**The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.**
Daniel Boorstin
LARGEST QUAKES recent quakes, 6.0 or larger -
8/24/16 -
6.8 MYANMAR
6.2 CENTRAL ITALY
8/23/16 -
6.1 FLORES SEA
8/21/16 -
6.0 SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND REGION
8/20/16 -
6.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
6.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Italy - 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.
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.
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.
Quake damage - Before and after photos.
A powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar 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."
TROPICAL STORMS -
Global storm map
* In the Atlantic Ocean -
- Gaston becomes the third hurricane of the Atlantic season. Located about 1215 mi (1955 km) W of the Cabo Verde islands.
* In the Western Pacific -
- Typhoon 12w (Lionrock) is located approximately 258 nm southeast of Kadena Air Base.
-----
Huge 99L Generating 55 mph Winds, But Remains Disorganized - 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.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
At least two confirmed tornadoes ripped through Central Indiana 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.”
----------
Global Disaster Watch is on Facebook
