Earth Watch Report – Thursday August 30th,2012

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC)	Magnitude	Area	Country	State/Prov./Gov.	Location	Risk			Source	Details
30.08.2012 10:46:02	4.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Atka				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 10:25:41	4.9	South America	Chile	Bío-Bío	Arauco				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 09:35:39	2.4	North America	United States	California	Weott				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 09:36:08	2.5	North America	United States	California	Yorba Linda				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 09:25:32	2.4	North America	United States	Alaska	Petersville				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 09:36:32	4.4	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Mas				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 09:55:29	4.4	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Mas				EMSC
30.08.2012 09:20:28	5.2	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Mas				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 09:56:02	5.3	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Mas				EMSC
30.08.2012 08:55:24	2.0	Asia	Turkey	Mu?la	Ula				EMSC
30.08.2012 08:15:26	2.0	North America	United States	California	Cobb				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 08:50:28	3.6	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:35:36	2.2	North America	United States	California	Ponderosa				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:50:26	2.5	Asia	Turkey	Mu?la	Datca				EMSC
30.08.2012 09:36:56	2.8	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:20:34	2.3	North America	United States	California	Yorba Linda				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:15:57	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Pedro Bay				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:10:53	2.5	North America	United States	Alaska	Tyonek				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 06:50:26	2.2	North America	United States	California	Brawley				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 06:45:19	2.5	Europe	France	Rhône-Alpes	Saint-Bonnet-le-Chateau				EMSC
30.08.2012 08:55:49	2.3	Europe	Albania	Dibër	Duricaj				EMSC
30.08.2012 07:50:48	2.5	Europe	Greece	North Aegean	Agios Dimitrios				EMSC
30.08.2012 07:52:00	3.4	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:05:35	3.4	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 05:25:47	4.9	South America	Peru	Ucayali	Campoverde				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 05:45:20	5.0	South-America	Peru	Ucayali	Campoverde				EMSC
30.08.2012 05:45:43	3.3	Europe	Greece	Peloponnese	Koroni				EMSC
30.08.2012 04:46:13	2.0	North America	United States	California	Brawley				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 04:35:46	2.3	North America	United States	California	Brawley				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:11:17	3.7	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 05:15:28	3.8	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 07:51:07	2.5	Asia	Turkey	Antalya	Kalkan				EMSC
30.08.2012 03:50:31	2.1	North America	United States	California	Brawley				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 04:25:43	3.8	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 03:35:29	2.5	North America	United States	California	Brawley				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 03:05:32	2.0	North America	United States	California	Westmorland				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 03:45:21	3.1	South-America	Chile	Atacama	Vallenar				EMSC
30.08.2012 03:45:43	3.9	South-America	Bolivia	Potosí	Villa Alota				EMSC
30.08.2012 04:45:20	4.4	Middle-America	Nicaragua	Chinandega	Jiquilillo				EMSC
30.08.2012 04:30:26	4.4	Middle America	Nicaragua	Chinandega	Jiquilillo				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 02:40:21	2.1	Europe	Italy	Emilia-Romagna	San Prospero				EMSC
30.08.2012 04:45:46	4.3	Middle-America	El Salvador	Usulután	Puerto El Triunfo				EMSC
30.08.2012 04:46:37	4.3	Middle America	El Salvador	Usulután	Puerto El Triunfo				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 08:56:11	3.3	Europe	Greece	South Aegean	Karpathos				EMSC
30.08.2012 02:40:47	2.3	Europe	Italy	Sicily	Saponara Villafranca				EMSC
30.08.2012 01:35:25	3.1	Asia	Turkey	Mu?la	Sarigerme				EMSC
30.08.2012 01:05:31	2.0	North America	United States	California	Brawley				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 01:00:29	2.5	North America	United States	California	King City				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 00:50:37	2.1	North America	United States	California	Pearsonville				USGS-RSOE
30.08.2012 00:35:40	4.2	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		Road Town				USGS-RSOE

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Yorba Linda earthquake a likely aftershock from earlier cluster

The 4.1 earthquake that jolted Yorba Linda on Wednesday afternoon appears to be an aftershock of the cluster of quakes that hit the region earlier this month, seismologists said.

The jolted area included southeastern Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire. The quake occurred in about the same location of an earthquake doublet, two 4.5 quakes that occurred on Aug. 7 at 11:23 p.m. and Aug. 8 at 9:33 a.m. The area was also hit by a 4.0 quake on June 14.

Wednesday’s quake, which hit at 1:31 p.m., was located near the center point of the magnitude-5.5 Chino Hills earthquake that reverberated through the Los Angeles Basin in the summer of 2008, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones told The Times.

Wednesday’s quake appeared to be located in the “Yorba Linda trend,” a seismic area identified by Caltech geophysicist Egill Hauksson in 1990, that might be a buried fault.

Many who felt the quake said it was relatively mild.

At Vinjon’s Kennel in Yorba Linda, the quake hit just as Carisa Feeney, 22, was giving a bath to a year-and-a-half-old boxer mix. When the quake delivered its single strong jolt, the dog leaped up in the tub –- and both quickly ran outside.

“I’m pretty much covered in water,” Feeney said.

Nancy Ferguson, who owns SGO Designer Glass in Old Town Yorba Linda, said, “We had a big jolt, just for a few seconds, then everything just kind of swayed.”

Ferguson, who has hundreds of pieces of glass on display in her store, said she holds her breath every time there’s an earthquake. “But nothing fell over today, so we’re feeling pretty lucky,” she said.

It is unlikely that the earthquake swarm that has hit Imperial County with hundreds of quakes since the weekend is related to Wednesday’s quake in Yorba Linda, Jones said.

Southern California town declares emergency over quake swarm

LOS ANGELES

Aug 29 (Reuters) – The southern California town of Brawley has taken the unusual step of declaring a state of emergency after a swarm of earthquakes rattled nearly 20 mobile homes off their blocks and forced a slaughterhouse to close, the mayor said on Wednesday.

It is uncommon for quake-hardy California cities to declare emergencies due to tremors, but Brawley mayor George Nava said the earthquake swarm is a unique case because it has lasted for days and caused millions of dollars in damage.

The cluster of relatively small quakes, which are caused by water and other fluids moving around in the Earth’s crust, began on Saturday evening and climaxed the next day with a 5.5 temblor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The tremors were continuing on Wednesday and geologists say there have been hundreds in total.

Nava said leaders in Brawley, a city of 25,000 residents south of the state’s inland Salton Sea and 170 miles (275 km) southeast of Los Angeles, declared a local emergency late on Tuesday. Officials with surrounding Imperial County made a similar declaration on Wednesday.

Nineteen mobile homes were knocked off their blocks and their residents forced out, Nava said. The auditorium at Brawley Union High School has been damaged and closed off, and the National Beef slaughter plant in Brawley has been temporarily shut down due to damage, he said.

Local businesses have suffered millions of dollars in losses from closures and from customers staying away, Nava said. But he could not give an exact account of quake-related losses.

The Red Cross and local government agencies will offer services to residents on Friday and Saturday at a local center. The emergency declaration allows Brawley to receive more assistance from Imperial County, Nava said.

At one point, about 10,000 residents in the city were without power, and the quakes have also caused water line disruptions, Nava said.

“When you don’t have an AC or running water, it’s just not a good thing in this weather,” he said.

Jeanne Hardebeck, research seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said earlier this week that the cluster of quakes is not a sign that a larger temblor is imminent. (Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Sandra Maler)

30.08.2012

Earthquake

USA

State of California, [Imperial County]

Earthquake in USA on Monday, 27 August, 2012 at 03:20 (03:20 AM) UTC.

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Updated:	Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 03:10 UTC
Description
An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents, but scientists say the cluster is not a sign a larger temblor is imminent. The earthquakes, the largest of which measured magnitude 5.5, began on Saturday evening and have been centered near the town of Brawley close to the state’s inland Salton Sea, said Jeanne Hardebeck, research seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists were monitoring the earthquake cluster, which continued on Tuesday, to see if it approaches the Imperial Fault, about three miles away. A destructive and deadly earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck on that fault in 1940, she said. “We don’t have any reason to believe that the (earthquake) storm is going to trigger on the Imperial Fault, but there’s a minute possibility that it could,” Hardebeck said, adding that the swarm of quakes was not moving closer to that fault.The Brawley quake cluster, which is caused by hot fluid moving around in the Earth’s crust, is different than a typical earthquake, in which two blocks of earth slip past each other along a tectonic fault line. After that kind of an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or above, there is a 5 percent chance a larger quake will follow, Hardebeck said. But she added the same kinds of probability estimates were not possible with earthquake clusters caused by the movement of hot fluid. “We understand them even less than we understand normal earthquakes,” Hardebeck said, adding that scientists do not know why a cluster of earthquakes will occur at one time rather than another. The swarm led to jangled nerves in Brawley, a town of about 25,000 residents 170 miles southeast of Los Angeles near the border with Mexico. “It’s pretty bad. We had to evacuate the hotel just for safety,” Rowena Rapoza, office manager of a local Best Western Hotel, said on Sunday. There were two earthquakes on Sunday afternoon, one with a 5.5 magnitude and one measuring 5.3, Hardebeck said. Those were the largest quakes in the cluster amid hundreds of others, she said. In the past, earthquake clusters have gone on for as long as two weeks, Hardebeck said. Before this recent cluster in Brawley, the last swarm of this size to hit the area was in 1981, she said. Earlier this month, a pair of moderate-sized earthquakes both registering a magnitude 4.5 struck the California town of Yorba Linda within 10 hours of each other, but no damage was reported. Yorba Linda, the birthplace of the late President Richard Nixon, is 145 miles northwest of Brawley.

Earthquake in USA on Monday, 27 August, 2012 at 03:20 (03:20 AM) UTC.

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Updated:	Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 19:21 UTC
Description
Earthquake swarms continued Wednesday in Imperial County as the city of Brawley declared an emergency to deal with the damage. The swarm that began Sunday morning showed signs of slowing down Wednesday, with fewer quakes reported by the U.S. Geological Survey than on recent days. The magnitude of the quakes is also declining. There was scattered damage around Brawley, but officials have not yet compiled a full estimate of the costs. The Brawley City Council on Tuesday declared a local emergency, according to the Imperial Valley Press. More than 400 earthquakes greater than magnitude 1.0 have been recorded in Imperial County since Saturday evening, said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Elizabeth Cochran. The largest were a 5.3 and a 5.5 about midday Sunday. Scientists say the reason is not fully understood, but there is a clue: Earthquake faults work much differently south of the Salton Sea than they do closer to Los Angeles. Take, for instance, the San Andreas fault as it runs through Los Angeles County. It’s a fault where, generally speaking, two plates of the Earth’s crust are grinding past each other. The Pacific plate is moving to the northwest, while the North American plate is pushing to the southeast.South of the Salton Sea, the fault dynamic changes. The Pacific and North American plates start to pull away from each other, Cochran told The Times from her Pasadena office. (That movement is what created the Gulf of California, which separates Baja California from the rest of Mexico.) So Imperial County is caught between these two types of faults in what is called the “Brawley Seismic Zone,” which can lead to an earthquake swarm, Cochran said. The last major swarm was in 2005, Cochran said, when the largest magnitude was a 5.1. The largest swarm before last weekend’s occurred in 1981, when the biggest quake topped out at 5.8. Before that, there were swarms in the 1960s and 1970s. Brawley school officials told the Imperial Valley Press that Palmer Auditorium, a performance facility it manages with a local arts group, has been shut down after an inspection. “We were told by engineers it needs to be shut down because there were huge structural damages,” school Supt. Hasmik Danielian told the paper. Crews would have a better idea of the total damage caused by the quakes in the coming days, said Maria Peinado, a spokeswoman for the Imperial County Public Health Department, but so far the list of affected structures includes about 20 mobile homes shifted from their foundations. The earthquakes also caused “cosmetic” damage to at least three buildings dating to the 1930s in downtown Brawley, said Capt. Jesse Zendejas of the Brawley Fire Department. A few displaced residents spent Sunday night at an American Red Cross shelter at the Imperial Valley College gymnasium, Peinado said.

Earthquake in USA on Monday, 27 August, 2012 at 03:20 (03:20 AM) UTC.

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Updated:	Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 02:56 UTC
Description
The southern California town of Brawley has taken the unusual step of declaring a state of emergency after a swarm of earthquakes rattled nearly 20 mobile homes off their blocks and forced a slaughterhouse to close, the mayor said on Wednesday. It is uncommon for quake-hardy California cities to declare emergencies due to tremors, but Brawley mayor George Nava said the earthquake swarm is a unique case because it has lasted for days and caused millions of dollars in damage. The cluster of relatively small quakes, which are caused by water and other fluids moving around in the Earth’s crust, began on Saturday evening and climaxed the next day with a 5.5 temblor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tremors were continuing on Wednesday and geologists say there have been hundreds in total.Nava said leaders in Brawley, a city of 25,000 residents south of the state’s inland Salton Sea and 170 miles (275 km) southeast of Los Angeles, declared a local emergency late on Tuesday. Officials with surrounding Imperial County made a similar declaration on Wednesday. Nineteen mobile homes were knocked off their blocks and their residents forced out, Nava said. The auditorium at Brawley Union High School has been damaged and closed off, and the National Beef slaughter plant in Brawley has been temporarily shut down due to damage, he said. Local businesses have suffered millions of dollars in losses from closures and from customers staying away, Nava said. But he could not give an exact account of quake-related losses. The Red Cross and local government agencies will offer services to residents on Friday and Saturday at a local center. The emergency declaration allows Brawley to receive more assistance from Imperial County, Nava said. At one point, about 10,000 residents in the city were without power, and the quakes have also caused water line disruptions, Nava said. “When you don’t have an AC or running water, it’s just not a good thing in this weather,” he said. Jeanne Hardebeck, research seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said earlier this week that the cluster of quakes is not a sign that a larger temblor is imminent.

29.08.2012

Earthquake

British Virgin Islands

Atlantic Ocean, [Between 94 to 108 kilometers of the Road Town]

Earthquake in British Virgin Islands on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 07:42 (07:42 AM) UTC.

Description

A total of 104 earthquakes were observed in the last four days, British Virgin Islands area. The smallest was M2.0 and the strongest quake was M4.8 on the Richter scale. The center of the earthquake at a distance of 94 to 108 kilometers and the depth were between 5 and 90 kilometers.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Today

Heat Wave

USA

State of South Dakota, [SD-wide]

Heat Wave in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 03:25 (03:25 AM) UTC.

Description

South Dakota students are used to extreme cold and having classes called off because of winter blizzards, but the weather that caused their school day to be cut short Wednesday was intense for a different reason: the triple-digit temperatures. More than two dozen school districts across the state shut down early Wednesday as temperatures rose above 100 degrees, turning classrooms into saunas. “The major factor in the decision is the safety and welfare of students and staff members. It’s tough to learn in an environment when a room is 100 degrees,” said Eureka Superintendent Bo Beck, whose north-central South Dakota district joined others in dismissing students a few hours early because their classrooms lack air conditioning. Eureka and other districts have called off classes due to late-summer heat in past years, but school closures are more common in winter months when snow, frigid temperatures and howling winds make travel unsafe, Beck said. Scott Doering, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen, said high temperatures Wednesday were expected to range from the low 90s in northeastern South Dakota to as high as 107 in the center of the state as a ridge of high pressure made the northern and central Plains area the nation’s hotspot.Some places in central South Dakota could break or come close to breaking records before temperatures start to drop to the 80s and lower 90s Thursday, Doering said. He said temperatures topping 100 sometimes persist in South Dakota, even into September. “It’s unusual, but not highly unusual,” he added, referring to Wednesday’s heat. Don Hotalling, superintendent for the Stanley County School District, said all students in Fort Pierre were being sent home at 1 p.m. because some classrooms are not air-conditioned. That problem will be solved after a new building is completed next year, he said. “With 106 degrees forecast for today, we knew it really was going to be miserable for some of the students,” Hotalling said. “With the humidity and the heat, it’s very uncomfortable. Not much learning is going to be going on later in the afternoon, when it gets hotter.” Stanley County eighth-grader Madison Bogue was happy her Fort Pierre school ended the day early. “It’s really awesome. It’s better than sitting in there all day,” the 13-year-old said. The district used fans to try to cool buildings Tuesday, when a lot of parents picked up their kids and took them home to beat the heat, Hotalling said. Staff encouraged students to drink plenty of water, but some students complained Tuesday of headaches, he said. Deputy state Education Secretary Mary Stadick Smith said she didn’t know how many schools were closing because of the heat, but at least two dozen schools from northeastern South Dakota to Rapid City in the west let radio and television stations know of early closures. “Typically in South Dakota, schools are closed because of cold weather and blizzards that kind of thing, so it is a little unusual,” Stadick Smith said. Schools will not have to make up the missed time as long as they meet annual requirements for hours spent in classrooms, she said. The Rapid City Journal reported that schools in that city also were closing early because 15 of the 25 public schools do not have air conditioning. “When we start reaching temperatures above 90 degrees in classrooms, we have concerns as to trying to do something to relieve that stress on the teachers and the students that have been trying to work in those rooms,” Rapid City Area Schools Superintendent Tim Mitchell told the newspaper. Principal Robin Gillespie said teachers at Rapid City’s Wilson Elementary have been beating the heat with fans, low lights, water breaks and Popsicles. Many South Dakota residents seemed to take the heat in stride.

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Mustang Complex Fires in Idaho

Image Location

More in this Event (view all)

Left

Right

acquired August 28, 2012 download large image (3 MB, JPEG, 4000×5200)

acquired August 28, 2012 download GeoTIFF file (37 MB, TIFF)

acquired August 28, 2012 download Google Earth file (KMZ)

Sparked by lightning in July, the Mustang Complex fire had burned 149,828 acres (60,633 hectares) of rugged terrain near Salmon, Idaho, by August 29, 2012. The fire burned in steep, inaccessible terrain.

This natural-color satellite image shows thick smoke from the fires streaming northeast toward Montana. It was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on August 28, 2012. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red.

By August 23, more than 1,106,545 acres (447,803 hectares) had burned in Idaho—more than any other state except for Oregon. By August 29, more than 7,277,838 acres (2,945,236 hectares) had burned throughout the United States in what has proven to be one of the most severe wildfire seasons in the last decade.

1. Reference

2. Inciweb. (2012, August 29). Mustang Complex Fire. Accessed August 29, 2012.
3. National Interagency Fire Center. (2012, August 29). Year-to-Date Statistics. Accessed August 29, 2012.
4. National Interagency Fire Center. (2012, August 29). National Year-to-Date Statistics on Fires and Acres Burned by State. Accessed August 29, 2012.

1. Further Reading

2. Idaho Press-Tribune. (2012, August 29). Black Bear Cub Treated for Burn Injuries. Accessed August 29, 2012.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Adam Voiland.

Instrument: Aqua – MODIS

Today

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Montana, [Near to Butte and Roscoe]

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 03:16 (03:16 AM) UTC.

