**Life is about pictures with quotes and stuff, that tell you what life is about."
Abraham Lincoln's Facebook page
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
5.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.
5.5 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
5.0 IRAN-IRAQ BORDER REGION
5.0 AEGEAN SEA
5.0 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
Yesterday, 8/21/14 -
5.0 TONGA REGION
5.9 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
8/20/14 -
5.5 EAST OF SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
5.5 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.3 IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.6 IRAN-IRAQ BORDER REGION
8/19/4 -
5.2 IRAN-IRAQ BORDER REGION
5.3 SOUTHWEST OF AFRICA
5.3 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
TROPICAL STORMS -
* In the Eastern Pacific -
- Tropical storm Karina drifting eastward, located about 1270 mi...2045 km ESE of Hilo, Hawaii
- Tropical storm Lowell weakens to a tropical storm located about 945 mi (1520 km) W of the southern tip of Baja California
- Tropical storm Marie strengthening steadily as it moves parallel to the southern coast of Mexico, located about 325 mi...520 km S of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Marie is likely to become a hurricane by early Saturday Swells generated by Marie should begin affecting portions of the southwestern coast of Mexico this weekend and spread northward along the West Coast of the Baja California peninsula by Sunday or Monday.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Rain hampers Japan landslide rescue - Heavy rain hampers rescue operations in Japan's Hiroshima prefecture where a deadly landslide killed at least 39 people, with 51 still missing.
Video (1:53)
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
GPS devices find huge water loss in western US - new study finds that 63 trillion gallons of water have been lost to drought in the western United States, enough to blanket the region with 4 inches of water.
Epic Drought in West is Literally Moving Mountains - The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting, which is contributing to sea level rise. But the same amount of water melting from Greenland each year is being lost in California and the rest of the West because of the epic drought there. What happens? The land in the West begins to rise.
In fact, some parts of California’s mountains have been uplifted as much as 15 millimeters (about 0.6 inches) in the past 18 months because the massive amount of water lost in the drought is no longer weighing down the land, causing it to rise a bit like an uncoiled spring, a new study shows.
Changes in ocean currents may be sending heat into the deep waters of the Atlantic and Southern oceans instead of the atmosphere, temporarily slowing global warming.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS
The outbreak of Ebola has now claimed hundreds of lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with a few cases in Nigeria. Beyond the number of casualties, the present health crisis will have lasting economic and social consequences in countries recovering from years of conflict and instability. "Emerging sectors such as tourism, agriculture and private sector investment could take a hit."
Dead Ebola victim continues trail of viral destruction - Two alarming new cases of Ebola have emerged in Nigeria, widening the circle of people sickened beyond the immediate group of caregivers who treated a dying airline passenger in one of Africa's largest cities.
Ebola crisis - Food, water scarce in quarantined Liberia area. Government officials handed out bags of rice and sachets of drinking water Thursday to residents of an impoverished slum in Liberia's capital where tens of thousands of people have been barricaded in an effort to stop the spread of Ebola.
----------
Global Disaster Watch is on Facebook
