuated from a government hospital in the Tambaram area after flood waters entered
the building.<br />
Residents have taken to social media to offer accommodation, food and mobile phone recharges to
citizens who are being forced to evacuate their properties.
"We only saw rains like this some 25-30 years ago when there was no electricity for almost a week. It
has been raining since Monday night and there has been no respite. Everywhere you look, there is two to
three feet of water."<br />
All the reservoirs around Chennai are full and the rivers are flooded with the excess waters released
from the reservoirs.
Thousands of people who were living on the banks of these rivers have been moved to temporary shelters.
The meteorological office says "scattered to heavy" rains are expected to continue for the next three
days.
India suffers severe flooding every year during the annual monsoon rains from June to September. The
retreating monsoon has been particularly vigorous over south India and more so in Tamil Nadu.
(photos and video at link)
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE - </span><br /><br/>
<A HREF="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28595-massive-el-nino-sweeping-globe-is-now-the-
biggest-ever-recorded/"> Massive El Niño sweeping globe is now the biggest ever recorded </a> -
The current extreme El Niño is now the strongest ever recorded, smashing the previous record from 1997
-8. Already wreaking havoc on weather around the world, the new figures mean those effects will
probably get worse. <br />
The 1997-8 El Niño killed 20,000 people and caused almost $97 billion of damage as floods, droughts,
fires, cyclones and mudslides ravaged the world.
Now the current El Niño has surpassed the 1997-8 El Niño on a key measure, according to the latest
figures released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.<br />
El Niño occurs when warm water that has piled up around Australia and Indonesia spills out east across
the Pacific Ocean towards the Americas, taking the rain with it.
A key measure of its intensity is the warmth of water in the central Pacific. In 1997, at its peak on
26 November, it was 2.8 °C above average. According to the latest measurements, it reached 2.8 °C on 4
November this year, and went on to hit 3.1 °C on 18 November – the highest temperatures ever seen in
this region.<br />
“The El Niño community is closely watching the evolution [of this El Niño] and whether the current
event will surpass the 1997-8 event. Monthly and weekly central Pacific temperature anomalies clearly show that this current event has
surpassed it.”
The temperatures in the central Pacific have the biggest impact on the global atmospheric circulation,
and therefore the biggest impacts on global weather. <br />
The event hasn’t broken temperature records across the entire eastern Pacific, but in the central
eastern Pacific. “It’s shifted into an area where most likely the atmosphere will respond even more.”
El Niños have been stronger in the last few decades than in
any period over the past four centuries. It is unknown whether that’s because of climate change. <br />
El Niño has been implicated in a host of extreme weather events across the globe. Combined with global
warming, it’s partly responsible for 2015 being the hottest year on record. In India, more than 2000
people died in a heatwave caused by a delayed monsoon – an effect of El Niño.<br />
Now the region is experiencing unusually heavy rains as the monsoon has finally arrived – also an
expected impact of El Niño. “Southern India is having a lot of rain as it goes into winter, having come
out of the dry monsoon. This is only so during extreme El Niño, so it is a confirmation that the El
Niño is huge."<br />
El Niño is also probably making record-breaking illegal fires in Indonesia worse, by reducing rainfall
there.
And in some Pacific Islands, water levels have dropped so much that coral reefs are exposed, in a
phenomenon known as Taimasa, Samoan for “smelly reef”. New Scientist has received photographs from Guam
showing this dramatic effect, only seen during extreme El Niño events.
Across the globe, the El Niño has also begun a mass coral bleaching.<br />
Australia has dodged some of the worst effects of El Niño, as the Indian Ocean Dipole – an oscillation
of sea temperatures in the Indian Ocean – which was amplifying El Niño, has eased off. And because of
the location of the warmest water, some regions like Peru and Ecuador are also likely to experience
fewer impacts.<br />
Many of the effects are yet to come. For example, whether it will bring rains to California and relieve
the drought – or even whether it will go too far and cause floods – isn’t yet known. The
models are predicting a higher chance of rain for California.