Description

Crews dug in Wednesday against another round of Montana wildfires as evacuations were ordered ahead of blazes near Butte and Roscoe that authorities said threatened at least 130 houses. Searing heat set in across much of the drought-parched state, and gusting winds pushed flames through tinder-dry stands of timber and grasslands. The dangerous conditions prompted Gov. Brian Schweitzer to declare a statewide fire emergency. Eight large fires were burning on more than 73 square miles Wednesday, and more than 1,300 square miles already have burned in Montana this summer. Most of that destruction has been in the rain-starved eastern half of the state. Compounding residents’ woes are plumes of smoke pouring into mountain valleys from local fires and blazes in neighboring Idaho. The air quality has deteriorated most significantly in Hamilton, where it was listed as unhealthy by state officials. In Butte, Helena, Great Falls and Bozeman, officials downgraded the air quality to unhealthy for sensitive groups. About 10 miles south of Butte, the 19 Mile fire torched at least two homes and two outbuildings after growing to several square miles. Officials said the exact size was hard to determine because of all the smoke. Residents of the Whiskey Gulch and Friends Road area were told to evacuate Wednesday, after people living on Upper and Lower Radar Creek and Toll Mountain roads were advised to leave Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the fire, Mariah Leuschen with the U.S. Forest Service, said the evacuations covered roughly 150 people living in about 80 homes. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency put the figure higher – 275 people living in 103 homes, with another 100 to 110 houses put on pre-evacuation notice. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. State officials sought and received federal help to pay for the effort against the fire. That authorizes FEMA to pay 75 percent of the state’s firefighting costs on the blaze, but does not provide assistance to individual homes or business owners.

29.08.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Oregon, [Malheur National Forest]

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 09:41 (09:41 AM) UTC.

Description

A wildfire that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the Malheur National Forest spread to at least 2,500 acres before sundown, officials said. The fire ignited at about 2:30 p.m. near Parish Cabin Campground, about 10 miles east of Seneca. No injuries have been reported — as of late evening, the fire remained in the center of the forest and mainly was a threat to campgrounds and historic buildings in the immediate area, said Mike Stearly, information officer for Malheur National Forest. “It’s in some prime timber growth areas…the conditions are right,” Stearly said. He said the fire grew to between 2,500 acres and 3,000 acres through the afternoon and evening. Crews will be working through the night to fight the blaze, and spike camps have been set up. A Type 2 incident management team is coming in Wednesday morning, Stearly said. The goal is to hold the fire south of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. Firefighters and the Grant’s County Sheriff’s Department evacuated Parish Cabin Campground. Evacuees included a number of bow hunters in the area for archery season, Stearly said. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

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Storms / Flooding  / Tornadoes

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system	Location	Formed	Last update	Last category	Course	Wind Speed	Gust	Wave	Source	Details
Tembin (15W)	Pacific Ocean	19.08.2012	29.08.2012	Tropical Depression	15 °	83 km/h	102 km/h	6.71 m	JTWC

 Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 5 Storm name: Tembin (15W) Area: Pacific Ocean Start up location: N 17° 42.000, E 124° 36.000 Start up: 19th August 2012 Status: Active Track long: 1,166.36 km Top category.: Report by: JTWC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source 19th Aug 2012 05:28:29 N 17° 42.000, E 124° 36.000 9 56 74 Tropical Depression 190 11 JTWC 19th Aug 2012 10:11:34 N 17° 30.000, E 124° 48.000 6 83 102 Tropical Storm 135 9 JTWC 20th Aug 2012 05:16:05 N 18° 0.000, E 124° 48.000 6 139 167 Typhoon I. 360 9 JTWC 20th Aug 2012 10:35:24 N 18° 24.000, E 124° 54.000 7 176 213 Typhoon II. 15 9 JTWC 21st Aug 2012 04:48:23 N 20° 12.000, E 125° 18.000 13 213 259 Typhoon IV. 360 15 JTWC 21st Aug 2012 10:41:18 N 21° 0.000, E 125° 24.000 15 204 250 Typhoon III. 5 16 JTWC 22nd Aug 2012 10:16:00 N 22° 30.000, E 124° 12.000 9 167 204 Typhoon II. 310 15 JTWC 23rd Aug 2012 04:49:56 N 22° 30.000, E 123° 36.000 4 204 232 Typhoon III. 270 9 JTWC 23rd Aug 2012 10:42:38 N 22° 42.000, E 123° 6.000 9 194 241 Typhoon III. 295 15 JTWC 24th Aug 2012 05:23:44 N 22° 6.000, E 120° 30.000 19 185 232 Typhoon III. 245 19 JTWC 24th Aug 2012 10:05:02 N 22° 18.000, E 119° 48.000 13 111 139 Tropical Storm 285 17 JTWC 25th Aug 2012 05:19:01 N 22° 24.000, E 118° 6.000 13 139 167 Typhoon I. 260 17 JTWC 26th Aug 2012 05:24:20 N 21° 0.000, E 116° 54.000 7 157 194 Typhoon II. 155 14 JTWC 27th Aug 2012 04:54:48 N 20° 18.000, E 117° 36.000 11 157 194 Typhoon II. 125 19 JTWC 27th Aug 2012 10:50:55 N 20° 30.000, E 118° 6.000 9 148 185 Typhoon I. 90 15 JTWC 28th Aug 2012 04:53:36 N 23° 0.000, E 121° 54.000 28 102 130 Tropical Storm 35 19 JTWC 28th Aug 2012 10:29:05 N 24° 6.000, E 122° 42.000 26 102 130 Tropical Storm 30 19 JTWC 29th Aug 2012 04:47:41 N 27° 48.000, E 124° 0.000 22 83 102 Tropical Storm 10 19 JTWC 29th Aug 2012 10:39:33 N 29° 6.000, E 124° 6.000 24 93 120 Tropical Storm 5 21 JTWC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 30th Aug 2012 10:50:31 N 34° 30.000, E 126° 30.000 43 65 83 Tropical Depression 25 ° 0 JTWC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 31st Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 41° 42.000, E 131° 24.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 JTWC

Isaac (AL09)

Atlantic Ocean

21.08.2012

30.08.2012

Tropical Depression

325 °

74 km/h

93 km/h

0.00 m

NOAA NHC

Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 20 Storm name: Isaac (AL09) Area: Atlantic Ocean Start up location: N 15° 12.000, W 51° 12.000 Start up: 21st August 2012 Status: Active Track long: 2,761.47 km Top category.: Report by: NOAA NHC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source 21st Aug 2012 10:45:53 N 15° 12.000, W 51° 12.000 31 56 74 Tropical Depression 270 12 1007 MB NOAA NHC 22nd Aug 2012 04:54:04 N 15° 36.000, W 55° 36.000 30 65 83 Tropical Storm 275 16 1006 MB NOAA NHC 23rd Aug 2012 05:06:43 N 15° 48.000, W 63° 0.000 31 74 93 Tropical Storm 270 22 1003 MB NOAA NHC 24th Aug 2012 05:17:31 N 16° 42.000, W 68° 42.000 28 74 93 Tropical Storm 290 19 1001 MB NOAA NHC 25th Aug 2012 05:21:33 N 17° 42.000, W 72° 30.000 22 111 139 Tropical Storm 310 15 990 MB NOAA NHC 26th Aug 2012 06:01:20 N 22° 6.000, W 77° 12.000 28 93 111 Tropical Storm 305 19 997 MB NOAA NHC 27th Aug 2012 04:49:08 N 24° 12.000, W 82° 54.000 22 102 120 Tropical Storm 285 19 993 MB NOAA NHC 28th Aug 2012 05:00:18 N 27° 6.000, W 87° 0.000 17 111 139 Tropical Storm 310 19 310 MB NOAA NHC 29th Aug 2012 04:56:03 N 29° 0.000, W 89° 42.000 13 130 157 Hurricane I. 310 17 968 MB NOAA NHC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 30th Aug 2012 10:48:30 N 30° 54.000, W 91° 36.000 13 74 93 Tropical Depression 325 ° 0 983 MB NOAA NHC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 31st Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 34° 54.000, W 93° 36.000 Tropical Depression 46 65 NOAA NHC 31st Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 32° 48.000, W 92° 54.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC 01st Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 37° 18.000, W 93° 24.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NOAA NHC 02nd Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 39° 30.000, W 91° 18.000 Tropical Depression 28 37 NOAA NHC 03rd Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 40° 0.000, W 87° 0.000 Tropical Depression 28 37 NOAA NHC 04th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 40° 30.000, W 83° 0.000 Tropical Depression 28 37 NOAA NHC

Ileana (EP09)

Pacific Ocean – East

28.08.2012

30.08.2012

Hurricane I

325 °

120 km/h

148 km/h

4.27 m

NOAA NHC

  Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 3 Storm name: Ileana (EP09) Area: Pacific Ocean – East Start up location: N 15° 30.000, W 107° 42.000 Start up: 28th August 2012 Status: Active Track long: 434.23 km Top category.: Report by: NOAA NHC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source 28th Aug 2012 04:45:33 N 15° 30.000, W 107° 42.000 19 74 93 Tropical Storm 290 15 1000 MB NOAA NHC 29th Aug 2012 04:37:35 N 17° 0.000, W 111° 6.000 17 93 111 Tropical Storm 305 11 997 MB NOAA NHC 29th Aug 2012 10:41:45 N 17° 36.000, W 111° 48.000 15 102 120 Tropical Storm 315 18 995 MB NOAA NHC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 30th Aug 2012 10:47:41 N 19° 42.000, W 113° 30.000 13 120 148 Hurricane I 325 ° 14 987 MB NOAA NHC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 31st Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 21° 30.000, W 115° 30.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NOAA NHC 31st Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 20° 48.000, W 114° 42.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC 01st Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 22° 30.000, W 116° 30.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 NOAA NHC 02nd Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 23° 30.000, W 119° 0.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC 03rd Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 24° 30.000, W 122° 0.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NOAA NHC 04th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 25° 0.000, W 125° 30.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NOAA NHC

Kirk (AL02)

Atlantic Ocean

29.08.2012

30.08.2012

Hurricane I

310 °

102 km/h

120 km/h

5.79 m

NOAA NHC

 Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 1 Storm name: Kirk (AL02) Area: Atlantic Ocean Start up location: N 23° 54.000, W 45° 0.000 Start up: 29th August 2012 Status: Active Track long: 248.65 km Top category.: Report by: NOAA NHC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source 29th Aug 2012 04:44:17 N 23° 54.000, W 45° 0.000 19 74 93 Tropical Storm 280 15 1007 MB NOAA NHC 29th Aug 2012 10:42:14 N 24° 18.000, W 45° 18.000 15 74 93 Tropical Storm 290 16 1007 MB NOAA NHC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 30th Aug 2012 10:48:04 N 26° 30.000, W 49° 0.000 17 102 120 Hurricane I 310 ° 19 997 MB NOAA NHC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 31st Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 30° 36.000, W 50° 48.000 Hurricane I 120 148 NOAA NHC 31st Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 28° 36.000, W 50° 30.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC 01st Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 33° 18.000, W 49° 42.000 Hurricane II 130 157 NOAA NHC 02nd Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 39° 24.000, W 43° 42.000 Hurricane III 148 185 NOAA NHC 03rd Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 47° 6.000, W 34° 54.000 Hurricane II 130 157 NOAA NHC

30.08.2012

Tropical Storm

USA

State of Louisiana, [Southern Region]

Tropical Storm in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 07:29 (07:29 AM) UTC.

Description

Nearly 100,000 homes and businesses lost power after Hurricane Isaac landed in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana later Tuesday, local media reported. And among the homes and businesses being left without power, near half are in Orleans Parish, the reports said. Utility companies in the southwestern U.S. state on Tuesday morning started bringing in extra crews to help restore power in case strong winds bring down power lines. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu warned residents about the dangers of approaching downed power lines. “These are serious threats, as I have said many times, which can cause fatalities,” Landrieu said. State authorities have mobilized more than 4,100 troops, with 680 of them in Orleans Parish. A further 35,000 troops and almost 100 aircraft are available for mobilization, according to reports on the website of NOLA.com. The troops are assisting with the setting up of evacuation shelters, including a “mega-shelter” with about 2,500 cots in the inland city of Alexandria. Some 300 soldiers will work as bus drivers in Metairie, supporting the state departments of transportation and education. At a press conference on Tuesday, Luisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the State National Guard posted 23 liaison teams with local governments, adding that 13 communications teams will deployed in the region, along with 921 security vehicles, 531 high-water vehicles, 40 aircraft and 74 boats.

29.08.2012

Tropical Storm

USA

State of Louisiana, New Orleans

Tropical Storm in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 19:36 (07:36 PM) UTC.

Description

In New Orleans, streets were flooding and up to 85% of residents were without power, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “One of the great challenges with this storm … is that it’s going so slowly … which means that it’s going to hover over us,” he told the Weather Channel on Wednesday morning. “The longer the rain and the greater the wind … (that) continues to concern us. That wind is really, really heavy, which is why it’s important you stay inside.” “We’re asking people to be patient,” he said. New Orleans, devastated by Katrina seven years ago to the day, was reporting 60-mph winds and drenching rains. Landrieu said about 1,000 National Guard troops are positioned in the city, working with police, firefighters and standing by for rescue operations. The historic French Quarter that forms the heart of New Orleans’ tourism industry appeared to have dodged the worst of Isaac. Downed tree limbs, minor flooding at intersections and a brief electrical outage overnight were the main problems confronting the residents who stayed , and stayed mostly indoors. “Honestly, man, it’s just been rain,” said Huggington “Huggy” Behr, manager of Flanagan’s Pub on St. Phillips, which stayed open through the night and served “about a dozen” patrons. “To us, we’ve seen the worst, so it’s business as usual.”

29.08.2012

Tropical Storm

USA

State of Mississippi, [Southern region]

Tropical Storm in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 19:35 (07:35 PM) UTC.

Description

Southern Mississippi was still feeling the effects of the storm but emergency management officials along the coast said they got through the night relatively unharmed. No injuries or deaths were reported overnight in the coastal counties of Hancock or Harrison, which were two of the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. The biggest worry overnight from Hurricane Isaac? “We’re in the process of picking two people up who got stranded by the water and they’re scared,” Hancock County Emergency Management Director Brian Adam said Wednesday morning. With sustained winds throughout the region topping out at about 40 mph, the main concern remains flooding from a constantly driving storm surge and what is expected to be prolonged rainfall for several days. In Harrison County, the rising waters knocked a boat off its moorings. County Emergency Management Director Rupert Lacy said the boat slammed into Popps Ferry Bridge, forcing officials to shut it down until crews can inspect the integrity of the bridge. The bridge is one of two connecting Biloxi from the mainland, but Lacy said it could be a long time before an inspection can be done. “We cautioned our public safety employees … that you don’t need to be out there if the winds are too high,” Lacy said.

……………………………..

Twelve dead. 10 missing as typhoon pounds S. Korea

by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP)

Twelve people were killed and 10 were missing after a strong typhoon pounded South Korea Tuesday, uprooting trees, sinking ships and cutting power to almost 200,000 homes.

By early evening Typhoon Bolaven — the strongest to hit the South for almost a decade — had moved to North Korea, which is still struggling to recover from deadly floods earlier this summer.

Hundreds of flights in the South were grounded, ferry services were suspended and schools in Seoul and several other areas were closed.

Bolaven left a trail of death and damage in southwestern and south-central regions of the country, although it was little felt in central parts of Seoul.

Off the southern island of Jeju, the storm drove two Chinese fishing ships aground early Tuesday, sparking a dramatic rescue operation.

Coastguards wearing wetsuits struggled through high waves and then used a line-launcher to fire ropes to one ship, a coastguard spokesman said. The other boat broke apart.

Rescuers saved 12 people while six swam ashore, but 10 crew members are still missing, the spokesman said. Five bodies were recovered.

In the southern county of Wanju, a 48-year-old man was killed by a shipping container flipped over by gale-force winds, the public administration ministry said.

An elderly woman was crushed to death when a church spire collapsed onto her house in the southwestern city of Gwangju, while another elderly woman was blown off the roof of her home in the western county of Seocheon.

A workman fell from the roof of a hospital in the southwestern port of Mokpo. At Imsil county in North Jeolla province, a 51-year-old man died while clearing toppled trees.

In Yeongkwang county west of Gwangju, a 72-year-old man suffered fatal head injuries when his house wall collapsed. At Buyeo city in South Chungcheong province, a woman aged 75 died after falling due to strong winds.

A 77,000-tonne bulk carrier broke in two off the southeastern port of Sacheon but no casualties were reported, the public administration ministry said.

The transport ministry said all 87 sea ferry services had been halted. A total of 247 flights — 183 domestic and 64 international — have been cancelled since Monday.

The typhoon — packing winds of 144 kilometres (90 miles) per hour at one time — brought heavy rain and strong winds to southern and western areas. It toppled street lights and signs, shattered windows, uprooted trees and tore off shop signs.

The National Emergency Management Agency said 197,751 homes in Jeju and the southwest and south-central regions lost power.

A total of 83 people, mostly in the southwest, were evacuated from their homes and taken to shelters. Some 21 homes were damaged.

The US and South Korean armed forces called a temporary halt to a large-scale joint military exercise that began last week.

After sweeping up the Yellow Sea to the west of South Korea, Bolaven made landfall in North Korea in the early evening.

The impoverished nation is already struggling to recover from a devastating summer drought, followed by floods which killed 169 people, left about 400 missing and made 212,000 people homeless, according to official figures.

Weather officials said Typhoon Tembin was also threatening the Korean peninsula, and was forecast to be some 200 kilometres west of Jeju early Friday.

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Hurricane Isaac pounds Louisiana, water pours over levee

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS – Hurricane Isaac pounded Louisiana with heavy rains and damaging winds Wednesday as forecasters said the storm surge and serious flooding will likely continue through the night.

• USA TODAYHurricane Issac landed at 3:15 a.m. EST just west of Port Fourchon, about 60 miles south-southwest of New Orleans.

USA TODAY

Hurricane Issac landed at 3:15 a.m. EST just west of Port Fourchon, about 60 miles south-southwest of New Orleans.

Isaac was still maintaining Category 1 hurricane strength, but just barely, with sustained winds of 75 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported. It was located directly over Houma, La., which is about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans.

The storm was crawling to the northwest at just 6 mph. It is expected to weaken to a tropical storm later Wednesday.

Widespread flooding was reported in New Orleans and other coastal cities.

One of the worst hit areas was Plaquemines Parish, about 50 miles southeast of New Orleans, where water spilled over a levee. Isaac passed directly over the region of marshland, fishing towns and marinas, peeling off roofs and flooding some areas.

The northern part of the parish is ringed in by the area’s hurricane protection system of fortified levees and floodwalls. But stretches of it on the east bank of the Mississippi River and further south lie outside the protection system, making it vulnerable to storm surge and flooding, Parish Councilman Kirk Lepine said.

Isaac came up the western edge of the parish, lashing at the area with powerful winds and storm surge, Lepine said.

“It came in at the worse scenario we can imagine,” he said. “There’s nowhere for that water to go than here.”

Rescue efforts were focused Wednesday in the small enclave of Braithwaite, on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish. Sheriff Deputies there were conducting rescue missions of residents trapped in homes, as flooding from Isaac overtook the area, said Trooper Melissa Matey, a Louisiana State Police spokeswoman.

Braithwaite was under a mandatory evacuation order prior to Isaac but some residents chose to stay, she said.

Early Wednesday, state police troopers were escorting National Guard troops with high-water vehicles down to that area to help in rescue efforts, state police spokesman Capt. Doug Cain said. Many of the roads in the area had become impassable.

Flanked by marshes and water, low-lying Plaquemines Parish has been repeatedly hit by disasters – from Katrina to Gustav to the 2010 BP oil spill, Cain said. Isaac late Tuesday passed directly over the area, pummeling the parish with powerful winds and a strong storm surge.

“The geography of it makes it vulnerable,” Cain said. “But talk about a resilient people. They’ve been through this before, and they’re going to make it through this one.”

Isaac also forced the closures of major roadways throughout the area, including US 90 at the Jefferson Parish/St. Charles Parish line, the causeway over Lake Pontchartrain and LA-73 south of Plaquemines, he said.

