No update on Wednesday this week. OR THURSDAY. FRIDAY WILL BE UPDATED AROUND NOON.
**Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all.
John Maynard Keynes
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
5.1 FIJI REGION
Yesterday, 6/2/14 -
5.3 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
5.0 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
VOLCANOES -
Indonesia - A volcano on the Indonesian island of Sangeang erupted explosively on May 30.
Volcanic eruption grounds flights in Asia-Pacific - Ash from the Indonesian volcano has led to the cancellation of a number of flights in the region since Friday. Mount Sangeang is a small, uninhabited volcanic island in Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands. It's considered one of the most active in the area by scientists. Friday's volcanic activity shot thick plumes of ash and sulfur dioxide more than 20 kilometers into the sky, which then drifted as far as northern Australia. Intermittent historical eruptions have been recorded at Sangeang since 1512, most of them during in the 20th century. The last confirmed eruption of Mount Sangeang was in 1997.
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical storms.
* In the Eastern Pacific -
Tropical Depression Two-E is located a couple of hundred miles south-southeast of Salina cruz, Mexico. Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.
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Hurricanes with women's names significantly more deadly - According to a recent study, hurricanes with women’s names are likely to cause significantly more deaths than those with masculine names - not because the feminine-named storms are stronger, but because they are perceived as less threatening and so people are less prepared.
People in the path of severe storms with a feminine name may take fewer protective measures, leaving them more vulnerable to harm. Atlantic hurricane names alternate between male and female, starting with Arthur this year, followed by Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly and 17 others. The list is recycled every six years with the exception of 78 names from severe storms like Katrina and Camille that have been retired.
When people imagined being in a male-named storm they predicted the storm would be more severe than it was for a female-named storm. “We don’t think people are aware that the name of the storm may affect how seriously they respond to storm warnings. But the name assigned actually means nothing.”
A meteorologist said he found the results interesting. “If that’s the case, then people better get over it. They are putting themselves and their families at risk if that’s the basis by which they are deciding on whether or not to flee a storm and to take the warning seriously. It only takes one storm hitting the wrong area to create havoc and mayhem, no matter what the name is.”
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
Iran - A powerful sandstorm has hit Iran's capital, Tehran, killing at least four people and injuring about 30. At its peak, the storm brought winds of up to 110km/hour (70mph), knocking over trees and damaging windows.
The sky turned orange from thick dust brought on by the storm. Such strong storms are UNUSUAL in Tehran. The storm caused power cuts and traffic accidents from poor visibility as dust and sand engulfed parts of the capital. Some domestic flights to central Iran have been diverted. "It was a horrifying storm and suddenly everywhere went dark. I closed my store's shutters to prevent damage. [A] big tree broke and knocked in the windows, shattering them."
The total number of deaths is unclear. Iranian state television said five were killed, while state-run Irna news agency said four died. Some of the deaths were reportedly caused by falling trees. (photos at link)
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