And once the El Niño is over, it might not be time for celebration, since it’s likely to be followed by
a strong La Niña, which will bring roughly opposite effects to the world’s weather. La Nina’s are also
expected to be about twice as common as a result of climate change this century.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.rdmag.com/articles/2015/12/china-cloning-facility-bolster-meat-production-humans-
next"> China Cloning Facility to Bolster Meat Production, Cloning Humans Next? </a>
Sinica, a subsidiary of Boyalife Group, has signed a deal to establish a $31 million commercial animal
cloning facility in Tianjin, China, with the intent to produce beef cattle, racehorses and other
animals.<br />
The plant will initially produce
100,000 cattle embryos per year, eventually increasing its output to 1,000,000 per year.
Chinese farmers are struggling to produce enough beef cattle to meet market demand. China’s meet demand has quadrupled in the last 40 years.
Chinese scientists have been cloning sheep, cattle and pigs since 2000.
In September 2014, Boyalife and Sooam Biotech opened the first commercial cloning company in China’s
Shandong Province. The first animals produced were three pure-blooded Tibetan mastiff puppies.<br />
Cloning animals for human consumption has been a contentious issue. Recently, the European Union (EU)
made strides to ban imports of cloned animals and products made from cloned animals. European farmers are facing increasing pressure from
Asia due to practices such as cloning.<br />
However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008 determined meat and milk from clones and their
offspring pose no substantial threat when compared with food eaten every day.
Boyalife Group hopes to hit the 1,000,000 production goal by 2020.
Additionally, the company is working with partners to improve primate cloning for disease research
purposes. From there, it’s on to humans, if allowed.<br />
“The technology is already there. If this is allowed, I don’t
think there are other companies better than Boyalife that make better technology.”
In the future, the technology may be applied to reproduction, allowing parents more choice their
child’s genetic makeup.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">HEALTH THREATS - </span><br />
<A HREF="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"> RECALLS & ALERTS </a> <br /><br />
<A HREF="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/costco-discovered-source-e-coli-152342489.html"> The source of a
an E. coli outbreak</a> spanning seven states has been traced back to a single ingredient in Costco’s
rotisserie chicken salad: diced celery.
The tainted ingredient came from Taylor Farms Pacific of Tracy, California, according to the FDA.<br />
The supplier has since issued a recall for items that may contain its celery. The recall affects a
nearly a dozen retailers including 7-Eleven, Safeway, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, and Starbucks.
The strain of E. coli found in the celery is more dangerous than the outbreak tied to Chipotle, because
it can lead to kidney failure. <br />
So far, 19 people have been infected with E. coli in California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Utah,
Virginia, and Washington.
Five people have been hospitalized, and two have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney
failure. No deaths have been reported.
The CDC said most of those infected had eaten Costco’s rotisserie chicken salad in the week before they
became ill.<br />
Consumers who purchased rotisserie chicken salad from any Costco store in the US on or before November
20, 2015, should not eat it and should throw it away.
Costco has removed all remaining rotisserie chicken salad from all stores in the US and stopped further
production of the product until further notice.
Starbucks has also removed all potentially tainted items from its stores. The recall affected only its “holiday turkey with stuffing panini” with “enjoy-by” dates of November 27
to November 28 in select stores in California, Oregon, and Nevada.