Besides dealing with downed trees across roadways from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, state police also encountered residents who may have underestimated the storm, he said. Troopers kept busy throughout the night with highway accidents, broken down cars and several DWI arrests.

“People aren’t adhering to the warnings,” Cain said. “Today, we’re really encouraging people to shelter in place.”

The Federal Amergency Management Agency has staged supplies throughout the south in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina. At Mississippi’s Camp Shelby, FEMA has 54 generators and 256,000 ready-to-eat meals. At Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, FEMA has 1.2 million meals, 2,134 cots and 3,800 tarps.

Volunteer organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army can provide 65,000 hot meals a day in Louisiana, FEMA said in its daily briefing report.

So far the 350 miles of levees and floodwalls surrounding and meandering through New Orleans were holding back storm surge water as designed early Wednesday, city spokesman Hayne Rainey said. The city had not received any reports of levee breaches or calls for rescues, he said.

Early reports from Isaac’s effects were far different from the events that unfolded around Hurricane Katrina— which slammed the region seven years to the day and led to levee breaches and mass flooding of the city. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt the levee and floodwall system in the New Orleans area to be much stronger at a cost of $14.45 billion.

“All reports are indicating the federal levees protecting the city of New Orleans are holding,” he said.

The storm landed at 3:15 a.m. ET just west of Port Fourchon, about 60 miles south-southwest of New Orleans, said the National Hurricane Center.

Isaac, upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane midday Tuesday, first touched land in Plaquemines Parish, about 90 miles southeast of New Orleans on Tuesday evening before heading back over the Gulf of Mexico.

Because it is moving so slowly, the storm system could dump up to 20 inches of rain in some areas. The hurricane center said Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana could see peak surges of 12 feet.

In New Orleans, streets were flooding and up to 75% of residents were without power, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said.

“One of the great challenges with this storm … is that it’s going so slowly … which means that it’s going to hover over us,” he told the Weather Channel on Wednesday morning. “The longer the rain and the greater the wind … (that) continues to concern us. That wind is really, really heavy, which is why it’s important you stay inside.”

“We’re asking people to be patient,” he said.

New Orleans, devastated by Katrina seven years ago to the day, was reporting 60-mph winds and drenching rains. Landrieu said about 1,000 National Guard troops are positioned in the city, working with police, firefighters and standing by for rescue operations.

More than 470,000 homes and businesses have lost power, including 156,000 in New Orleans and 162,000 in the New Orleans suburbs, Entergy reported.

The company, which serves most of southern Louisiana, said its crews would begin restoring power as soon as sustained wind speeds fall below 30 mph.

“We expect outages to last several days,” the company said on its storm center website. “Severe weather conditions are expected across Louisiana and Mississippi through early Thursday morning.”

Officials in coastal Alabama were heading out Wednesday morning to assess damage from the storm.

“Right now, we are compiling our assessment teams,” said Paula Tillman, spokeswoman for the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency. “As soon as it gets good and daylight, we’ll be sending them out.”

Some roads along the coast were closed because of flooding. “Those are down in those lower areas near Fort Morgan, right in the beach area,” Tillman said. “Those roads are pretty typical for flooding.”

At 6:30 a.m. central time, there had been no reports of injuries or deaths from the storm in Alabama. In Baldwin County, which includes the resort communities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, 243 people were in two county evacuation shelters.

In Mobile, there was virtually no evidence of storm impact.

Officials were warning residents that flooding from storm surges and heavy rainfall expected with the storm could still pose a threat.

Southern Mississippi still has a long way to go before Hurricane Isaac moves past, but emergency management officials along the coast say they got through the night relatively unharmed.

No injuries or deaths were reported overnight in the coastal counties of Hancock or Harrison, which were two of the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina seven years ago.

The biggest worry overnight from Hurricane Isaac?

“We’re in the process of picking two people up who got stranded by the water and they’re scared,” Hancock County Emergency Management Director Brian Adam said Wednesday morning.

With sustained winds throughout the region topping out at about 40 mph, the main concern remains flooding from a constantly-driving storm surge and what is expected to be prolonged rainfall for several days.

In Harrison County, the rising waters knocked a boat off its moorings. County Emergency Management Director Rupert Lacy said the boat slammed into Popps Ferry Bridge, forcing officials to shut it down until crews can inspect the integrity of the bridge. The bridge is one of two connecting Biloxi from the mainland, but Lacy said it could be a long time before an inspection can be done.

“We cautioned our public safety employees…that you don’t need to be out there if the winds are too high,” Lacy said.

Read Full Article Here

Isaac’s eye wall to pass ‘right over’ sinkhole

• Hurricane Isaac
• By: Deborah Dupre

Isaac 50 miles south of Sinkhole

Credits:

Google Maps

Although Hurricane Isaac‘s path has shifted a small degree, officials state Monday morning that all advisories released by the Assumption Parish Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Service remain, to expect the eye wall of Isaac to pass “right over” the parish, home of Louisiana’s giant sinkhole. Hard rains are causing concerning flooding of low-lying areas and power outages.

“Please note that as predicted, this update still shows 75 mph winds in Assumption parish at 1:00 p.m. today,” officials reported at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday.

“The track has shifted a bit; however, all advisories released by the Assumption Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness remain.”

Tuesday evening, Assumption Parish officials state that the latest update put the track of Hurricane Isaac‘s eye wall “right over Assumption Parish.”

A hurricane’s eye wall is located just outside of the eye. The eye wall is where the most damaging winds and intense rainfall is found.

The eye is typically the most calm location. It passes a vulnerable area in the hurricane path before the worst damage hits, thus the cliche, “The calm before the storm.”

“By 6:00 a.m., we should be experiencing tropical storm force winds,” officials advised.

“At noon, the forecast shows we will experience the strongest winds as the forecast predicts the eye wall to be right over us at that time,” the parish alert stated.

Up to 20 inches of rain could pound the already vulnerable giant sinkhole in Louisiana.

Rains were anticipated to make “flooding of low lying areas a concern,” WAFB reports Wednesday.

Isaac’s core is expected to pass over the sinkhole area west of New Orleans with winds close to 80 mph.

Winds could gust up to 100 mph at times.

“The hurricane is expected to gradually weaken, but only after dumping 7 to 14 inches of rain across the state, with some places receiving up to 20 inches,” reports Associated Press Wednesday morning.

Jeff Morrow with the WAFB Storm Team says that high winds will also cause widespread power outages, and “if that happens find the battery operated radio and tune to Tiger Country 100.7 FM as we will be simulcasting our advisories there.”

Katrina haunts thousands of residents

In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said evacuations would not be ordered and told residents to prepare carefully and ride it out. Nevertheless, Monday and Tuesday, traffic was bumper to bumper heading out of New Orleans.

In those vehicles were people too hurt and fearful to risk unpredictability of high waters and no power at home, with only hours away from the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

By midafternoon Tuesday, 400 residents of Plaquemines Parish, where Isaac made landfall southeast of New Orleans, were calling a hurricane shelter in Belle Chasse home.

Arriving on the eve of Hurricane Katrina’s seventh anniversary, Isaac is the first hurricane to hit Louisiana since Ike in 2008.

Everything reminds you of Katrina. When the wind howls, I think of Katrina. I don’t think of Isaac,” explained CNN iReporter Eileen Romero, a student in New Orleans who survived Katrina in 2005 but lost everything during it.

Romero still lives in New Orleans, in a different neighborhood and in a house built in 1908.

After going out Tuesday to take photographs, she said, “I am not seeing people real concerned to be honest. I think there is a false sense of security.

“Everybody talks about how we party all the time. When hurricanes are coming, people have hurricane parties.”

Many residents of public housing apartments never returned after 2005.

“Where are the people who lived here prior to Katrina?” she asked. “I don’t think they have a place to come back to.”

Assumption Parish officials ordered a mandatory evacuation. Monday morning, officials there ask that people who remained in the area to “please abide by the curfew and remain sheltered in place.”

Sources: CNN, Assumption Parish Police Jury, Associated Press, ABC News

Related topics

• Hurricane Isaac
• Bayou Corne sinkhole disaster
• Assumption Parish oil and gas disasters
• Louisiana sinkhole

29.08.2012

Storm Surge

USA

State of Missouri, [Hancock and Harrison counties]

Storm Surge in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 14:25 (02:25 PM) UTC.

Description

Isaac inundated low-lying areas along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday as hurricane-driven water rose several feet in some spots while thousands waited out the storm in shelters. Officials in Hancock and Harrison counties extended curfews until 9 a.m. to keep off roads until after the high tide passes at around 8 a.m. Harrison County emergency management director Rupert Lacy said the storm surge coupled with the high tide could lead to more extensive flooding. Lacy said coastal rivers also were beginning to rise from the rainfall. More than 15,000 people remained without power in coastal areas.

29.08.2012

Flash Flood

United Kingdom

Scotland, Edinburgh

Flash Flood in United Kingdom on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 19:42 (07:42 PM) UTC.

Description

A flood warning has been issued for the Capital after torrential rain battered the city this afternoon. Thunder and lightning storms were accompanied by the heavy rains at around 2.30pm. Environmental Agency SEPA issued a flood alert and warned that standing water was likely to pose a hazard to drivers and urged travellers to check the Traffic Scotland website before setting out. A spokesman for SEPA said: “ Due to the showery nature of the rainfall, it is difficult to predict which areas are most at risk, however, the overall risk is expected to decline during the early hours of Thursday morning.”

Today

Flash Flood

USA

State of Mississippi, Pearlington

Flash Flood in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 02:54 (02:54 AM) UTC.

Description

Mississippi wildlife officers and National Guard soldiers rescued at least 75 people from Isaac’s flooding Wednesday in Hancock County, including an 88-year-old man who had a stroke as the storm dumped heavy rains on his isolated neighborhood in Pearlington, near the Louisiana state line. The stroke victim was the last person brought out of the neighborhood, about 7:30 p.m. CDT, and Mississippi National Guard 1st Sgt. William Maddox said the man’s house is about six miles off the main thoroughfare, U.S. Highway 90. Rescuers spent hours trying to reach him, attempting with several vehicles. A paramedic waded through chest-deep water to get to the house, and then guided a large military truck to the man. Maddox said the man appeared to be in stable condition and was taken care of by paramedics at the scene. It was not immediately clear whether the man would be taken to a hospital. With a steady rain falling, wildlife officers used small motorboats to rescue at least two dozen people in Pearlington, including several members of an extended family. More than a dozen National Guard soldiers also helped with the rescues, as did ambulance crews and other emergency responders.One of those plucked from a rural neighborhood that had become a lake was 63-year-old Dianne Burton. She told The Associated Press that she and members of her extended family didn’t leave before Isaac because they didn’t expect so much water. She has lived there 46 years and said the only other time the area flooded was during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “Everything is under water. We picked up the furniture and stuff, as much as we could. I can’t believe it. The road and everything was dry yesterday,” Burton said after officers deposited her, her 82-year-old mother, her 46-year-old disabled daughter and two grandchildren, ages 10 and 12, safely on dry land. Those rescued were put onto school buses and were taken to shelters on higher ground. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday afternoon that officers from the state Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks had rescued at least 58 people in Hancock County, which borders Louisiana. The rescue of Burton, her relatives and at least 20 other people was happening at the same time Bryant was doing a press briefing in Gulfport, and his initial figures didn’t include them.

Today

Flash Flood

United Kingdom

England, Egremont [Cumbria]

Flash Flood in United Kingdom on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 07:19 (07:19 AM) UTC.

Description

Parts of Cumbria have been hit by flash flooding after a night of heavy rain. The west of the county appears to have been worst affected, with police and fire crews reporting cars partially submerged in the Egremont area. About 20 elderly residents were moved to an emergency shelter at Egremont Market Hall, after a power cut. Cumbria Fire Service said it received more than 100 calls for help, mainly involving requests for sandbags. Forecasters say the rain is now easing. Northern Rail services between Whitehaven and Barrow have been cancelled after a landslip near St Bees and some roads are only passable with care because of debris left by floodwaters. A spokesman for Cumbria Police said drains were unable to cope with the amount of water after the River Ehen and several becks in the Egremont area burst their banks. The Environment Agency said one flood alert remained in force for the River Ehen in Copeland. The police spokesman said: “We started getting calls from about 1am, mainly from people concerned that water was coming into their homes and asking for sandbags.”We also had calls from the fire and ambulance services asking for our assistance in reaching some areas and had to close some roads for a time. “The Egremont and Middletown areas appear to have had the worst of it.” Emma Jane Taylor said floodwater began entering her St Bees home shortly before midnight. She said: “We’ve had heavy rain here before, but it’s never been this bad before. “I alerted some neighbours, but within 30 minutes it was through my front door and coming up through my floorboards. “It’s lifted the block paving from my grandmother’s house nearby and was also coming through her French windows. “We just hope the rain doesn’t come back because the drains are full to the top and wouldn’t be able to take any more.” Wasdale Mountain Rescue volunteers also assisted the fire service to pump out several properties in the Egremont area. Earlier this week the rear of a four-storey house house in Egremont collapsed into the River Ehen after heavy rain.

Today

Tornado

USA

State of Mississippi, Ocean Springs

Tornado in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 03:32 (03:32 AM) UTC.

Description

A tornado touched down in an Ocean Springs neighborhood about 7:30 p.m. tonight, the Jackson County Emergency Management Agency said. While EMA officials said that initial reports indicated that the tornado knocked down trees and power lines, at least one witness told the Mississippi Press that at least one house was reported damaged. Two houses on East Simmons Bayou in Gulf Park Estates have sustained damage, according to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd who is en route to the scene. Byrd said there were no injuries reported. “There’s extensive damage at two houses,” Byrd said. “There’s a roof off one house and a shed was taken away from another one. We have deputies on the scene assessing the situation. In addition to the tornado, Jackson County emergency officials announced waterspouts have been spotted at Miss. 57 and I-10, headed northeast.

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Radiation

 

 

 

Sinkhole radiation 15 times over limit. Residents urged to record health signs

• Bayou Corne sinkhole disaster
• By: Deborah Dupre

New York Guard training for dirty bomb attack

Credits:

Ng.mil

Related topics

• Bayou Corne sinkhole disaster
• Human Rights
• Louisiana sinkhole disaster
• Government Cover Ups

A non-government group is urging Bayou Corne sinkhole area residents to use a new record log as a veteran radiation expert says Louisiana environmental officials are “in denial” over hazards posed by elevated radium levels that are actually fifteen times higher than the state limit, a “worst nightmare coming true,” according to an environmental attorney.

Stanley Waligora, a New Mexico-based radiation protection consultant and leading authority on health risks of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) has confirmed that radium levels at Bayou Corne’s sinkhole are not within safe limits, but instead, roughly 15 times higher than the state’s acceptable level, according to one of the nation’s leading environmental attorney’s Stuart Smith.

 

State officials are saying NORM is is below hazardous levels, but the independent findings indicate other actions need to be taken, including residents using Louisiana Environmental Action Network’s report logs to record signs and symptoms of ill health.

 

 

The information about radium is buried in a state news release, poorly written, “and goes out of its way to downplay the results,” Smith said Wednesday.

 

This week, after state officials released the results of samples taken 80 feet under the surface of the growing, slurry-filled pit, Marco Kaltofen, a civil engineer and president of Boston Chemical Data Corp., noted those results posted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, show elevated rates of NORM in the sinkhole.

 

NORM is a frequent byproduct of the oil and gas drilling process, creating wastes that industry has often then dumped improperly, according to Smith who specializes in this area of environmental law.

 

Kaltofen’s analysis of the situation in Bayou Corne includes:

 

“Radium in the body is absorbed because it is chemically similar to calcium. The normal maximum guideline level for radium in surface water is 5 picoCuries per liter, (pCi/L). The state’s testing found 82 pCi/L in the water of the growing sinkhole. Radium gives off alpha’ radiation. This form of radiation is extremely dangerous if inhaled or ingested, and less dangerous if exposed by skin contact.”

 

When radium decays, it produces the dangerous radioactive gas, radon. EPA warns that radon gas causes lung cancer, and exposure can be as hazardous to your lungs as a serious cigarette habit.

 

“Waligora said officials with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality need to launch immediate additional testing to ensure that the hazardous radium is not leaking into nearby groundwater and posing a threat to human health as well as livestock,” Smith has stated Friday.

 

Waligora’s recommendations come two days after Smith’s blog first reported that analysis of DEQ test results from Bayou Corne, posted by the LEANouisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), revealed elevated radium levels and airborne chemicals associated with highly volatile butane stored by Crosstex in a cavern near the sinkhole.

 

They also come two days after Homeland Security Louisiana announced that officials are stepping up around-the-clock emergency operations near Bayou Corne’s sinkhole, including extra Hazardous Materials & Explosive Units.

 

LEAN, after reporting lethal contaminants found in the sinkhole area, is urging residents to use the new report log it has for recording signs and symptoms of poisoning, as reported by the Examiner on Wednesday.

 

The Advocate reports Friday, “In two statements released Tuesday, LEAN noted air monitoring by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality since Aug. 4 over the sinkhole and in the neighborhoods near the sinkhole had picked up, depending on the location, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, other volatile organic compounds and components of natural gas.”

 

‘Worst nightmare coming true,’ says attorney

 

If the butane in the sinkhole vicinity exploded, it would meet, according to the National Terror Alert, the definition of a dirty bomb.

 

“I sought an analysis of the recent DEQ test results from Waligora, who since a stint as a nuclear weapons officer in the U.S. military has been teaching, consulting and testifying as an expert witness in radiation litigation for more than 45 years,” asserted Smith Friday.

 

He expressed concern that the state reported its findings of radium-226 and radium-228 as “below acceptable levels,” when in fact, the results were 15 times higher than the state’s own standard for soil contamination.

 

“Well, once again the Louisiana DEQ is in denial because they don’t know what to do about the radioactive contamination in the Bayou Corne subsidence,” Waligora wrote, adding the following findings:

 

There are immediate radiation dose concerns, not only cumulative toxin concerns.

 

“The release could reach the usable aquifer and contaminate drinking water along with livestock and irrigated crops,” Waligora says. “The DEQ must sample ground water to assess any transport. Airborne particulate might become entrained and cause contamination to be inhaled by the public. DEQ must collect air samples to assess the airborne radioactive particulate. Radon gas emanating from the radium could be inhaled by members of the public. DEQ needs to monitor airborne radon.

 

“A long range plan must be developed for remedial action. Funding should be provided by the oil companies that used the cavern for disposal,” asserted Waligora.

 

Waligora reports being concerned about DEQ understating of the Bayou Corne risks because of what he has witnessed in other cases handled by the troubled agency:

 

“This is reminiscent of the illegal waste disposal that was discovered several years ago at St. Gabriel. The community complained about illegal disposal of radioactive waste. DEQ sent a team to investigate who determined that there was no problem. Complaints continued and a second DEQ team investigated and again said that there was no problem. Finally, a legal action attracted the EPA who found widespread contamination. The responsible party had no worth so the site was cleaned up with Superfund support. The cleanup took over one year and cost over $1million. Quite a bit for ‘no problem.’”

 

Earlier this year, Smith joined the Louisiana Bucket Brigade in calling for the EPA to intervene and assume responsibility from DEQ because the agency was “overwhelmed and “in the back pocket of the businesses it’s supposed to be regulating.”

 

 

“Although company officials informed the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources in early 2011 of significant problems at the cavern, local residents and authorities were not told of the risk even after they began complaining this summer of shaking homes and noxious orders,” Smith says.

