**Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.**
Dostoevsky
I was unable to update the webpage last week as my father had another stroke. He's doing ok, but with a long recovery period ahead.
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
None 5.0 or larger.
Yesterday, 11/23/14 -
5.0 OFF COAST OF OREGON
5.0 EAST OF NORTH ISLAND, N.Z.
5.2 OFF COAST OF OREGON
11/22/14 -
5.6 ROMANIA
5.5 CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN
6.2 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
6.0 WESTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.0 CENTRAL PERU
5.0 OFF COAST OF TARAPACA, CHILE
5.3 VANUATU
11/21/14 -
6.6 MOLUCCA SEA
5.2 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
5.8 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
11/20/14 -
5.6 MYANMAR-INDIA BORDER REGION
5.1 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
5.5 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
11/19/14 -
5.2 TAIWAN REGION
5.2 KYUSHU, JAPAN
5.0 OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO
5.3 CARLSBERG RIDGE
5.2 CARLSBERG RIDGE
5.0 KEP. TANIMBAR REGION, INDONESIA
5.2 TIMOR REGION, INDONESIA
11/18/14 -
5.1 TONGA REGION
5.0 KYUSHU, JAPAN
5.0 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES
5.2 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES
5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
5.1 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
5.1 MOLUCCA SEA
5.0 MOLUCCA SEA
5.8 MOLUCCA SEA
5.7 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
11/17/14 -
5.3 GREECE
5.2 GREECE
5.1 FLORES SEA
6.2 PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS REGION
5.3 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES
5.4 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES
5.2 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES
5.4 SOUTHEAST OF EASTER ISLAND
5.0 FIJI REGION
5.5 MYANMAR
5.3 D'ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS REGION
5.9 D'ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS REGION
Strong Quake in West China Kills 2; 54 Hurt.
Japan - The damage from an overnight earthquake in a mountainous area of central Japan that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics proved more extensive than initially thought. A daylight assessment Sunday found at least 50 homes destroyed in two villages, and 41 people injured across the region, including seven seriously, mostly with broken bones.
The magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday west of Nagano city at a depth of 5 kilometers (3 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 6.2. The hardest-hit area appeared to be Hakuba, which hosted events in the 1998 winter games. At least 43 homes were destroyed there, and 17 people injured. Another seven homes were lost in Otari, a nearby village to the north. Non-residential buildings were also destroyed, with officials assessing the extent.
Japanese television footage showed buildings in various states of collapse, some flattened and others leaning to one side, and deep cracks in the roads. A landslide spilled onto a railroad track, forcing service to stop. About 200 people from Hakuba and Otari had evacuated to shelters. More than 20 people trapped under collapsed houses were rescued.
The quake has been followed by more than 60 aftershocks, and Meteorological Agency officials urged residents to watch out for landslides. The area was struck by a magnitude-6.7 earthquake the day after the huge March 2011 quake. (video at link)
VOLCANOES -
Cape Verde orders evacuation after Fogo volcano erupts - The volcano in the Cape Verde archipelago off the coast of West Africa erupted on Sunday morning. A photograph posted on the local RTC TV station website showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the sky, visible from the capital Praia on a neighbouring island.
"Things could deteriorate in the coming moments, in the coming hours," said a statement on the government website. "We've called on people to heed the authorities' instructions. People should abandon Cha das Caldeiras," referring to a hillside community. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries or deaths following the eruption.
The volcano last erupted in 1995, causing minor damage. A larger eruption occurred in 1951. The government planned to send a plane providing assistance to residents. The former Portuguese colony is located about 600 km (400 miles) off the coast of Senegal. Fogo's volcanic peak, surrounded by vineyards, is a hiking destination.
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical storms.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
Flood Threat Looms for N.Y. After Arctic Onslaught - Flood warnings were in effect for parts of New York on Sunday, with temperatures heating up as the region dug out from a massive and deadly snowfall that dumped seven feet of snow on the Buffalo area and killed at least 13 people. Temperatures were expected to climb through the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast on Sunday and Monday, with some areas seeing highs in the 60s and possibly even the 70s in the South.
Video
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
October 2014: Earth's Third Consecutive Warmest Month ON RECORD - October 2014 was the warmest October on record, and the year-to-date-period January - October was Earth's warmest such period since record keeping began in 1880.
'GLOBAL WEIRDNESS' / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Corn Might Be a Culprit for CO2 Releasing into the Atmosphere - Corn, Wheat, Rice, and Soybean Carbon Dioxide causing Climate Change. The United Nations and world governments are blaming industrial facilities and greenhouse gas emissions as contributing to climate change, but a new study has revealed that four crops, corn, rice, wheat and soybean, are playing large roles in the climate change game. There has been a great shift in agriculture in the last five decades. We have learned how to create more crops and make production more efficient, but the question now is how will crops change the atmosphere of the future?
A new study shows that levels of Carbon dioxide will be on the rise in the Northern Hemisphere, due to summer heat and the tail-end of the growing season. This will release CO2 in parts of the growing season. "We know that crops have increased in productivity over this time period and they were in the right place to be influencing this." While the team of researchers found that corn, soybeans, wheat and rice account for the highest percentage of crops that release maximum CO2; the likeliest culprit will be corn.
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