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bad-news-banana-may-soon-221507852.html"> Eat all the bananas
you can now </a> because soon, there won’t be any left. And it won’t be because you ate them all. It’ll be
because they’ve gone extinct. A new study in PLOS Pathogens claims that a virus named Tropical Race 4 is about
to kickstart the bananapocalypse.<br />
In what must be the worst case of deja vu in food history, this projected banana extinction is actually
the second to happen in this century. In the 1960s, the Gros Michel variety of bananas were all the
rage, until disaster struck. Panama disease, caused by Tropical Race, essentially wiped out the entire
crop of the Gros Michel. To give you a sense of the fungus’ virulence, once-leading banana producer
Taiwan now exports just 2 percent of what it did 50 years ago.<br />
The death of the Gros Michel led to the rise in popularity of today’s Cavendish banana, which was
resistant to the old version of the Panama disease virus. But now, all bets are off, as attempts to
quarantine the fungus have proven completely insufficient.<br />
While the Cavendish may have been able to survive the previous round of wipeouts, it is susceptible to
the new Tropical Race 4 strain currently making its way around the world. And while it hasn’t reached
Latin America yet, it seems inevitable that the producer of 82 percent of the world’s Cavendish bananas
will soon fall victim to the ruthless onslaught.<br />
So why haven’t we been able to do anything to stop the spread? Mostly because today’s bananas have been
cultivated as a monoculture — all bananas are genetically identical because they’ve been grown as a
seedless variety, which means that when one gets sick, they all get sick. Worse yet, the virus, which
kills essentially by dehydrating the plant’s root system, can stay in the soil for 30 years. <br />
The biggest problem at hand is the alarming rate with which humans today consume bananas. “Most bananas are grown by small-time farmers in the many poor countries where they’re a
staple crop.” This means that this impending banana shortage could have a huge effect on the diets of
some of the world’s poorest communities. And experts note that Tropical Race 4 puts more than 80
percent of these staple bananas at risk around the world.
<br /><br />
----------<br />
Global Disaster Watch is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDisasterWatch"> on Facebook </a>
</b>Global-Disaster-Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552657121188512853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897756382419377947.post-73275870294977246072015-10-18T01:42:00.000-05:002015-10-18T01:42:28.842-05:00 Sunday, October 18, 2015 <b><center> Global Disaster Watch - daily natural disaster updates.
<br /><br />
**Either you run the day or the day runs you.** <br />
Jim Rohn
</center><br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">LARGEST QUAKES so far today - </span><br />
None 5.0 or larger.
<br /><br />
Yesterday, 10/17/15 - <br />
5.2 VANUATU<br />
5.3 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.<br />
5.0 WEST CHILE RISE<br />
5.9 SALTA, ARGENTINA<br /><br />
10/16/15 - <br />
5.6 KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA
<br /><br />
10/15/15 - <br />
5.4 ECUADOR<br />
10/14/15 - <br />
5.4 NORTHERN COLOMBIA<br />
5.0 EAST OF KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.9 EAST OF KURIL ISLANDS<br />
5.0 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA<br /><br />
10/13/15 - <br />
None 5.0 or larger.<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/201124/at-least-one-dead-as-59-quake-hits-salta-"> Argentina
</a> - At least one dead as 5.9 quake hits Salta at 8:33 am this morning. The earthquake hit the province of
Salta in the northern area of the country, claiming the life of one woman who lived in the locality of El
Galpón, 160 km away from the provincial capital city. The tremor was felt also in the provinces of Tucumán,
Jujuy, Santiago del Estero and Córdoba.
<br /><br />
<span style="color:green;">TROPICAL STORMS - </span><br /><br />
* In the EASTERN PACIFIC - <br />
Tropical storm Olaf strengthening. Expected to become a hurricane today. Located about 1685 mi (2715 km) WSW of
the southern tip of Baja California.
<br /><br />
* In the WESTERN PACIFIC - <br />
- Typhoon Koppu, donwgraded from a super typhoon, is located approximately 91 nm north of Manila,
Philippines. <br /><br />
- Typhoon Champi is located approximately 343 nm south of Iwo To, Japan.