 

National Terror Alert (NTA) recently reported that due to recent terrorist events, people have expressed concern about a possible terrorist attack involving radioactive materials, possibly through the use of a “dirty bomb,” and the harmful effects of radiation from such an event.

 

The NTA developed a dirty bomb fact sheet including:

 

“A dirty bomb, or radiological dispersion device, is a bomb that combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive materials inthe form of powder or pellets. The idea behind a dirty bomb is to blast radioactive material into the area around the explosion. This could possibly cause buildings and people to be exposed to radioactive material. The main purpose of a dirty bomb is to frighten people and make buildings or land unusable for a long period of time.

 

“In Bayou Corne, we are witnessing our worst nightmares coming true,” Smith asserted Friday. “It’s time for the EPA and other outside authorities to step in and make sure that proper testing is done and that emergency measures are carried out.”

 

The sinkhole, now the size of three football fields, shaped like an upside-down Superdome Stadium, and filled with liquid slurry is blamed on Texas Brine Co.’s failed salt cavern near Bayou Corne.

 

“There’s no excuse for allowing this new Louisiana catastrophe to get any worse,” Smith says.

 

 

Sources: The Advocate, Stuart Smith, Louisiana Environmental Action Network

 

Want more articles by human rights journalist Deborah Dupré?Subscribe here and follow Dupré on Twitter

 

Related Louisiana sinkhole disaster articles by Deborah Dupré

 

Sinkhole prompts Homeland Security oversight, extra explosive unit staff

 

Monster sinkhole swallows boat, 50 more feet: Workers rescued, work halts

Officials: Sinkhole butane explosion possible

Louisiana sinkhole: Butane well company’s worst-case scenario report required

Louisiana sinkhole local sheds light inside mystery disaster area

Sinkhole: H-Bomb explosion equivalent in Bayou Corne possible

Sinkhole: DNR alerted weeks ago, could have been prevented, company says

Gov. Jindal’s DNR official resigns amid Sinkhole Disaster, State of Emergency

Sinkhole cavern is not gas bubbles source, environmentalists say

DNR demands Texas Brine drill near sinkhole, Again promises to come clean

Bayou Corne sinkhole 10 to 20 feet larger, ‘No natural radioactive materials’

Explosion monitor in Bayou Corne sinkhole area ‘goes off’

Bayou Sinkhole: Radioactive dome issues covered up over a year

 

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

Thief targets Ebola patient, gets infected

Yahoo!7

A thief in Uganda has contracted Ebola after stealing the mobile phone of a hospital patient suffering from the potentially fatal infection.

Security and medical officials in Kibaale District, mid-west Uganda, told the Daily Monitor website that the man went into the isolation ward at Kagadi Hospital and stole a cellular phone from one of the Ebola patients.

The patient, who later died from the hemorrhagic fever, reported the theft.

Police began tracking the thief when he started using the phone, the Daily Monitor reported.

But by the time they found him he had gone to hospital with symptoms similar to those of Ebola.

He reportedly confessed to stealing the phone.

Kibaale District Health Officer Dr Dan Kyamanywa, told the Daily Monitor: “The suspect is admitted at Kagadi Hospital with clinical signs of Ebola.” “He is receiving medication. We have obtained samples from him,” Mr Kyamanywa added.

The Uganda Virus Research Institute is yet to release the results of the tests.

West Nile Cases Still Rising, 66 Dead: CDC

Texas bears the brunt of the outbreak, which has yet to peak, experts say

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) — One of the worst outbreaks of West Nile virus to ever hit the United States continues to expand, with 66 deaths and 1,590 illnesses reported as of Tuesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases have jumped 40 percent nationwide since just last week, the agency added.

Cases have now reached their highest level since the mosquito-borne virus was first found in the United States in 1999, agency officials said in a Wednesday press briefing.

While almost all states have reported at least one case of West Nile illness, over 70 percent of cases have come from six states — Texas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Michigan.

The outbreak has hit hardest in Texas, where nearly half (45 percent) of the total U.S. cases have been reported.

“The number of people reported with West Nile virus continues to rise,” said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. “We have seen this trend in previous West Nile epidemics, so the increase is not unexpected,” he added. “In fact, we think the reported numbers will get higher through October.”

According to Peterson, of the cases reported so far, 56 percent are what is called neuroinvasive disease, when the virus enters the nervous system causing conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis. The remaining reported cases (44 percent) are non-neuroinvasive.

“These numbers represent a 40 percent increase of last week’s report of 1,118 total cases and 41 deaths,” Petersen said.

These numbers can be somewhat misleading since most cases of West Nile are non-neuroinvasive and are mostly unreported, the CDC said. That means that the number of unreported cases probably far exceeds reported ones.

Neuroinvasive disease is the most serious for of West Nile infection and these patients usually are hospitalized, Petersen said. The size of the outbreak is based on these cases since they are the ones easily identifiable, he added.

The only states that have not reported cases are Alaska and Hawaii, he said.

“Based on current reports, we think the number of cases may come close to, or even exceed, the total number reported in the epidemic years of 2002 and 2003, when more than 3,000 cases of neuroinvasive disease and more than 260 deaths were reported each year,” Petersen said.

The reasons for a major outbreak this year aren’t clear, Petersen said. The drought in Texas may have played a role, but there were probably other factors as well, he added.

The best way to avoid the virus is to wear insect repellant and support local programs to eradicate misquotes, Petersen said.

There is currently no treatment for West Nile virus and no vaccine to prevent it, he added.

Speaking at the press conference, Dr. David L. Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said that, “As I look at the data, I am not convinced that we have peaked.”

Since last week, there have been 197 new cases and 10 more deaths in Texas, Lakey said. “Those numbers will continue to go up,” he added.

Generally speaking, 80 percent of people who are infected with West Nile virus develop no or few symptoms, while 20 percent develop mild symptoms such as headache, joint pain, fever, skin rash and swollen lymph glands.

Less than 1 percent will develop neurological illnesses, such as encephalitis or meningitis, and develop paralysis or cognitive difficulties that can last for years, if not for life.

People older than 50 and those with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and organ transplants, are at greater risk for serious illness, according to the CDC.

There are no specific treatments for West Nile virus; the greatest risk for infection with West Nile virus typically occurs from June through September, with cases peaking in mid-August.

And because reporting lags behind actual infections, “we expect many more cases to occur and the risk of West Nile infection will probably continue through the end of September,” said Petersen.

Although most people with mild cases of West Nile virus will recover on their own, the CDC recommends that anyone who develops symptoms should see their doctor right away. The best way to protect yourself from West Nile virus is to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes, which can pick up the disease from infected birds.

30.08.2012

Epidemic Hazard

USA

State of Colorado, [Cimarrona Campground, Archuleta County]

Epidemic Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 15:48 (03:48 PM) UTC.

Description
In the first confirmed case of bubonic plague in Colorado since 2006, an Archuleta County resident has tested positive for the disease. The last human case in Archuleta County, which borders on New Mexico, was in 1998. It is believed that the person contracted the plague during a family outing in the Cimarrona Campground northwest of Pagosa Springs, but the investigation is ongoing, according to a news release from the San Juan Basin Health Department. The gender and age of the victim were not released, the paper reported. In 2006, Colorado had four cases of plague, all in La Plata County, Joe Fowler, a disease-control nurse with the San Juan Basin Health Department said. Most human cases of plague tend to occur in rural areas in two regions — northern Arizona and New Mexico and southern Colorado or in California, southern Oregon and western Nevada. One human case has been reported in New Mexico so far this year – in a 78-year-old Torrance County man who contracted the disease in May, in what state health officials called the nation’s first human plague case of the yea
Biohazard name:	Plague
Biohazard level:	4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:	Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

Epidemic Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 15:48 (03:48 PM) UTC.

Back

Updated:	Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 03:20 UTC
Description
A camper near Pagosa Springs has contracted bubonic plague. The Durango Herald reports that the person contracted the plague during a family outing in the Cimarrona Campground. The San Juan Basin Health Department did not give the victim’s age or gender. Warning signs are being posted in the campground, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an average of seven cases of plague each year across the country. Most human cases tend to occur in rural areas in the Southwest. Symptoms of plague begin two to six days after a person is bitten by an infected flea, rodent or cat. The plague can be successfully treated if diagnosed promptly.

Today

Epidemic Hazard

Haiti

[Statewide]

Epidemic Hazard in Haiti on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 07:23 (07:23 AM) UTC.

Description
Ouest Haiti Department reported new cases of cholera as aftermath of the tropical storm Isaac, but Public Health Ministry General Director Guirlene Raymond sustains that so far the numbers do not match outbreak ratings. Dr. Donald Francis, Ministry official on the matter, said the percentage of cases remain stable. Early July official statistics from the initial 2010 outbreak says the death rate climbed to 7,418, while the WHO talks of more than 42,000 new cases this year, blaming low budget and the rain season which undermines anti-epidemic efforts. The specialists think that enforcement and continuity of health promotional programs, access to drinkable water, sanitation and hygiene will stall propagation. US investigators suggested in June as source of the outbreak two distinctive cholera breads, not just one as they originally announced. Earlier studies indicated as source a microorganism -already reported in Asia- introduced by Nepalese soldiers working for the Minustah (UN Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti). However, a group of geneticists from Maryland University have found a new breed, seemingly of local origin and thought unable to stimulate epidemics. V. cholerae 01/0139 is part of the common populace in streams and lakes in the Western Hemisphere. It may cause diarrheas but only in very few cases. Just two percent of Haiti 10 million population has access to clean water and the majority defecates outdoors and in water sources like rivers and next to their homes.
Biohazard name:	Cholera
Biohazard level:	2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.:	Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

29.08.2012

Epidemic Hazard

Pakistan

North Waziristan, [Danada Derpakhel area]

Epidemic Hazard in Pakistan on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 14:24 (02:24 PM) UTC.

Description
The epidemic of measles in North Waziristan Agency claimed the lives of two minor girls in Danada Derpakhel area on Wednesday while dozens of infected children are being brought to the Miranshah Headquarters Hospital for treatment. Talking to INP, Agency Surgeon Dr Mohammad Sadiq said that dozens of measles infected children have been admitted to the Miranshah Headquarters Hospital for treatment, adding that measles vaccine is not available in the tribal region to control the infection. “Around 40 children are infected by measles in three weeks that are brought to the hospital for treatment and two minor girls fell prey to the infection in Danda Derpakhel area of the tribal region,” Dr Mohammad Sadiq said. He said that health department should initiate measures on war footing in the area to control the spread of measles in the tribal region where vaccines of measles are short. The agency surgeon said that not only from North Waziristan but children infected by measles are being brought from across the border to Miranshah for treatment, adding that scarcity of vaccines was creating problem in controlling the spread of epidemic.
Biohazard name:	Measles (fatal)
Biohazard level:	2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.:	Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

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Solar Activity

2MIN News August 29. 2012: NASA Sees Another NLC-Space Connection

Published on Aug 29, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

TODAY’S LINKS
Jupiter’s Energy Toroid: http://www.science20.com/news_articles/now_broadcasting_radio_jupiter-93369 Similar older story: http://www.science20.com/news_articles/new_radiation_belt_discovered_around_s…
Shuttle Exhaust Makes Clouds: http://phys.org/news/2012-08-bright-arctic-clouds-exhaust-space.html
Financial Issues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/28/us-spain-economy-idUSBRE87R08D20120828
Tropic Watch: http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/tropics-watch-hurricane-season…

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos – as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT – as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI – as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it… trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can’t figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

RAIN RECORDS: http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListIntensePrecipReports.aspx

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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Space

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name	Apporach Date	Left	AU Distance	LD Distance	Estimated Diameter*	Relative Velocity
(2012 LU7)	02nd September 2012	3 day(s)	0.1200	46.7	440 m – 990 m	8.16 km/s	29376 km/h
(2012 FS35)	02nd September 2012	3 day(s)	0.1545	60.1	2.3 m – 5.2 m	2.87 km/s	10332 km/h
(2012 HG31)	03rd September 2012	4 day(s)	0.0716	27.9	440 m – 990 m	10.33 km/s	37188 km/h
(2012 PX)	04th September 2012	5 day(s)	0.0452	17.6	61 m – 140 m	9.94 km/s	35784 km/h
(2012 EH5)	05th September 2012	6 day(s)	0.1613	62.8	38 m – 84 m	9.75 km/s	35100 km/h
(2011 EO11)	05th September 2012	6 day(s)	0.1034	40.2	9.0 m – 20 m	8.81 km/s	31716 km/h
(2007 PS25)	06th September 2012	7 day(s)	0.0497	19.3	23 m – 52 m	8.50 km/s	30600 km/h
329520 (2002 SV)	08th September 2012	9 day(s)	0.1076	41.9	300 m – 670 m	9.17 km/s	33012 km/h
(2011 ES4)	10th September 2012	11 day(s)	0.1792	69.8	20 m – 44 m	12.96 km/s	46656 km/h
(2008 CO)	11th September 2012	12 day(s)	0.1847	71.9	74 m – 160 m	4.10 km/s	14760 km/h
(2007 PB8)	14th September 2012	15 day(s)	0.1682	65.5	150 m – 340 m	14.51 km/s	52236 km/h
226514 (2003 UX34)	14th September 2012	15 day(s)	0.1882	73.2	260 m – 590 m	25.74 km/s	92664 km/h
(1998 QC1)	14th September 2012	15 day(s)	0.1642	63.9	310 m – 700 m	17.11 km/s	61596 km/h
(2002 EM6)	15th September 2012	16 day(s)	0.1833	71.3	270 m – 590 m	18.56 km/s	66816 km/h
(2002 RP137)	16th September 2012	17 day(s)	0.1624	63.2	67 m – 150 m	7.31 km/s	26316 km/h
(2009 RX4)	16th September 2012	17 day(s)	0.1701	66.2	15 m – 35 m	8.35 km/s	30060 km/h
(2005 UC)	17th September 2012	18 day(s)	0.1992	77.5	280 m – 640 m	7.55 km/s	27180 km/h
(2012 FC71)	18th September 2012	19 day(s)	0.1074	41.8	24 m – 53 m	3.51 km/s	12636 km/h
(1998 FF14)	19th September 2012	20 day(s)	0.0928	36.1	210 m – 480 m	21.40 km/s	77040 km/h
331990 (2005 FD)	19th September 2012	20 day(s)	0.1914	74.5	320 m – 710 m	15.92 km/s	57312 km/h
(2009 SH2)	24th September 2012	25 day(s)	0.1462	56.9	28 m – 62 m	7.52 km/s	27072 km/h
333578 (2006 KM103)	25th September 2012	26 day(s)	0.0626	24.4	250 m – 560 m	8.54 km/s	30744 km/h
(2002 EZ2)	26th September 2012	27 day(s)	0.1922	74.8	270 m – 610 m	6.76 km/s	24336 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of West Virginia, [Calhoun County]

Biological Hazard in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 04:52 (04:52 AM) UTC.

Description
State wildlife officials believe hemorrhagic disease killed several deer in Calhoun County and the cases are being treated as an outbreak. There also have been reports of the disease in Roane County, said Jeff McCrady, a wildlife biologist with the Division of Natural Resources. “I think it is probably positive, based on the outward appearance of the deer,” McCradysaid. “…We are proceeding as if it is.” Samples of lung and spleen tissue from the Calhoun County deer were sent to the University of Georgia for testing. The testing requires fresh samples. “Seeing a deer two days ago in this heat is too late. … It is not easy to confirm,” McCrady said. The disease, which is transmitted by gnats, causes deer to hemorrhage internally and dehydrate. Infected deer head to water and more than one carcass found near water indicates the disease’s presence. “Usually multiple deer is an automatic trigger in our minds that it is hemorrhagic disease,” McCrady said. Hemorrhagic disease cannot be transmitted to humans but “it can kill a fair number of deer,” he said. “We probably have it every year somewhere in the state, it’s not like it is a real rare thing,” There is no treatment for hemorrhagic disease. Most cases appear in late summer or early fall, several months after deer are bitten. The disease’s spread stops when freezing temperatures arrive.
Biohazard name:	Undefined Hemorrhagic disease (deer)
Biohazard level:	3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:	Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Missouri, [St. Joseph region]

Biological Hazard in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 03:22 (03:22 AM) UTC.

Description
A new virus, dubbed “Heartland virus,” is being spread to people by ticks common in the Southeast, the CDC reports. The only known cases are two northwestern Missouri men who fell ill in 2009. Ticks had bitten both men, but they did not get better after treatment with antibiotics. Tests later showed that the men did not have any tick-borne bacterial diseases. But CDC researcher Laura K. McMullan, PhD, and colleagues did find something else: a previously unknown virus in the patients’ blood. “This virus could be a more common cause of human illness than is currently recognized,” they said. The two men, one age 57 and the other age 67, lived on different farms. The first had only a single tick bite. The second said that over a two-week period he’d received some 20 tick bites a day. Both men had fever, fatigue, diarrhea, and low levels of blood platelets and white blood cells. The symptoms are similar to those of ehrlichiosis, a relatively common tick-borne disease that is caused by bacteria. The first patient spent 10 days in the hospital. Two years later, he’s still feeling tired and often has headaches. At first he had memory problems and loss of appetite, both of which slowly got better. The second patient was in the hospital for 12 days. Over the next four to six weeks he had memory problems, fatigue, and loss of appetite. All of these symptoms went away and did not come back over the next two years.The new virus is related to a tick-borne virus recently discovered in central and northeastern China. That virus, called SFTSV, causes fever and loss of blood platelets. The most common ticks in northwestern Missouri, where the two men were infected with Heartland virus, are lone star ticks. These ticks are found throughout the Southeast and up the Atlantic coast to Maine. No ticks carrying Heartland virus have been found. It’s not clear whether a person infected with the new virus can spread it to another person, or whether a tick bite is necessary. “Although these two patients had severe disease, the incidence of infection with the novel virus and range of disease severity are currently unknown,” McMullan and colleagues write. They warn health professionals to be on the lookout for people who fall ill after getting tick bites and who do not get better after antibiotic treatment.
Biohazard name:	Heartland Virus (new strain)
Biohazard level:	3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:	Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Texas, San Antonio [Bexar County Jail]

Biological Hazard in USA on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at 03:18 (03:18 AM) UTC.

Description
Bexar County sources are calling it an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning at the Bexar County Jail. But jail administrators will only refer to these cases as “severe food poisoning”. The outbreak happened inside the main jail facility downtown. The number of inmates affected is between 70 and 100. Four men were sent to a local hospital for treatment. And as of today, three out of those four inmates had been treated and released. At this point, the jail is working with Aramark to figure out how happened. But our sources tell us they are closely looking at meat the inmates were served late last week. Since last Friday, all of the inmates at the main jail have been given Gatorade to help speed up the recovery process. Metro health has confirmed they are investigating a foodborne illness situation and the problem has been contained to the jail. Jail administrators have not received a complaint in the last day. So, they do believe the problem has been fixed.
Biohazard name:	Mass. Food Poisoning
Biohazard level:	0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:	This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

29.08.2012

Biological Hazard

India

State of West Bengal, [Swarupnagar in North 24-Parganas]

Biological Hazard in India on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 19:22 (07:22 PM) UTC.

Description
A team of Animal Resource and Husbandry Department (ARD) on Wednesday visited Swarupnagar in North 24-Parganas to collect blood samples of dead chickens as reports of widespread deaths of poultry were reported from the area, triggering fear of an outbreak of bird flu. In the last 22 days, around 50,000 chickens have reportedly died in the four blocks of Swarupnagar — Baduria, Kakrasuti, Lakshmikantapur and Nayabandh. “I am closely monitoring the situation and the blood samples have been sent to Belgachia government laboratory for test,” said Chief Medical Officer (Health) of North 24-Parganas Susanta Kumar Sil. ARD Minister Noor -E- Alam Chowdhury urged people not to panic and said the government is prepared to tackle any outbreak of bird flu. “Yes, birds have died, but there can be a number of reasons behind it. We are prepared to tackle any such outbreak,” he said. Senior officials said if the blood samples of the dead birds are found positive of Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1) then it would be sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune for confirmation. Positive result from Pune lab would lead to beginning of culling operation within three days. Rapid response teams will be formed to carry out surveillance of bird deaths, said an official. Lime and bleaching powder are being sprayed in the area as a preventive measure. Leaflets containing dos and don’ts are being distributed. “We have started an awareness campaign in the area and asked villagers to dispose of the carcasses of the birds in a pit,” said an official. Villagers are being told to wear gloves while feeding their poultry or wild birds.
Biohazard name:	Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1)
Biohazard level:	4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:	Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

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Articles of Interest

AP News

Remote Alaska to stockpile food, just in case

By Becky Bohrer

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is known for pioneering, self-reliant residents who are accustomed to remote locations and harsh weather. Despite that, Gov. Sean Parnell worries a major earthquake or volcanic eruption could leave the state’s 720,000 residents stranded and cut off from food and supply lines. His answer: Build giant warehouses full of emergency food and supplies, just in case.

For some in the lower 48, it may seem like an extreme step. But Parnell says this is just Alaska.

In many ways, the state is no different than the rest of America. Most people buy their groceries at stores, and rely on a central grid for power and heat. But, unlike the rest of the lower 48, help isn’t a few miles away. When a fall storm cut off Nome from its final fuel supply last winter, a Russian tanker spent weeks breaking through thick ice to reach the remote town.

Weather isn’t the only thing that can wreak havoc in Alaska, where small planes are a preferred mode of transportation and the drive from Seattle to Juneau requires a ferry ride and 38 hours in a car. The state’s worst natural disaster was in 1964, when a magnitude-9.2 earthquake and resulting tsunami killed 131 people and disrupted electrical systems, water mains and communication lines in Anchorage and other cities.

“We have a different motivation to do this, because help is a long ways away,” said John Madden, Alaska’s emergency management director.

The state plans two food stockpiles in or near Fairbanks and Anchorage, two cities that also have military bases. Construction on the two storage facilities will begin this fall, and the first food deliveries are targeted for December. The goal is to have enough food to feed 40,000 people for up to a week, including three days of ready-to-eat meals and four days of bulk food that can be prepared and cooked for large groups. To put that number into perspective, Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, has about 295,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Juneau, its third largest, about 31,000.

It’s not unusual for states that routinely experience hurricanes or other large-scale disasters to have supplies like water, ready-to-eat meals, cots and blankets. But Alaska is interested in stocking food with at least a five-year shelf life that meets the nutrition, health and cultural requirements of the state’s unique demographics. That means, as part of the effort, trying to incorporate cultural foods like salmon for Alaska Natives as well as foods that would be more common in urban areas, state emergency management spokesman Jeremy Zidek said.

An estimated 90 percent of commodities entering Alaska are delivered through the Port of Anchorage. Air service is also a critical link to the outside world and generally the only way to reach many rural communities. A volcanic blast emitting a large amount of smoke and ash could disrupt supply lines by air and water for an extended period, Madden said, and an earthquake could knock out airport runways or ports. Those are just some of the disasters that might require emergency supplies.

Parnell has made disaster readiness a priority of his administration. His spokeswoman said he has experienced firsthand the devastation of natural disasters, including heavy flooding that knocked some buildings off foundations in Eagle in 2009, when he was lieutenant governor, and the Joplin, Mo., tornado last year. Parnell and his wife visited Joplin with members of the relief organization Samaritan’s Purse.

Madden said Alaska’s readiness is better than it once was and it continues to improve.

State officials have been working to encourage individual responsibility, with talks at schools and public gatherings. Emergency management officials plan to have a booth at the Alaska State Fair. A statewide disaster drill is planned for October.

Over the past year, the state has acquired or purchased water purification units and generators designed to work in cold climates, including units that could power facilities like hospitals, Madden said. Officials also are determining what the state needs in terms of emergency medical supplies and shelter, he said.

Delivery of the food stockpiles would be staggered over three years. It would be replaced after it’s used or expired, and it’s entirely possible that much of the food will never be needed. It is not clear what the state will do with the expired, unused food.

The project has a budget of around $4 million and hasn’t generated any real controversy.

Allen Geiger, enjoying hot dogs from a street vendor Tuesday in Anchorage’s Town Square Park, said he had no objections to the plan.

“It seems like an OK idea,” Geiger said. “The scale of it is not too huge.”

___

Associated Press writer Dan Joling in Anchorage contributed to this report.

29.08.2012

Power Outage

USA

State of Louisiana, [Southern Regions]

Power Outage in USA on Wednesday, 29 August, 2012 at 19:33 (07:33 PM) UTC.

Description

More than half a million Louisiana homes and businesses lost power during Isaac and most will stay that way for at least several days, Entergy spokesman Chanel Lagarde said. As of noon Wednesday, 552,000 customers were without electricity, including 85% of New Orleans, Lagarde said. Entergy, which serves most of Louisiana, initially planned to dispatch 4,000 workers to repair the power lines once the storm passed. But with outages so widespread, the company said it will need 10,000 workers. Crews from power companies in 24 states, through mutual aid agreements, will pitch in, he said. “The one thing that’s really hampering us is that the winds are still here. The storm is just hanging around,” Lagarde said. “Looks like it won’t be until tomorrow (Thursday) that we can get out there.” Workers cannot go up in bucket trucks to do repairs until the winds drop below 30 mph. Entergy expects it will take “several days” before the company can restore power to most of its customers. The company will not have a more accurate estimate until the storm subsides and workers can assess the damage, Lagarde said. Lagarde also said the number of outages will continue to rise as the storm travels north through the state.

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Earth Watch Report – Friday June 15th, 2012

Earthquakes

 

RSOE EDIS

 

Date/Time (UTC)	Magnitude	Area	Country	State/Prov./Gov.	Location	Risk			Source	Details
15.06.2012 08:40:33	2.9	Europe	Greece		Aitolikon				EMSC
15.06.2012 08:40:54	3.8	Europe	Italy		Spropolo				EMSC
15.06.2012 08:25:41	3.1	North America	United States	Hawaii	Pähala				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 08:41:14	2.4	Europe	Italy		Finale Emilia				EMSC
15.06.2012 08:41:32	3.8	Asia	Taiwan		Tung-fu-ts’un				EMSC
15.06.2012 08:10:38	4.7	South America	Chile	Region del Biobio	Quidico				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 08:41:54	4.7	South-America	Chile		Quidico				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:40:30	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Alakilise				EMSC
15.06.2012 08:20:45	2.8	Caribean	Puerto Rico		Corcega				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 07:40:51	2.3	Europe	Italy		Scortichino				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:41:12	2.4	Europe	Italy		Medolla				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:35:34	4.4	Asia	Japan	Fukushima-ken	Hisanohama				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 07:41:32	4.4	Asia	Japan		Hisanohama				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:41:53	3.4	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:42:15	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Marmaraereglisi				EMSC
15.06.2012 06:55:33	2.7	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Perez				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 07:42:36	2.4	Europe	Italy		Capo d’Orlando				EMSC
15.06.2012 06:40:31	2.2	Europe	Greece		Lipsoi				EMSC
15.06.2012 06:05:37	4.3	South America	Peru	Departamento de Puno	Urcullo				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 06:41:03	4.3	South-America	Peru		Urcullo				EMSC
15.06.2012 05:35:29	2.7	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	El Misterioso				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 05:35:50	4.3	Pacific Ocean	Fiji		Vatoa				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 05:40:29	4.3	Pacific Ocean – East	Fiji		Vatoa				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:42:55	2.0	Europe	Greece		Dhiakofti				EMSC
15.06.2012 05:40:50	3.9	Asia	Taiwan		Liu-chieh-pi				EMSC
15.06.2012 05:41:11	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Kavakcali				EMSC
15.06.2012 04:35:23	3.8	Asia	Taiwan		K’o-li-t’ung				EMSC
15.06.2012 04:35:43	2.4	Europe	Italy		La Fruttarola				EMSC
15.06.2012 06:00:30	2.3	North America	Canada	British Columbia	Princeton				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 04:36:04	3.3	Asia	Taiwan		Chia-lu-lan				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:55:28	2.4	North America	United States	Nevada	Lucky Boy (historical)				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 04:36:32	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Petuna Harap				EMSC
15.06.2012 04:36:52	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:35:27	5.9	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Miangas				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:30:52	5.5	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Miangas				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 03:35:48	2.1	Europe	Greece		Lipsoi				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:36:10	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Avcibasi				EMSC
15.06.2012 02:35:27	3.0	North America	United States	Hawaii	Makahalau				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 03:36:29	2.0	Europe	Italy		Petracca				EMSC
15.06.2012 02:30:52	3.4	Asia	Turkey		Dedeler				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:36:48	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Ardeviz				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:37:07	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Isikoren				EMSC
15.06.2012 03:37:25	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Uzunyurt				EMSC
15.06.2012 02:31:14	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Kosreli				EMSC
15.06.2012 07:43:16	2.2	Europe	Bulgaria		Vladaya				EMSC
15.06.2012 01:30:24	2.3	Europe	Italy		Galliera				EMSC
15.06.2012 00:50:33	2.7	North America	United States	Alaska	Chelatna Lodge				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 01:30:45	3.5	Asia	Turkey		Ucagac				EMSC
15.06.2012 01:31:11	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Yenikoy				EMSC
15.06.2012 01:31:32	2.1	Europe	Italy		Ponte Trevisani				EMSC
15.06.2012 00:35:59	2.0	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	La Puerta				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 00:25:27	2.0	Europe	Italy		San Biagio				EMSC
15.06.2012 00:11:01	5.4	Asia	China	Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu	Tarlak				USGS-RSOE
15.06.2012 00:25:48	5.5	Asia	China		Yengisar				EMSC
15.06.2012 00:26:16	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Bayir				EMSC
15.06.2012 00:26:36	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Yukaricavdarlik				EMSC
15.06.2012 00:27:16	2.9	Europe	Czech Republic		Zd’arsky Potok				EMSC
14.06.2012 23:30:29	3.0	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Canon de Guadalupe				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 23:06:27	3.0	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	La Puerta				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 23:20:28	2.6	Europe	Greece		Evpalion				EMSC
14.06.2012 23:20:54	3.7	Asia	Turkey		Uzunyurt				EMSC
14.06.2012 23:07:10	2.5	North America	United States	Oklahoma	Nichols Hills				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 23:21:13	4.1	Asia	Taiwan		Liu-chieh-pi				EMSC
14.06.2012 23:21:39	5.5	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Pasirputih				EMSC
14.06.2012 23:07:31	5.6	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Pasirputih				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 23:22:00	3.1	Europe	Greece		Oropos				EMSC
14.06.2012 22:15:27	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Avilcin				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:40:34	2.9	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Cerro Prieto				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 22:15:48	3.4	Asia	Taiwan		Liu-chieh-pi				EMSC
14.06.2012 22:16:09	4.8	Asia	Taiwan		Nan-k’eng-t’ou				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:40:53	2.7	North America	United States	Alaska	Drift River				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 22:16:35	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Uzunyurt				EMSC
14.06.2012 22:16:56	4.2	Asia	Turkey		Oymapinar				EMSC
14.06.2012 22:17:17	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Baskonak				EMSC
14.06.2012 23:22:23	4.0	Europe	Russia		Siamo				EMSC
14.06.2012 22:17:38	2.5	Europe	Switzerland		Mieville				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:15:28	3.4	Asia	Taiwan		Chung-pu-li				EMSC
14.06.2012 22:17:58	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Karaca				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:15:49	4.0	Asia	Taiwan		Hsi-lin-ts’un				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:30:38	2.1	North America	United States	California	Ordway				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 21:16:12	3.3	Asia	Turkey		Bayir				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:20:38	2.0	North America	United States	Hawaii	‘Äpua (historical)				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 20:10:33	3.1	Asia	Turkey		Karaca				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:10:53	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Duzalan				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:11:13	3.9	Asia	Taiwan		Chia-lu-lan				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:11:34	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Karakoy				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:11:55	3.4	Asia	Turkey		Cardakli				EMSC
14.06.2012 20:12:17	3.7	Asia	Taiwan		Nan-kang				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:09:29	2.0	North America	United States	California	Glenoak Hills				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 20:12:38	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Karaca				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:05:48	3.9	Asia	Taiwan		Tung-fu-ts’un				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:06:09	2.8	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:06:28	3.6	Asia	Taiwan		Shan-hsing				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:06:47	3.4	Europe	Greece		Legrena				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:30:43	4.4	Asia	Turkey	Mugla Ili	Kahya				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 19:07:08	4.7	Asia	Turkey		Gavuragili				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:07:29	2.6	Europe	Italy		La Pettenella				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:25:47	2.0	North America	United States	California	Irvine				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 19:07:48	4.3	Asia	Taiwan		Liu-chieh-pi				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:08:09	5.2	Asia	Taiwan		牛山				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:50:56	5.2	Asia	Taiwan	T'ai-wan Sheng	芳寮				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 19:08:29	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Duzalan				EMSC
14.06.2012 19:08:51	2.7	Europe	Greece		Ayios Nikolaos				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:05:27	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Pinaronu				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:07:28	2.7	North America	United States	Alaska	Karluk				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 17:40:34	2.6	North America	United States	Alaska	Kantishna				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 18:05:54	3.8	Asia	Taiwan		Chia-lu-lan				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:06:16	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Tutun				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:06:37	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Yenikoy				EMSC
14.06.2012 18:06:56	2.0	Europe	Greece		Glifa				EMSC
14.06.2012 17:05:25	4.8	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Baron				EMSC
14.06.2012 17:05:51	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
14.06.2012 17:06:34	3.2	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
14.06.2012 17:06:55	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Sogutlu				EMSC
14.06.2012 15:50:47	2.2	North America	United States	California	Flamingo Heights				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 17:07:15	2.1	Europe	Greece		Amaliapoli				EMSC
14.06.2012 16:00:38	2.9	Europe	Greece		Xirokastellon				EMSC
14.06.2012 16:00:57	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Uyanik				EMSC
14.06.2012 16:01:15	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Beyyurdu				EMSC
14.06.2012 16:01:36	2.8	Europe	France		Cabasson				EMSC
14.06.2012 15:00:31	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Haydarli				EMSC
14.06.2012 15:00:51	2.6	Europe	Italy		L’Orlanda				EMSC
14.06.2012 15:01:17	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Bekit Mezraa				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:45:36	2.0	North America	United States	California	Manix				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 13:55:36	3.5	Asia	Turkey		Ortakoy				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:55:57	2.9	Europe	Italy		Casa Furnetta				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:56:20	2.4	Europe	Czech Republic		Velteze				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:56:41	5.3	Pacific Ocean – East	Fiji		Matokana				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:20:31	5.4	Pacific Ocean	Fiji		Matokana				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 13:57:02	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:57:23	2.8	Europe	Greece		Kamenitsotaiika				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:30:37	4.7	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Simatorkis				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 13:57:44	4.8	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Simatorkis				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:58:06	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Karakoy				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:58:31	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Candir				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:58:50	2.0	Europe	Romania		Glod				EMSC
14.06.2012 12:50:33	2.7	Europe	France		Cabasson				EMSC
14.06.2012 12:20:31	2.5	North America	United States	California	Tangair				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 21:25:38	3.6	Caribbean	Dominican Republic	Provincia de La Altagracia	El Algibe				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 15:01:37	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Hamitabat				EMSC
14.06.2012 12:50:52	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Erduragi				EMSC
14.06.2012 12:51:12	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Kislacik				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:50:29	2.3	Europe	Italy		La Collevata				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:20:40	2.0	North America	United States	Hawaii	Lae ‘Apuki (historical)				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 11:21:00	2.4	North America	United States	Alaska	King Salmon				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 15:01:56	2.7	Europe	Greece		Kefalovrisi				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:50:48	2.8	Asia	Turkey		Duzalan				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:51:09	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Silopi				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:51:30	2.4	Europe	Italy		Camposanto				EMSC
14.06.2012 10:45:32	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Hidirbaba				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:51:51	3.5	Europe	Cyprus		Arnadhi				EMSC
14.06.2012 10:05:39	2.1	North America	United States	Hawaii	Hanaipoe				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 21:26:21	3.1	Caribbean	U.S. Virgin Islands		Bordeaux (historical)				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 10:45:53	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Baskoy				EMSC
14.06.2012 10:46:15	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Guneycam				EMSC
14.06.2012 10:46:35	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:26:40	2.6	North America	United States	Alaska	Nikolski				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 09:40:28	2.3	Middle-East	Syria		Mazra`at ash Shati’				EMSC
14.06.2012 09:15:30	2.4	North America	United States	Hawaii	Makahalau				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 09:40:49	3.8	Asia	Turkey		Ortakoy				EMSC
14.06.2012 09:41:10	3.6	Europe	Italy		Corte Romana				EMSC
14.06.2012 09:41:36	2.8	Europe	Italy		La Balantina				EMSC
14.06.2012 09:41:56	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Cavusdede				EMSC
14.06.2012 09:42:17	3.1	Asia	Turkey		Silopi				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:10:40	3.1	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		Pole Ojea				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 10:46:53	2.7	Europe	Spain		Los Llanillos				EMSC
14.06.2012 13:59:08	2.6	Europe	Greece		Koutsounara				EMSC
14.06.2012 10:47:13	4.7	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Cibinua				EMSC
14.06.2012 11:52:13	2.3	Europe	Greece		Ayios Ioannis				EMSC
14.06.2012 21:11:01	3.3	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		El Morro				USGS-RSOE
14.06.2012 10:47:34	4.9	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Padangunoih				EMSC
14.06.2012 09:42:39	2.0	Europe	Greece		Oraia				EMSC

 

 

 

 

 

………………………………………….

Quake-hit Afghan village could become mass grave

by Staff Writers
Mullah Jan, Afghanistan (AFP)

An Afghan village where more than 70 people are believed to have been buried in an earthquake-triggered landslide could be declared a mass grave, an official said Wednesday.

Two shallow tremors less than half an hour apart on Monday unleashed a deluge of rock and earth that smashed into the remote village of Mullah Jan, in the mountainous Hindu Kush region.

Villagers say 71 people, all women and children, were trapped in the landslide, and a disaster management official has described the chances of anyone surviving as “slim or non-existent”.

Mechanical diggers were at the site trying to clear rubble to find bodies or survivors, but Nasir Kohzad, the head of the natural disaster agency of Baghlan province, said the scale of the task made it difficult.

“Part of a mountain has collapsed on a part of Mullah Jan village and there is over 60 metres of dirt to remove,” he told AFP.

Pictures from the scene showed earthmovers digging through mounds of brown dirt and rock with no visible signs of buried buildings.

Only three bodies have been recovered from Mullah Jan, Kohzad said, while a fourth was found in a neighbouring district.

Mullah Jan, the chief of the eponymous village, suggested declaring the site a mass grave and leaving the other victims’ bodies to rest, Kohzad said.

The first quake on Monday, with a magnitude of 5.4, struck at 9:32 am (0502 GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometres (10 miles) with the epicentre around 160 kilometres southwest of the town of Faizabad.