<br />
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3157"> Super Typhoon Koppu Could Hit
Philippines as a Category 5 </a> - Intensifying Super Typhoon Koppu is pounding the Philippines' eastern Luzon
Island with torrential rains as the storm crawls west-northwest at 6 mph. Koppu is called "Lando" locally in the
Philippines. At 8 am EDT Saturday, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated Koppu was a Category 4 super
typhoon with top winds of 150 mph, and the Japan Meteorological Agency estimated a central pressure of 930
mb.<br />
Koppu is the nineteenth Category 4 or 5 tropical cyclone this year in the Northern Hemisphere, SETTING A NEW
RECORD for these most powerful of storms. The previous record was eighteen such storms in 2004. <br />
Satellite loops on Saturday morning showed that Koppu had an impressive ring of eyewall clouds with very cold
cloud tops that extended high into the atmosphere, and a prominent 23-mile diameter eye. The combination of low
wind shear, warm ocean waters that extend to great depth and the presence of two impressive upper level outflow
channels will support continued intensification right up until landfall. <br /> Extreme winds, a large storm
surge, and heavy rains are all major threats from Koppu, but it is the storm's rains that will cause most of the
storm's destruction. Recent satellite estimates showed Koppu's maximum rainfall rate was likely 20 inches of
rain per 24 hours.<BR />
Unfortunately for the Philippines, Koppu is moving very slowly, which will lead to extremely high rainfall
rates. Koppu will slow down further after landfall, and spend at least three days over northern Luzon Island.
With water temperatures an UNUSUALLY WARM 30 - 31°C (86 - 88°F) in the waters surrounding Luzon - about 1°C
(1.8°F) above average - the typhoon will be able to pull in tremendous amounts of water vapor from the oceans,
resulting in widespread rains of over two feet falling on Luzon Island.<BR />
More than four feet of rain will likely fall in some mountainous areas, and rainfall amounts of this magnitude
are likely to cause devastating flooding. The Saturday run of the GFS model shows Koppu spending a full five
days over Luzon, which would result in even more disastrous rainfall amounts than described here. The capital of
Manila (population 12 million) lies right at the edge of where the most extreme rains of at least a foot will
fall, so hopefully the monetary damage from the flooding will stay below a billion dollars. (maps at link)
<br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34559707"> Typhoon Koppu - video</a>.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34558887"> UPDATE </A> - Philippines battered as Typhoon Koppu
makes landfall. Homes have been flattened, power lines toppled, and thousands of people have fled their homes as
Typhoon Koppu swept into the northern Philippines.<br />
Disaster agency officials said the storm was also whipping up coastal surges 4m (12ft) high.
The slow-moving typhoon made landfall near the town of Casiguran on the main island of Luzon on Sunday morning.
Koppu is predicted to bring three days of torrential rain, triggering major flooding and possibly landslides.
10,000 people have been displaced in north-eastern Luzon but no casualties had been reported so far.<br />
Why is Koppu slow-moving? There are two typhoons in the west Pacific at the moment - Typhoon Champi sits just to
the east of Koppu.
The complex interaction between these two typhoons and the warm air within these storms helps to build a ridge
of high pressure over Taiwan this weekend. It is this ridge that effectively traps typhoon Koppu over the
Philippines for a number of days rather than it being able to turn away from the Philippines and out of harm's
way to the South China Sea.<br />
Some computer models suggest the storm system will still be affecting the Philippines into the middle of next
week allowing colossal amounts of rain to accumulate - 1m (39in) of rain is possible. Such extreme rainfall
would bring some severe flooding to Luzon. (video and photos at link)
<br /><br />
<a href="http://mashable.com/2015/10/17/typhoon-koppu-lando-hits-philippines/#lunm68rpIuqb"> Worst case scenario begins to unfold </a> - Super Typhoon Koppu made landfall close to 1 a.m. local time on Sunday morning near the town of Casiguran in Luzon's Aurora Province, as a powerful Category 4 or 5 storm.
The storm was on the cusp of being declared a Category 5 monster from one of the official storm monitoring agencies in Japan and the U.S. before it crossed over land, officially with winds of 150 miles per hour, just shy of Category 5 strength.<br />
Super Typhoon Koppu underwent a nightmarish period of rapid intensification that may have caught many of the 15 to 20 million residents of Luzon off guard.
Just before people along the northeastern coast of Luzon in the Philippines — from Cabantuan City to the small towns along the coast, including Casiguran and Dipaulao — went to bed on Saturday evening, local time, Typhoon Koppu was a strong Category 2 storm.<br />
It was powerful, worthy of respect, but not monstrously strong. The storm was not remotely near the scale of Super Typhoon Haiyan, for example, which struck well to the south of this area in 2013, leaving at least 7,300 dead or missing. Fast forward about eight hours, to chaotic pre-dawn Sunday as Koppu made landfall as a ferocious Super Typhoon with winds of 150 miles per hour or higher.<br />
Such a storm is capable of wiping out entire towns from wind damage, and inflicting a grim toll along the coast from storm surge flooding.
This storm is going to do something few storms of this strength do — sit and spin over land, and then near land, for three to four full days, dumping almost unheard of rainfall totals in the process.
"We are looking at the possible worst scenario, not to scare but to allow us to prepare. If it stays 24 hours ... and the downpour is sustained, we will surely have floods and landslides."<br />
This may prove to be an understatement.
Some computer models are projecting that rainfall totals in northwestern Luzon will eclipse 50 inches, or 1,270 millimeters, by the time rain ends on Tuesday or Wednesday. If some projections are born out — and there is little reason to doubt them considering that there is historical precedent for such deluges from such tropical weather systems in the Philippines — rainfall totals could climb even higher, toward 60 to 80 inches, or about 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters or more.<br />
This would be the equivalent of receiving an entire year's worth of average precipitation in Miami, Florida, which is 61.92 inches, in just three or four days.
Such rains will cause potentially deadly flash flooding and mudslides as well as river flooding, and combined with the wind and storm surge damage, could lead to this storm being one of the most expensive natural disasters on record in a country that experiences the most natural disasters of any nation on Earth.<br />
To prepare for the flooding, local officials have been conducting forced evacuations of communities historically affected by flash flooding and landslides. Authorities also evacuated coastal villages that risked getting hit by storm surge flooding.
<br /><br />
Elsewhere in the Pacific: Typhoon Champi, Tropical Storm Olaf, and Tropical Cyclone Two - <br />
Category 2 Typhoon Champi is expected to intensify into a Category 4 storm by Sunday, becoming the Northern
Hemisphere's RECORD-SETTING twentieth Category 4 or stronger tropical cyclone of 2015. Champi is headed
northwest, and will turn to the north and northeast on Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday, a weakening Champi may
pass close enough to Iwo Jima to bring hurricane-force winds to that island.<br />
In the Eastern Pacific, Tropical Storm Olaf is steadily organizing as it heads west at 12 mph towards Hawaii.
Olaf is predicted to reach major hurricane strength by Monday, but will turn to the northwest well before
reaching Hawaii, eventually dying in the waters between Hawaii and California more than a week from now. Olaf is
not a threat to any land areas.<br />
In the South Pacific, Tropical Cyclone Two, the second tropical cyclone of the 2015 - 2016 season, was expected
to dissipate in the waters about 300 miles west of Fiji on Saturday night.
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<span style="color:green;"> SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -</span><br /><br />
<A HREF="http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Mud-Clean-Up-Efforts-Underway-Following-Flash-Floods-Thursday-333628101.html"> California </a> - RAINFALL RECORDS for Oct. 15 were set Thursday in Palmdale, Sandberg and Fox Field in Lancaster. Homeowners in northern Los Angeles County communities were spending their Saturday digging mud out of their houses as crews continued to clear tons of dirt that clogged roadways and buried hundreds of cars. Route 58, the Mojave-Barstow Highway, remains closed, after nearly 200 cars were trapped under mud and debris. Officials have not yet given word on when it will reopen.
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<A HREF="http://abcnews.go.com/US/dramatic-photos-mudslides-stranded-la-drivers/story?id=34520003"> California </a> - Dramatic Photos of the Mudslides That Stranded LA Drivers. Cars were stuck in place on Los Angeles highways Thursday night amid mudslides caused by flash flooding and thunderstorms.
Both northbound and southbound traffic on Interstate 5 was blocked because of the flooding and cars had to be removed by crews of workers. "I've never seen it rain that hard in such a short period of time; the hail and wind, it was coming down hard. ... The debris was just intense: chunks of wood and rock flowing everywhere."
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<A HREF="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34559706"> Wild dust storm rolls over US city of Phoenix -
Video </a>. A dust storm has been caught on camera as it rolls across Phoenix in the US state of Arizona.
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