A more powerful tremor, measured at 5.7 magnitude, hit around 25 minutes later in almost exactly the same place, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range, which lies near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

**********************************************************************************************************

Volcanic Activity

Hundreds briefly evacuate as volcano erupts in northeast Indonesia

BY BNO News

minews26.com

TERNATE, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) — Hundreds of residents in northeastern Indonesia fled their homes on Wednesday after a brief eruption at Mount Gamkonora, spewing towering columns of ash and smoke and prompting officials to raise the volcano’s alert level to the second-highest state.

The 1,635-meter (5,364 feet) tall volcano, which is located on the west coast of Halmahera island in the Maluku Islands and is part of North Maluku province, began to erupt on Wednesday afternoon and sent thick ash clouds up to 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) high, although no lava flows were seen.

The Antara news agency reported that hundreds of residents living on the volcano’s slope evacuated the area following the eruption, but they returned hours later after officials determined their communities are not currently at risk. New evacuations could be ordered if activity at the volcano continues to increase.

Following Wednesday’s eruption, the country’s Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) decided to raise the volcano’s alert status to Siaga (level 3), the second-highest level. The agency uses a warning system with four levels of alert, with level 1 being the lowest and level 4 being the highest.

PVMBG said activity at Mount Gamkonora has been increasing for months, with more frequent volcanic earthquakes and an increase of magma activity near the surface. Authorities are still uncertain whether the current eruption will lead to a major event, but past eruptions at the volcano have nearly all been explosive.

Mount Gamkonora last erupted in July 2007, forcing the evacuation of nearly 10,000 people but causing no known casualties. The most notable eruption at the volcano took place in May 1673, when a massive eruption caused significant damage in the area and resulting tsunami waves which flooded nearby villages. An unknown number of people were killed.

Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country in the world and sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity.

One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes is Mount Merapi, which is located on the island of Java near Jogjakarta, the country’s second-most visited area after Bali. Between October and November 2010, a series of eruptions took place at the volcano, killing at least 353 people and displacing more than 300,000 others.

 

 

14.06.2012

Volcano Eruption

Indonesia

Halmahera, [Mount Gamkonora Volcano]

 

 

Volcano Eruption in Indonesia on Thursday, 14 June, 2012 at 16:53 (04:53 PM) UTC.

Description

Hundreds of residents in northeastern Indonesia fled their homes on Wednesday after a brief eruption at Mount Gamkonora, spewing towering columns of ash and smoke and prompting officials to raise the volcano’s alert level to the second-highest state. The 1,635-meter (5,364 feet) tall volcano, which is located on the west coast of Halmahera island in the Maluku Islands and is part of North Maluku province, began to erupt on Wednesday afternoon and sent thick ash clouds up to 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) high, although no lava flows were seen. The Antara news agency reported that hundreds of residents living on the volcano’s slope evacuated the area following the eruption, but they returned hours later after officials determined their communities are not currently at risk. New evacuations could be ordered if activity at the volcano continues to increase. Following Wednesday’s eruption, the country’s Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) decided to raise the volcano’s alert status to Siaga (level 3), the second-highest level. The agency uses a warning system with four levels of alert, with level 1 being the lowest and level 4 being the highest. PVMBG said activity at Mount Gamkonora has been increasing for months, with more frequent volcanic earthquakes and an increase of magma activity near the surface. Authorities are still uncertain whether the current eruption will lead to a major event, but past eruptions at the volcano have nearly all been explosive. Mount Gamkonora last erupted in July 2007, forcing the evacuation of nearly 10,000 people but causing no known casualties. The most notable eruption at the volcano took place in May 1673, when a massive eruption caused significant damage in the area and resulting tsunami waves which flooded nearby villages. An unknown number of people were killed. Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country in the world and sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity. One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes is Mount Merapi, which is located on the island of Java near Jogjakarta, the country’s second-most visited area after Bali. Between October and November 2010, a series of eruptions took place at the volcano, killing at least 353 people and displacing more than 300,000 others.

 

Volcano Eruption in Indonesia on Thursday, 14 June, 2012 at 16:53 (04:53 PM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	VE-20120614-35444-IDN
Event type:	Volcano Eruption
Date/Time:	Thursday, 14 June, 2012 at 16:53 (04:53 PM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Unknown
Geographic information
Continent:	Indonesian Archipelago
Country:	Indonesia
County / State:	Halmahera
Area:	Mount Gamkonora Volcano
City:
Coordinate:	N 1° 22.801, E 127° 32.046
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

 

***********************************************************************************************************

Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

 

 

 

Today

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of New Mexico, [Round Mountain]

 

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 06:43 (06:43 AM) UTC.

Description

Firefighters continued to build containment lines around the Round Mountain Complex fire Thursday night just east of Tularosa on U.S. Highway 70, Otero County emergency services coordinator Paul Quairoli said. Quairoli said Otero County firefighters were called around 5 p.m. Thursday to the fire on the south side of U.S. Highway 70 East between mile markers 234 and 239. “The fire is about 25 percent contained,” he said. “We had between four and six separate fires in the area. The largest of the fires is 10 acres. Combined with all the fires, we’re about 16 acres total. The fires were burning on private, state and Bureau of Land Management lands. They were small spotted fires that turned into larger grass and brush fires.” He said resources from Otero County fire units, Tularosa Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, New Mexico State Forestry, BLM and Mescalero responded. “We also had Bureau of Indian Affairs, state police and the sheriff’s department law enforcement respond as well,” Quairoli said. “We had a heavy air tanker and four heavy helicopters respond. We got the air resources from the Little Bear fire here right away. We attacked it aggressively. We had about 28 Otero County units respond to the fire.” He said fire officials continue the investigation into the cause of the fire. “We’re putting in more fire lines and mopping up certain areas,” Quairoli said. “We have a lot of wet lines down because of the heavy tanker drops that we’re going to work for a long time. Right now we’re a unified command, but we’re going to be turning the command over to the BLM incident commander soon (Thursday night). There was one firefighter who went down with heat exhaustion.” He said he was unable to confirm that a second firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion. “Wednesday, the Otero County Commission confirmed that we’re going into a burn ban county-wide,” Quairoli said. “There are no fireworks within the boundaries of the Lincoln National Forest or basically in the mountain areas. We’re dry and a lot of large fires in the area and resources are short. We urge people to use common sense and precaution that fire doesn’t happen. Any fires in the county, we’re going to continue to extinguish it aggressively because of the dry, high risk and other large fires within the state.”

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 06:43 (06:43 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	WF-20120615-35450-USA
Event type:	Forest / Wild Fire
Date/Time:	Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 06:43 (06:43 AM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Minor
Geographic information
Continent:	North-America
Country:	USA
County / State:	State of New Mexico
Area:	Round Mountain
City:
Coordinate:	N 35° 52.368, W 105° 38.084
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today

Heat Wave

Puerto Rico

[Statewide]

 

 

Heat Wave in Puerto Rico on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:14 (03:14 AM) UTC.

Description

Puerto Rico is in the midst of an unusually dry and record-setting hot stretch of weather. Some relief is on the horizon, but it will not be long-lasting. Record heat baked Puerto Rico’s capital of San Juan both Tuesday and Wednesday and threatens to do the same into Friday. Temperatures today are headed to near the day’s record high of 96 from 1983, then they will challenge Friday’s record of 94 degrees from the same year. This week’s record highs are actually not that far above the 88 degrees that San Juan typically warms to this time of year. What is really unusual and contributing to the heat is the absence of cooling showers and thunderstorms. Dry air has not only kept the Atlantic Basin free of organized tropical systems this month, but it has also limited the development of showers and thunderstorms over San Juan. No measurable rain has dampened the city so far this June, a month that typically records 4.40 inches of rain. That dry stretch will continue through Friday, and without the storminess and accompanying clouds, temperatures will no trouble challenging records. The recent lack of rain has also dried out vegetation, leading to a heightened fire danger. The good news is that the presence of high humidity is preventing the fire danger from being extreme. The bad news is that the combination of the heat and humidity is creating a very uncomfortable environment for those who must spend time outdoors. Residents are urged to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and to drink plenty of water before some relief finally arrives this weekend. The passage of a tropical wave will open the door for moisture to surge across Puerto Rico this weekend, leading to an increase in much-welcome showers and thunderstorms. The storminess, however, will not be here to stay. After additional spotty showers and thunderstorms follow early next week, latest indications point toward the return of a lengthy stretch of dry and hot weather for the second half of the week.

 

Heat Wave in Puerto Rico on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:14 (03:14 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	HT-20120615-35447-PRI
Event type:	Heat Wave
Date/Time:	Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:14 (03:14 AM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Unknown
Geographic information
Continent:	Caribean Sea
Country:	Puerto Rico
County / State:
Area:	Statewide
City:
Coordinate:	N 18° 13.250, W 66° 35.409
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today

Forest / Wild Fire

Canada

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, [Sheshatshiu Region]

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:11 (03:11 AM) UTC.

Description

The people of North West River and Sheshatshiu are being told to pack their bags and get ready to hit the road as a forest fire encroaches on the Labrador communities. The province issued an evacuation notice on Thursday: “Residents are encouraged to make the necessary preparations at home and heed warnings and instructions from local emergency officials in the community, as the forest fire situation continues.” The growing forest fire is burning some 30 km north of the towns. The Provincial Fire Weather Index said it is burning at “extreme levels.” About 1,700 people live in North West River and some 1,276 in Sheshatshiu.

 

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:11 (03:11 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	WF-20120615-35445-CAN
Event type:	Forest / Wild Fire
Date/Time:	Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:11 (03:11 AM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Unknown
Geographic information
Continent:	North-America
Country:	Canada
County / State:	Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Area:	Sheshatshiu Region
City:
Coordinate:	N 53° 31.122, W 60° 8.778
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gale Warning

 

EUREKA CA
POINT ARENA TO POINT CONCEPTION
POINT ST GEORGE TO POINT ARENA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

 

MEDFORD, OR

 

BALTIMORE CANYON TO HATTERAS CANYON OUT TO 36N 70W TO 34N 71W
JUNEAU AK
ANCHORAGE ALASKA

 

 

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

 

SACRAMENTO CA

 

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Storms, Flooding, Landslides

 

 

High Wind Warning

 

LUBBOCK TX

 

 

 

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

 

TULSA OK
WICHITA KS

 

 

 

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system	Location	Formed	Last update	Last category	Course	Wind Speed	Gust	Wave	Source	Details
Guchol (05W)	Pacific Ocean	11.06.2012	15.06.2012	Typhoon I.	255 °	148 km/h	185 km/h	4.88 m	JTWC

 

 

Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 7 Storm name: Guchol (05W) Area: Pacific Ocean Start up location: N 8° 24.000, E 146° 30.000 Start up: 11th June 2012 Status: 01st January 1970 Track long: 990.14 km Top category.: Report by: JTWC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source 11th Jun 2012 05:06:01 N 8° 24.000, E 146° 30.000 19 46 65 Tropical Depression 280 8 JTWC 13th Jun 2012 04:06:56 N 9° 42.000, E 140° 24.000 13 65 83 Tropical Storm 280 8 JTWC 14th Jun 2012 05:06:12 N 10° 54.000, E 135° 6.000 24 102 130 Tropical Storm 270 13 JTWC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 15th Jun 2012 04:06:55 N 10° 18.000, E 132° 6.000 15 148 185 Typhoon I. 255 ° 16 JTWC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 16th Jun 2012 00:00:00 N 15° 0.000, E 127° 42.000 Typhoon I. 139 167 JTWC 17th Jun 2012 00:00:00 N 18° 0.000, E 125° 42.000 Typhoon II. 157 194 JTWC 18th Jun 2012 00:00:00 N 21° 30.000, E 125° 6.000 Typhoon II. 167 204 JTWC 19th Jun 2012 00:00:00 N 25° 12.000, E 126° 30.000 Typhoon II. 157 194 JTWC

Carlotta (03E)

Pacific Ocean – East

14.06.2012

15.06.2012

Tropical Storm

330 °

102 km/h

120 km/h

4.27 m

NHC

 

 

Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 0 Storm name: Carlotta (03E) Area: Pacific Ocean – East Start up location: N 9° 24.000, W 92° 24.000 Start up: 14th June 2012 Status: 01st January 1970 Track long: 264.90 km Top category.: Report by: NHC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source 14th Jun 2012 05:06:49 N 9° 24.000, W 92° 24.000 15 56 74 Tropical Depression 305 10 1004 MB NHC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 15th Jun 2012 04:06:33 N 12° 30.000, W 94° 42.000 17 102 120 Tropical Storm 330 ° 14 994 MB NHC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 16th Jun 2012 00:00:00 N 15° 0.000, W 96° 12.000 Hurricane I. 120 148 NHC 17th Jun 2012 00:00:00 N 17° 12.000, W 97° 30.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NHC

 

………………….

Freakish Hail Storm Pummels Dallas 6/14/2012

Published on Jun 14, 2012 by sbnews777

The images look like snow, but Dallas residents will tell you it was no winter wonderland.

“Oh my gosh, this is the biggest hailstorm I have ever witnessed in my life,” shouted Hannah Jones while videotaping chunks of hail pelting her pool and backyard.

Dallas-area hail. (Photo courtesy: CBSDFW.com)
Supercell storms packing heavy rain and droves of damaging hail swept across parts of North Texas Wednesday evening. Some stones were as big as baseballs.

“It was horrible,” one woman told WFAA-TV. “It was like being bombed or something.”

The wild weather wrecked a historic movie theater, smashed windows and left evening commuters cursing Mother Nature as they scrambled for cover.

‘Drought-hit’ UK lifts hosepipe bans after two soggy months

by Staff Writers
London (AFP)

British gardeners have been told they can use their hosepipes again after drought prompted a two-month ban — but after weeks of pouring rain, their lawns will be looking fresh anyway.

Days after the ban was brought into force in early April, the skies opened — delivering the wettest April in over 100 years, and causing flooding in some areas.

Three of the seven water companies which imposed bans in early April will officially end them on Thursday.

The restrictions, covering the homes of some 20 million Britons, were introduced to combat drought in southern and eastern England after two consecutive dry winters.

“We have had two-and-a-half times the average rainfall for April, we have had steady showers in May and then monsoon downpours in June. That’s changed things,” said a spokesman for Thames Water, one of the firms lifting the ban.

Anglian Water and Southern Water are also lifting their bans, though South East Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water Southeast are maintaining them due to low groundwater levels.

The Environment Agency said the recent downpours, which soaked more than a million revellers who crammed into London to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee this month, had boosted river levels and reservoir stocks.

More downpours are expected across Britain this week.

The Environment Agency has two flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 19 flood alerts signalling possible flooding, in place across the country.

Related Links
Climate Science News – Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

 

 

Coastal Flood Warning

 

BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC

Flood Warning

 

HASTINGS NE
TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
GREAT FALLS MT
DODGE CITY KS

 

 

Taiwan flooding kills six people with two more missing

Taiwan has seen devastating floods after days of rain.

At least six people have been killed after flooding hit Taiwan.

Torrential rain brought floods to counties in numerous parts of the country, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center said more than 7,000 people were moved, with the help of the military, according to Reuters news agency.

The flooding caused landslides, as well as power cuts and water shortages to tens of thousands of homes.

The emergency centre said flooding had caused power cuts to more than 87,000 homes and water shortages to 12,000.

While it was reported that six people had died, a further two were said to be missing.

The Associated Press said two people had been killed in a makeshift shelter in a landslide in Taichung, while two more were killed in landslide in Nantou county.

Reuters said the agricultural loss to the country had been estimated at more than NT$172m ($5.76m/£3.69m).

Taiwan’s Central News Agency quoted President Ma Ying-jeou as saying those losses would be compensated.

He said this would take place through more generous subsidies and an easier application process for funding.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has more than 47,000 personnel ready for relief assistance, according to the Taipei Times.

The newspaper said 411 rivers across the country had been placed on red alert for mud flows with a further 416 on yellow alert.

 

 

1

15.06.2012

Flood

Philippines

MultiProvinces, [Sarangani, North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces]

 

 

Ongoing

Flood in Philippines on Wednesday, 13 June, 2012 at 02:47 (02:47 AM) UTC.

Description

Two days of rain has flooded several villages and towns in southern Philippines and forced nearly 700 people to flee their homes on Tuesday. Benito Ramos, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council head, said parts of Sarangani, North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces were flooded after two days of pounding rain set off by a brewing tropical storm. Two men died while a total of 250 houses were destroyed when a flashflood hit two villages in Glan town, Sarangani province Tuesday. The flashflood struck the villages of Big Margus Proper and Pangyan Cross. The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported 50 families were also displaced by flashfloods. Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez identified the victims as Sagapo Cabigding and Rolando Mata. A certain Rani Pregoner is also reported missing. Nineteen fishermen were also rescued by the authorities from the big waves that battered the area for several hours. The governor said that based on the report coming from Ben Solarte of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, about 139 houses were totally damaged while 111 houses were partially destroyed by the floodwaters. A flashflood also struck four villages in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat on Monday. It started around 9 p.m. and affected barangays Obial, Sta. Clara, Hinalaan, and Himulan. A total of 2,460 families were affected by the flooding, while 23 families were forcibly evacuated by the authorities. In Malaybalay, Bukidnon, a flashflood also struck barangays Cabangahan, Bangkud, Aglayan, and Linabo at 4:45 p.m. after Bugkaon River overflowed due to continuous heavy rains brought about by the shallow low pressure area. Some 44 families whose houses are situated near a riverbank in this city evacuated to higher grounds when floodwaters reached as high as 15 feet at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, residents said. Nurkaya Patadon, 42, one of the flood victims in this city, said many of their appliances and valuables were swept out to the Nuangan River, one of the longest rivers in North Cotabato. Patadon’s family, including 43 other families, decided to leave their homes for fear the waters might rise again due to torrential rains. Heavy rains started to pour at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday and continued until Tuesday afternoon, said Psalmer Bernalte, head of the Kidapawan City Emergency Response Unit (KidCeru), one of the groups that conducted rescue operations. Kasan Maruhom, one of the displaced residents, said that Tuesday’s flashfloods was the worst since 2000. “We never thought the floodwaters could rise as high as 15 feet. What happened was the worst. I’ve lived in this area for more than 30 years,” Maruhom said. Maruhom said he would transfer his family to Mundog Subdivision in Poblacion. Others, however, have problems finding areas for their relocation. “We don’t know where to go. We have no place to stay other than the riverbank. Our workplace is here in the Poblacion,” said Salik Quila, also one of the flood victims. Bernalte said the waters of Nuangan River, already considered a dead river in Kidapawan City, became turbulent as heavy rains continue to fall across North Cotabato due to low pressure area, which brought widespread rain showers and thunderstorms. Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco has already ordered the immediate evacuation of the families living near the riverbanks, including Lapu-Lapu Street, Cotelco Village, and Licatan Subdivision, all in Poblacion here. “We’ve already given them orders in the past to leave the place, yet, they won’t listen,” Gantuangco said. Gantuangco said a relocation site in Barangay Balindog, about five kilometers away from the Poblacion, is set for the victims. He said they will declare this city under state of calamity so they can use a portion of their funds to help the flood victims. He added that he already ordered the City Social Welfare and Development Office and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to assess and evaluate the situation and immediately conduct relief operations on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

Flood in Philippines on Wednesday, 13 June, 2012 at 02:47 (02:47 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	FL-20120613-35428-PHL
Event type:	Flood
Date/Time:	Wednesday, 13 June, 2012 at 02:47 (02:47 AM) UTC
Last update:	Situation Update No. 1 on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:19 UTC
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Extreme
Geographic information
Continent:	Pacific Ocean – West
Country:	Philippines
County / State:	MultiProvinces
Area:	Sarangani, North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces
City:
Coordinate:	N 7° 0.834, E 125° 5.268
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	2
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	61
Evacuated person(s):	700
Affected person(s):	—

………………………………………..

Ruta 32 Remains Closed For Landslide

Ruta 32, the route that connects San José with Guapiles and Limón, is once again closed due to a landslide occurring at kilometre 30 in the area of the Zurquí, some 10 km east of the tunnel.

The road is expected to remain closed for most of the day today Thursday, as work crews clean up the debris strewn across the road.

The Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (CONAVI) says it is in the process of removing some 6.400 cubic metres of mud and other materials that coves some 8 metres (25 feet) of roadway.

The CONAVI says that the road will be re-open today if the weather conditions allow the work to continue and no new landslides occur.

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Hazmat

 

 

 

Today

HAZMAT

USA

State of New Hampshire, [Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant]

 

 

HAZMAT in USA on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:17 (03:17 AM) UTC.

Description

An ammonium hydroxide spill of less than a gallon in a stockroom at NextEra Energy Inc.’s nuclear power plant in Seabrook, N.H. required the plant to declare an “unusual event,” the lowest of four emergency categories. Plant spokesman Al Griffith says the spill happened about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday inside the administration building. He says there are no injuries and no danger to the public. The emergency was over in the early evening. It’s not clear how the spill happened. Cleaning materials are kept in the stockroom. The building is in a protected area. Plant operations were not affected.

 

HAZMAT in USA on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:17 (03:17 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	HZ-20120615-35448-USA
Event type:	HAZMAT
Date/Time:	Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:17 (03:17 AM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:	Ammonium hydroxide spill
Damage level:	Minor
Geographic information
Continent:	North-America
Country:	USA
County / State:	State of New Hampshire
Area:	Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant
City:
Coordinate:	N 42° 53.931, W 70° 50.988
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

************************************************************************************************************

Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

HIV may have returned in ‘cured’ patient: scientists

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP)

An American man whose HIV seemed to disappear after a blood marrow transplant for leukemia may be showing new hints of the disease, sparking debate over whether a cure was really achieved.

Scientists disagree over the latest findings on Timothy Brown, also known as the “Berlin patient,” presented at a conference in Spain last week, according to a report in the journal Science’s ScienceInsider blog.

Brown was given bone marrow transplants in 2006 that appeared to eradicate the human immunodeficiency virus from his body, leading his doctors to declare a “cure of HIV has been achieved” in the peer-reviewed journal Blood in 2010.

The transplants came from a donor with an unusual genetic mutation that is naturally resistant to HIV. About one in 100 Caucasian people have this mutation which prevents the molecule CCR5 from appearing on the cell surface.

The latest debate arose after virologist Steven Yukl of the University of California, San Francisco, gave a talk on June 8 at the International Workshop on HIV & Hepatitis Virus.

Yukl “highlighted the difficulties that they and several labs they collaborated with have had determining if Brown truly had eradicated the virus from his body,” said the ScienceInsider report.

“There are some signals of the virus and we don’t know if they are real or contamination, and, at this point, we can’t say for sure whether there’s been complete eradication of HIV,” Yukl was quoted as saying by ScienceInsider.

“The point of the presentation was to raise the question of how do we define a cure and, at this level of detection, how do we know the signal is real?”

However, some scientists interpreted the presentation to mean that a cure was not actually achieved, and that Brown may even have been re-infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

Alain Lafeuillade of the General Hospital in Toulon, France, issued a press release that described how Yukl and colleagues “challenged these results as they showed persistence of low levels of HIV viremia in this patient, and HIV DNA in his rectal cells.”

He noted that “these HIV strains were found to be different from those initially present in this patient back in 2006, and different from each other.”

While that could mean the HIV has “evolved and persist(ed) over the last 5 years, these data also raise the possibility that the patient has been re-infected,” Lafeuillade wrote.

“More studies are in progress to know if this seronegative HIV individual can infect other subjects if he has unsafe sex,” he concluded.

Yukl, quoted by ScienceInsider, said Lafeuillade misinterpreted the presentation.

“”We weren’t trying to say HIV was still there or he hadn’t been cured,” he said, noting the talk centered on how to interpret very sensitive test results on Brown’s blood cells, plasma and rectal tissue.

One of his collaborators, Douglas Richman of the University of California, San Diego, said he believes researchers have picked up contaminants.

“If you do enough cycles of PCR (polymerase chain reaction), you can get a signal in water for pink elephants,” Richman was quoted as saying.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth – Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

 

 

 

Plague Rare in U.S., Surfacing in More Affluent Areas

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter | HealthDay  

WEDNESDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) — Although the plague is typically considered a remnant of the Middle Ages, when unsanitary conditions and rodent infestations prevailed amid the squalor of poverty, this rare but deadly disease appears to be spreading through wealthier communities in New Mexico, researchers report.

Why the plague is popping up in affluent neighborhoods isn’t completely clear, the experts added.

“Where human plague cases occur is linked to where people live and how people interact with their environment,” noted lead researcher Anna Schotthoefer, from the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Wisconsin. “These factors may change over time, necessitating periodic reassessments of the factors that put people at risk.”

This latest study confirms previous reports that living within or close to the natural environments that support plague is a risk factor for human plague, Schotthoefer said.

Plague is caused by a fast-moving bacteria, known as Yersinia pestis, that is spread through flea bites (bubonic plague) or through the air (pneumonic plague).

The new report comes on the heels of the hospitalization on June 8 of an Oregon man in his 50s with what experts suspect is plague. According to The Oregonian, the man got sick a few days after being bitten as he tried to get a mouse away from a stray cat. The cat died days later, the paper said, and the man remains in critical condition.

For the new study, published in the July issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the researchers used U.S. Census Bureau data to pinpoint the location and socioeconomic status of plague patients.

About 11 cases of plague a year have occurred in the United States since 1976, with most cases found in New Mexico. Plague has also been reported in a handful of other states.

Although many cases were in areas where the habitat supports rodents and fleas, the researchers also found cases occurring in more upper-class neighborhoods. In the 1980s, most cases occurred where housing conditions were poor, but more recently cases have been reported in affluent areas of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the investigators found.

“The shift from poorer to more affluent regions of New Mexico was a surprise, and suggests that homeowners in these newly developed areas should be educated about the risks of plague,” Schotthoefer said.

Schotthoefer noted that these more affluent areas where plague occurred were regions where new housing developments had been built in habitats that support the wild reservoirs of plague, which include ground squirrels and woodrats.

Bubonic plague starts with painful swellings (buboes) of the lymph nodes, which appear in the armpits, legs, neck or groin. Buboes are at first a red color, then they turn a dark purple color, or black. Pneumonic plague starts by infecting the lungs. Other symptoms include a very high fever, delirium, vomiting, muscle pains, bleeding in the lungs and disorientation.

In the 14th century, a plague called the Black Death killed an estimated 30 percent to 60 percent of the European population. Victims died quickly, within days after being infected.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said he doesn’t expect to see that kind of outbreak ever again.

“This is not a disease of the past, but you are never going to see a massive outbreak of plague in this country,” he said.

“We don’t have the public health problems we used to have and people would be quickly confined if there were ever a large number of cases,” Siegel explained.

Yet, it is not surprising to see plague in these more affluent areas, he noted.

“We know that plague only exists where you have wild animals, and once a reservoir of plague is already present it is likely to persist,” Siegel explained. “It isn’t only about squalor; it’s about where the reservoir is.”

However, if the disease is caught early it is treatable with antibiotics, Siegel added.

More information

For more information on plague, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Climate Change

 North-East Passage soon free from ice again

by Staff Writers
Bremerhaven, Germany (SPX)

Sea ice thickness in the Laptev Sea at the end of the previous winter (April 20, 2012): The sea ice thickness was determined with the SMOS (Soil Moisture Ocean Saliniy) satellite that can resolve ice thicknesses up to 50 centimetres. The black line shows the mission’s flight track. SMOS-data: Lars Kaleschke, KlimaCampus, Hamburg University.

The North-East Passage, the sea route along the North coast of Russia, is expected to be free of ice early again this summer. The forecast was made by sea ice physicists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association based on a series of measurement flights over the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean.

Amongs experts the shelf sea is known as an “ice factory” of Arctic sea ice. At the end of last winter the researchers discovered large areas of thin ice not being thick enough to withstand the summer melt.

“These results were a great surprise to us”, says expedition member Dr. Thomas Krumpen. In previous measurements in the winter of 2007/2008 the ice in the same area had been up to one metre thicker. In his opinion these clear differences are primarily attributable to the wind: “It behaves differently from year to year.

If, as last winter, the wind blows from the mainland to the sea, it pushes the pack ice from the Laptev Sea towards the North. Open water areas, so-called polynyas, develop in this way before the coast. Their surface water naturally cools very quickly at an air temperature of minus 40 degrees.

New thin ice forms and is then immediately swept away again by the wind. In view of this cycle, differently sized areas of thin ice then develop on the Laptev Sea depending on wind strength and continuity”, explains Thomas Krumpen. (See info charts)

However, the expedition team was unaware of just how large these areas can actually become until they made the measurement flights in March and April of this year. In places the researchers flew over thin ice for around 400 kilometres.

The “EM Bird”, the torpedo-shaped, electromagnetic ice thickness sensor of the Alfred Wegener Institute, was hung on a cable beneath the helicopter. It constantly recorded the thickness of the floating ice. “We now have a unique data set which we primarily want to use to check the measurements of the earth investigation satellite SMOS”, says Thomas Krumpen.

The abbreviation SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) is actually a satellite mission to determine the soil moisture of the mainland and salinity of the oceans. However, the satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) can also be used to survey the Arctic sea ice.

“The satellite can be used above all to detect thin ice areas, as we have seen them, from space”, explains Thomas Krumpen.

The SMOS satellite measurements from March and April of this year confirm that the thin ice areas discovered by the expedition team were no locally restricted phenomenon: “A large part of the North-East Passage was characterised by surprisingly thin ice at the end of the winter”, says Thomas Krumpen.

The new findings of the successful winter expedition give cause for concern to the scientists: “These huge new areas of thin ice will be the first to disappear when the ice melts in summer. And if the thin ice melts as quickly as we presume, the Laptev Sea and with it a part of the North-East Passage will be free from ice comparatively early this summer”, explains the sea ice physicist.

In the past the Laptev Sea was always covered with sea ice from October to the end of the following July and was navigable for a maximum of two summer months. In 2011 the ice had retracted so far by the third week of July that during the course of the summer 33 ships were able to navigate the Arctic waters of Russia for the first time.

The North-East Passage is viewed by shipping companies to be a time and fuel saving alternative to the conventional Europe-Asia route. The connection from Rotterdam to Japanese Yokohama via the Nord-East Passage is some 3800 sea miles shorter than taking the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean route.

Related Links
SMOS at ESA
Sea ice thickness measurements at ESA
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Associa
Beyond the Ice Age

************************************************************************************************************

Solar Activity

2MIN News June 14, 2012

Published on Jun 14, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

TODAYS LINKS
NuStar: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120613-nasa-nustar-launches-x…
Habitat Loss: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120613102247.htm
Ancient Electricity: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120613133247.htm
Magnetic Star Shutdown: http://phys.org/news/2012-06-magnetic-fields-stars.html
Big Bang Bust: http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/big-bang-theory-a-bust-scientist-c…
Thyalwaysseek video: http://youtu.be/qMOLzQTXcv4
China Wheat Fires: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78256
Dallas Hail: http://www.weather.com/news/wednesday-severe-weather-20120613
Asteroid: http://www.universetoday.com/95815/big-and-bright-asteroid-to-pass-by-earth-j…
Chinese meditation: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120613183813.htm

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos – as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT – as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI – as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it… trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can’t figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

INCOMING CMES:

On June 14th, for the second day in a row, sunspot AR1504 erupted and hurled a CME toward Earth. The fast-moving (1360 km/s) cloud is expected to sweep up a previous CME and deliver a combined blow to Earth’s magnetic field on June 16th around 10:16 UT. This animation shows the likely progression of the approaching storm:

According to the forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CMEs will also hit Venus on June 15th and Mars on June 19th. Because Venus and Mars do not have global magnetic fields to protect them, both of those planets will probably lose tiny amounts of atmosphere when the CMEs strike.

Here on Earth, the impact is likely to trigger a geomagnetic storm around the poles. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on June 16th

************************************************************************************************************

Space

ELECTRIC-BLUE NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS:

Data from NASA’s AIM spacecraft show that noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are like a great “geophysical light bulb.” They turn on every year in late spring, reaching almost full intensity over a period of no more than 5 to 10 days. News flash: The bulb is glowing. Flying photographer Brian Whittaker photographed these NLCs over Canada on June 13th:

“I was very happy to see my first noctilucent clouds of 2012,” says Whittaker. “They were visible to the north for about 3 hours as we flew between Ottawa and Newfoundland at 35,000 feet.”

These electric-blue clouds are hanging 85 km above Earth’s surface, at the edge of space itself. Their origin is still largely a mystery; various theories associate them with space dust, rocket exhaust, global warming–or some mixture of the three. One thing is sure. They’re baaack … for the summer of 2012.

Observing tips: NLCs favor high latitudes, although they have been sighted as far south as Colorado and Virginia. Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the Sun has dipped 6^o to 16^o below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you may have spotted a noctilucent cloud.

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name	Apporach Date	Left	AU Distance	LD Distance	Estimated Diameter*	Relative Velocity
(2012 HN40)	15th June 2012	0 day(s)	0.1182	46.0	230 m – 510 m	13.79 km/s	49644 km/h
(2002 AC)	16th June 2012	1 day(s)	0.1598	62.2	740 m – 1.7 km	26.71 km/s	96156 km/h
137120 (1999 BJ8)	16th June 2012	1 day(s)	0.1769	68.8	670 m – 1.5 km	14.88 km/s	53568 km/h
(2011 KR12)	19th June 2012	4 day(s)	0.1318	51.3	140 m – 310 m	10.10 km/s	36360 km/h
(2004 HB39)	20th June 2012	5 day(s)	0.1605	62.5	77 m – 170 m	8.88 km/s	31968 km/h
(2008 CE119)	21st June 2012	6 day(s)	0.1811	70.5	21 m – 46 m	3.22 km/s	11592 km/h
308242 (2005 GO21)	21st June 2012	6 day(s)	0.0440	17.1	1.4 km – 3.1 km	13.27 km/s	47772 km/h
(2011 AH5)	25th June 2012	10 day(s)	0.1670	65.0	17 m – 39 m	5.84 km/s	21024 km/h
(2012 FA14)	25th June 2012	10 day(s)	0.0322	12.5	75 m – 170 m	5.28 km/s	19008 km/h
(2004 YG1)	25th June 2012	10 day(s)	0.0890	34.7	140 m – 310 m	11.34 km/s	40824 km/h
(2010 AF3)	25th June 2012	10 day(s)	0.1190	46.3	16 m – 36 m	6.54 km/s	23544 km/h
(2008 YT30)	26th June 2012	11 day(s)	0.0715	27.8	370 m – 820 m	10.70 km/s	38520 km/h
(2010 NY65)	27th June 2012	12 day(s)	0.1023	39.8	120 m – 270 m	15.09 km/s	54324 km/h
(2008 WM64)	28th June 2012	13 day(s)	0.1449	56.4	200 m – 440 m	17.31 km/s	62316 km/h
(2010 CD55)	28th June 2012	13 day(s)	0.1975	76.8	64 m – 140 m	6.33 km/s	22788 km/h
(2004 CL)	30th June 2012	15 day(s)	0.1113	43.3	220 m – 480 m	20.75 km/s	74700 km/h
(2008 YQ2)	03rd July 2012	18 day(s)	0.1057	41.1	29 m – 65 m	15.60 km/s	56160 km/h
(2005 QQ30)	06th July 2012	21 day(s)	0.1765	68.7	280 m – 620 m	13.13 km/s	47268 km/h
(2011 YJ28)	06th July 2012	21 day(s)	0.1383	53.8	150 m – 330 m	14.19 km/s	51084 km/h
276392 (2002 XH4)	07th July 2012	22 day(s)	0.1851	72.0	370 m – 840 m	7.76 km/s	27936 km/h
(2003 MK4)	08th July 2012	23 day(s)	0.1673	65.1	180 m – 410 m	14.35 km/s	51660 km/h
(1999 NW2)	08th July 2012	23 day(s)	0.0853	33.2	62 m – 140 m	6.66 km/s	23976 km/h
189P/NEAT	09th July 2012	24 day(s)	0.1720	66.9	n/a	12.47 km/s	44892 km/h
(2000 JB6)	10th July 2012	25 day(s)	0.1780	69.3	490 m – 1.1 km	6.42 km/s	23112 km/h
(2010 MJ1)	10th July 2012	25 day(s)	0.1533	59.7	52 m – 120 m	10.35 km/s	37260 km/h
(2008 NP3)	12th July 2012	27 day(s)	0.1572	61.2	57 m – 130 m	6.08 km/s	21888 km/h
(2006 BV39)	12th July 2012	27 day(s)	0.1132	44.1	4.2 m – 9.5 m	11.11 km/s	39996 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife

Niger farmland threatened by locusts: official

by Staff Writers
Niamey (AFP)

Large swathes of farmland are threatened by locusts in Niger even as the drought-prone African nation is grappling with a severe food crisis, a pest-control official said Wednesday.

“Unless swarms are destroyed very early, locusts will reproduce and reach the cropland,” Yahaya Garba, director of the CNLA agency in charge of pest-control, said in the latest bulletin of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Niger.

At least 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of farmland and one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of pasture land could be devastated.

“Locusts are about to reach the Sahel (region), and notably northern Mali and Niger,” Garba said adding that the migratory species was invading the area from southeast Algeria and neighbouring Libya.

The first swarms were spotted in northern Niger late last month and have started to migrate south where most Niger farmland is concentrated.

More than 80 percent of Niger’s population of 15 million live on farm produce and six million are facing a new food crisis already, out of 18 million in the entire Sahel belt, according to United Nations figures.

“The fight (against the locusts) must be fought intensively and immediately,” warned Garba, appealing for international assistance.

There was a major risk that locusts invade the area from Mali where state agencies do not have access to locust reproduction zones as the north is under the control of armed rebel groups.

The UN’s Rome-based food agency said earlier this month that political insecurity and conflicts in North Africa were hindering efforts to control the swarms of desert locusts.

Niger last faced desert locust swarms in 2003-05.

Related Links
Farming Today – Suppliers and Technology

 

 

Beached whale dies in Vancouver (10 images)

A 30-foot young humpback whale beached itself on a suburban Vancouver beach and died there.

The midday tide rolls in as police move crowds of people back as they view an eight to ten meter long juvenile humpback whale which died shortly after washing up on the beach in White Rock near Vancouver, British Columbia, early morning June 12, 2012, despite the efforts of local people who tried to save it. The whale was scarred, covered in lice and open sores and appeared malnourished, likely too weak to fight the early morning incoming tides. UPI / Heinz Ruckemann

Today

Biological Hazard

Canada

Province of British Columbia, Comox [Comox coastal region]

 

 

Biological Hazard in Canada on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 06:46 (06:46 AM) UTC.

Description
A huge Red Tide has formed along the east coast of Vancouver Island, prompting a warning from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. “I just want to inform the public about some closures due to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, also known as Red Tide that we have in the area,” explained Comox DFO Fisheries Officer Bryce Gillard. “We had a large section that was identified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that starts in an area about three kilometres south of Union Bay and it goes all the way down to Northwest Bay, just south of Parksville.” Gillard had this message for those planning on checking out the local shellfish festival this weekend. “It doesn’t affect the Shellfish Festival in Comox because all that product comes from a federally registered plant. There are still large areas of the coast which remain open for commercial harvest and recreational harvest. We always encourage people to call their local DFO office for Red Tide updates in the area.” Gillard says Red Tide is a dangerous toxin that affects the nervous system. “Red Tide is an algae that is in our water system and present all year round. Those toxins in bivalve shellfish can’t be eliminated by cooking them, they are toxins that remain in the meat.”
Biohazard name:	Red Tide
Biohazard level:	0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:	This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

 

Biological Hazard in Canada on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 06:46 (06:46 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	BH-20120615-35451-CAN
Event type:	Biological Hazard
Date/Time:	Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 06:46 (06:46 AM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Unknown
Geographic information
Continent:	North-America
Country:	Canada
County / State:	Province of British Columbia
Area:	Comox coastal region
City:	Comox
Coordinate:	N 49° 39.844, W 124° 51.907
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Hawaii, [Sunset Beach Park, Waikiki at Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Beach Park]

 

 

Biological Hazard in USA on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:13 (03:13 AM) UTC.

Description
A box jellyfish advisory has been issued due to an invasion on Oahu beaches. Affected beaches include Sunset Beach Park, Waikiki at Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Beach Park, Waikiki at Kapiolani Beach Park, Waikiki at Kapiolani Park Beach Center, Waikiki at Kuhio Beach Park, Waikiki at San Souci Beach, and Waimea Bay Beach Park. Today is day three of a four day influx. As of 9:00 a.m., there have been 30 box jellyfish sightings in Waikiki, 50 at Waimea Bay and 50 at Sunset Beach. If you are stung, flush the affected area with copious amounts of white vinegar and use heat or cold for pain. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience breathing difficulty.
Biohazard name:	Jellyfish invasion (Box)
Biohazard level:	0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:	This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

 

Biological Hazard in USA on Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:13 (03:13 AM) UTC.

Base data
EDIS Number:	BH-20120615-35446-USA
Event type:	Biological Hazard
Date/Time:	Friday, 15 June, 2012 at 03:13 (03:13 AM) UTC
Last update:	—
Cause of event:
Damage level:	Unknown
Geographic information
Continent:	North-America
Country:	USA
County / State:	State of Hawaii
Area:	Sunset Beach Park, Waikiki at Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Beach Park
City:
Coordinate:	N 21° 16.249, W 157° 49.734
Number of affected people / Humanities loss
Foreign people:	Affected is unknown.
Dead person(s):	—
Injured person(s):	—
Missing person(s):	—
Evacuated person(s):	—
Affected person(s):	—

 

 

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Articles of Interest

Too few salmon is far worse than too many boats for killer whales

by Staff Writers
Seattle WA (SPX)

Researchers trail behind whales waiting for Tucker to indicate by leaning over the bow that he can smell whale poop. The boat on average stays between 450 yards to more than half a mile away from whales. Credit: Fred Felleman.

Not having enough Chinook salmon to eat stresses out southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest more than having boatloads of whale watchers nearby, according to hormone levels of whales summering in the Salish Sea.

In lean times, however, the stress level normally associated with boats becomes more pronounced, further underscoring the importance of having enough prey, according to Katherine Ayres, an environmental and pet-behavior consultant who led the research while a University of Washington doctoral student in biology. Ayres is lead author of a paper appearing online June 6, in the journal PLoS ONE.

In a surprise finding, hormone levels show that southern resident killer whales are best fed when they come into the Salish Sea in the late spring, Ayres said. The Salish Sea includes Puget Sound and the straits of Georgia, Haro and Juan de Fuca. Once there they get a necessary boost later in the summer while eating Chinook salmon at the height of the Fraser River run.

While Fraser River Chinook are an important food source, helping the southern resident killer whales may mean giving additional consideration to spring runs of Chinook salmon off the mouth of the Columbia River and other salmon runs off the West Coast, if that’s where the orcas are bulking up in the spring, Ayres said. “Resident” killer whales are fish-eating orcas, unlike the so-called “transient” orcas that eat marine mammals.

For the study, scientists analyzed hormonal responses to stress that were measurable in whale scat, or poop. Many samples were collected using a black Labrador named Tucker on board a small boat in the vicinity of individuals or groups of whales. Even a mile away, Tucker can pick up on the scent he’s been trained to recognize as the fishy smell distinctive to southern resident killer whales, a group of orcas listed as endangered by both Canada and U.S.

“This is the first study using scat-detection dogs to locate killer whale feces,” Ayres said. “The technique could be used to collect scat and study stress in other species of whales, always difficult subjects to study because the animals spend 90 percent of their time underwater.”

Since the population of southern resident killer whales declined nearly 20 percent between 1995 and 2001, scientists and managers have wondered if the animals weren’t thriving because of lack of food, the closeness of boats, toxins built up in their bodies or a combination of all three.

“Behavior is hard to interpret, physiology is easier,” said co-author Samuel Wasser, UW professor of biology and developer of the program using dogs like Tucker to detect scat for biological research. “Fish matter most to the southern resident killer whales. Even if boats are important to consider, the way you minimize that impact is to keep the fish levels high.”

It’s the same with toxins, Wasser said. The study being published in PLoS ONE specifically considered stress caused by inadequate prey and boats. But Wasser said that toxins accumulating in body fat will likely affect killer whales most when food is scarce and they start to use that stored fat, releasing toxins into their bodies when their physical condition already is in decline. When whales are well-fed, toxins should be less of a factor, he said. In the study researchers examined the level of two hormones to study physiological responses to boat and food stresses.

One type of hormone, glucocorticoids, are released in increasing amounts when animals face immediate challenges, whether it’s a shortage of food or the fight-or-flight response when threatened, Ayres said. When whale watching boats and other vessels were most numerous in the summer, glucocorticoids should have spiked if the whales were bothered. Instead glucocorticoids went down, driven by an increase in the number of Fraser River Chinook.

The other hormone, thyroid hormone, tunes metabolism depending on how much food is available, for example ramping down metabolism to lower the energy an organism expends when food is scarce, Ayres said. Unlike glucocorticoids, thyroid hormone levels do not respond directly to stresses such as boats being nearby. During summers, thyroid levels of Salish Sea whales dipped while they awaited the arrival of Fraser River Chinook, increased again when food became plentiful and declined once again as the Chinook run petered out.

Unexpectedly, the thyroid hormone measures showed the whales were best fed when they first arrive in the Salish Sea, better than at any time in the five months they spent there, Wasser said.

“We assume winter is a lean time, so to come into the Salish Sea at their nutritional high for the year, then clearly they have been eating something – a very rich food source – before they arrive,” Wasser said. “It appears another fish run is critical to them before they get here.”

Some evidence points to the Chinook returning to the Columbia River, although Wasser said that more spring data are needed.

The PLoS ONE paper follows a draft report issued May 3 by U.S. and Canadian fisheries experts considering to what extent salmon fishing is affecting the recovery of the southern resident killer whales. Wasser said the report pays too little attention to year-to-year salmon variability, but got it right when it said more needs to be known about what’s happening to the whales in the winter and, particularly, in early spring.

Among other things, the report said Chinook stocks are currently harvested at a rate of about 20 percent “so there is limited potential for increasing Chinook abundance by reducing fishing pressure,” according to the executive summary.

More extreme measures may be required that increase overall Chinook salmon stocks, Wasser said.

“To support a healthy population of southern residents we may need more salmon than simply the number of fish being caught by commercial and sport fishers,” Ayres said. “We may need to open up historical habitats to boost wild salmon, such as what is being done with the Elwha River and what is proposed for the Klamath River. That may be the only way to support the historic population size of southern residents, which is ultimately the goal of recovery.”

Other co-authors are Rebecca Booth of the UW; Jennifer Hempelmann, Candice Emmons, M. Bradley Hanson and Michael Ford of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center; Kari Koski of Soundwatch Boater Education Program and the Whale Museum, Friday Harbor; Robin Baird of Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia; and Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, who helped get the study off the ground through collaboration with the Center for Whale Research.

Related Links
University of Washington
Follow the Whaling Debate

 

 

 

 

 

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

The Black Plague : Oregon man in his 50s with what experts suspect is plague. According to The Oregonian

Plague Rare in U.S., Surfacing in More Affluent Areas

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter | HealthDay  

WEDNESDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) — Although the plague is typically considered a remnant of the Middle Ages, when unsanitary conditions and rodent infestations prevailed amid the squalor of poverty, this rare but deadly disease appears to be spreading through wealthier communities in New Mexico, researchers report.

Why the plague is popping up in affluent neighborhoods isn’t completely clear, the experts added.

“Where human plague cases occur is linked to where people live and how people interact with their environment,” noted lead researcher Anna Schotthoefer, from the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Wisconsin. “These factors may change over time, necessitating periodic reassessments of the factors that put people at risk.”

This latest study confirms previous reports that living within or close to the natural environments that support plague is a risk factor for human plague, Schotthoefer said.

Plague is caused by a fast-moving bacteria, known as Yersinia pestis, that is spread through flea bites (bubonic plague) or through the air (pneumonic plague).

The new report comes on the heels of the hospitalization on June 8 of an Oregon man in his 50s with what experts suspect is plague. According to The Oregonian, the man got sick a few days after being bitten as he tried to get a mouse away from a stray cat. The cat died days later, the paper said, and the man remains in critical condition.

For the new study, published in the July issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the researchers used U.S. Census Bureau data to pinpoint the location and socioeconomic status of plague patients.

About 11 cases of plague a year have occurred in the United States since 1976, with most cases found in New Mexico. Plague has also been reported in a handful of other states.

Although many cases were in areas where the habitat supports rodents and fleas, the researchers also found cases occurring in more upper-class neighborhoods. In the 1980s, most cases occurred where housing conditions were poor, but more recently cases have been reported in affluent areas of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the investigators found.

“The shift from poorer to more affluent regions of New Mexico was a surprise, and suggests that homeowners in these newly developed areas should be educated about the risks of plague,” Schotthoefer said.

Schotthoefer noted that these more affluent areas where plague occurred were regions where new housing developments had been built in habitats that support the wild reservoirs of plague, which include ground squirrels and woodrats.

Bubonic plague starts with painful swellings (buboes) of the lymph nodes, which appear in the armpits, legs, neck or groin. Buboes are at first a red color, then they turn a dark purple color, or black. Pneumonic plague starts by infecting the lungs. Other symptoms include a very high fever, delirium, vomiting, muscle pains, bleeding in the lungs and disorientation.

In the 14th century, a plague called the Black Death killed an estimated 30 percent to 60 percent of the European population. Victims died quickly, within days after being infected.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said he doesn’t expect to see that kind of outbreak ever again.

“This is not a disease of the past, but you are never going to see a massive outbreak of plague in this country,” he said.

“We don’t have the public health problems we used to have and people would be quickly confined if there were ever a large number of cases,” Siegel explained.

Yet, it is not surprising to see plague in these more affluent areas, he noted.

“We know that plague only exists where you have wild animals, and once a reservoir of plague is already present it is likely to persist,” Siegel explained. “It isn’t only about squalor; it’s about where the reservoir is.”

However, if the disease is caught early it is treatable with antibiotics, Siegel added.

More information

For more information on plague, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

 

 

Black Death backtrack: Don’t blame the rats, the plague was ‘spread by PEOPLE’

By Claire Bates and Luke Salkeld

For centuries rats have been blamed for spreading the Black Death, helping to consign millions of people to an agonising death.
But, according to one archaeologist, the rodents are innocent. Instead, the blame for passing on the disease that wiped out a third of the population of Europe could lie with the victims themselves.
The Black Death is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by bacteria carried by fleas that lived on black rats. The rodents spread the plague from China to Europe and it hit Britain in 1348.

Destroyer: A man carries a child suffering from the plague in 1349

However, according to historian Barney Sloane, the disease spread so quickly that the rats could not be to blame.

Dr Sloane said the increased spread of Black Death over the winter of 1348 coincided with a seasonal decrease in the number of both rats and fleas, which are susceptible to cold.

He also pointed out that rats are also killed by bubonic plague, but said there were no large deposits of rat bones from the 14th century.

The epidemic, which is reckoned to have claimed 75million lives worldwide, spread from person to person in crowded medieval cities, Dr Sloane said.

His findings even cast doubt on whether the Black Death was actually bubonic plague, and not something with similar symptoms.

gods punishment

Dr Sloane, formerly a field archaeologist at the Museum of London, said: ‘We ought to be finding great heaps of dead rats in all the waterfront sites but they aren’t there.

Read Full Article Here

 

 

 

Human Plague — United States, 1993-1994

From 1944 through 1993, 362 cases of human plague were reported in the United States; approximately 90% of these occurred in four western states with endemic disease (Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico) (1). During each successive decade of this period, the number of states reporting cases increased from three during 1944-1953 to 13 during 1984-1993 (Figure_1), indicating the spread of human plague infection eastward to areas where cases previously had not been reported. In 1993, health departments in four states reported 10 confirmed cases * of human plague to CDC; one case has been confirmed during 1994 **. This report summarizes information about the 11 cases of human plague reported during 1993-1994 and describes epidemiologic and epizootic trends of plague in the United States.

In 1993, the 10 confirmed cases of human plague were reported from New Mexico (six cases), Colorado (two), Texas (one), and Utah (one) (Table_1). Persons with plague infection were aged 22-96 years (median: 55.5 years); five were aged greater than or equal to 67 years. Six cases occurred among men. Five cases occurred during June-August, three during March-May, and two during September- November. Seven persons were exposed at their homesites, and one (a veterinarian) was exposed at work; exposure sites could not be determined for two cases. Seven cases were bubonic plague; two, primary septicemic; and one, primary pneumonic. Nine of the 10 patients recovered with antibiotic therapy; one patient died (Table_1).

 

Read Full Report Here 

 

 

 

Man likely sickened by plague in critical condition in Bend

By Lynne Terry, The Oregonian

 

 

 

Rocky Mountain LaboratoriesAn electron micrograph depicts a mass of Yersinia pestis bacteria, which cause the plague. A man hospitalized in Bend is critically ill and is believed to have the disease which devastated Europe in the Middle Ages but is now rare.

A man hospitalized in Bend is likely suffering from the plague, marking the fifth case in Oregon since 1995.

The unidentified man, who is in his 50s, fell ill several days after being bitten while trying to get a mouse away from a stray cat. The man is now being treated at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, where he was listed in critical condition on Tuesday.

“This can be a serious illness,” said Emilio DeBess,  Oregon’s public health veterinarian. “But it is treatable with antibiotics, and it’s also preventable.”

The Black Death raged through Europe during the Middle Ages, killing about a third of the population. Today, the disease is rare, but the bacteria have never disappeared.

The man, who lives in rural Crook County, was bitten Saturday, June 2. He developed a fever a few days later. By Friday, June 8, he was so sick that he checked himself into St. Charles Medical Center-Redmond. He was later transferred to the larger facility in Bend.

Karen Yeargain,  communicable disease coordinator with Crook County Health Department, said lab tests are being done to confirm whether the man has the plague, but she said he is suffering from classic symptoms.

 

 

Read Full Article Here

 

Related articles

• It’s back: Middle Ages scourge of Black Death popping up in affluent regions of U.S. (theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com)
• It’s back: Middle Ages scourge of Black Death popping up in affluent regions of U.S. (genomega1.wordpress.com)
• Oregon health officials investigating probable case of human plague (examiner.com)
• Oregon man diagnosed with “black death” plague (cbsnews.com)
• Man likely sickened by plague in critical condition in Bend (oregonlive.com)
• Antibiotic for plague approved by the FDA – CBS News (cbsnews.com)
• FDA: Levaquin approved for treating pneumonic plague using animal rule (examiner.com)
• Man hospitalised with the plague (news.com.au)
• The Debunker: Is “Ring Around The Rosie” About The Plague? (woot.com)

Food Safety Report – Monday May 21st, 2012

Food Safety

More Problems For The Lunch Lady

  By Carla Gillespie

Two months ago a provider of school lunch meals in Canada, called The Lunch Lady, was identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 50 children.

Now the Ottawa outfit, which serves meals to 5,000 children in the Ottawa area, has been cited by Ottawa Public Health (OPH) officials for a food safety violation during a  May 14 inspection. The facility did not keep foods cooled to a proper temperature of 40 degrees F or less. The problem had been corrected by the time a re-inspection was conducted the following day.

Read Full Article Here

State Lifts Quarantine on Organic Pastures’ Raw Milk, Raw Milk Products

by Cookson Beecher

The statewide quarantine on Organic Pastures’ raw milk and raw-milk products, which was imposed on May 10, has been lifted, with the dairy’s owner, Mark McAfee, joyfully describing that as “breaking news” in a May 17 video on the dairy’s Facebook page.

Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized to kill harmful fecal bacteria that may be in the milk.

“We’re excited and happy to announce that . . .  our products are now available for sale once again in California,” McAfee says in the video. “We’re working hard to get the trucks and products back to the stores.”

The state imposed the quarantine after at least 10 of the people sickened by Campylobacter in 5 counties in California between January through the end of April reported drinking Organic Pastures’ raw milk prior to becoming ill. None of the patents, whose ages ranged from 9 months to 38, (six of them under 18), were hospitalized, and there were no deaths.

Read Full Article Here

Hepatitis A Infects Worker at NC Donut Establishment

by News Desk |

An employee at a North Carolina donut store has contracted a hepatitis A infection, prompting health officials to recommend vaccination for those who may have purchased food handled by the worker.

The infected individual works at the Dixie Donuts of Wilkesboro, located at 2830 West NC Highway 268. Consumers who visited the establishment on May 8 or 9 between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. or on May 10 or 12 between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. are at risk of exposure and are encouraged to get a hepatitis A vaccination from their healthcare provider.

Those potentially exposed to the virus could begin experiencing symptoms as early as May 22 and as late as June 23, according to the Wilkes County Health Department.

Read Full Article Here

For Safety, Pasteurize Raw Milk At Home

May 19, 2012 By Carla Gillespie

Home pasteurization is a food safety measure used by some raw milk drinkers and advocated by some raw milk providers, because even if it’s produced on clean, organic farms, raw milk can contain pathogens.

So far this year, there have been five foodborne illness outbreaks linked to raw milk and five raw milk recalls:

• Frisia Dairy in Washington state recalled raw milk on January 17, 2012
• Family Cow Farm raw milk was recalled in January 2012 in Pennsylvania
• In California, Claravale raw milk products were recalled on March 23, 2012
• On April 4, 2012, raw milk and raw cheese were recalled from the Sauder farm in Pennsylvania
• Organic Pastures raw milk products were recalled on May 10, 2012

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Foster Farms Recalls Turkey Burgers for Undeclared Allergen and Misbranding

  By Linda Larsen

Foster Farms of California is recalling about 15,040 pounds of turkey burgers because of misbranding and an undeclared allergen. A seasoning mix with hydrolyzed soy protein was included in the product and not declared on the label. Soy is one of the major food allergens.

Read Full Article Here

Bagged Salad Recalled for Listeria Contamination

by News Desk

The California Department of Public Health warned California residents not to eat certain bagged salads manufactured by River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes on Friday.

According to a news release from CDPH, Salinas, California-based River Ranch Fresh Foods initiated a voluntary recall of bagged salads after routine sampling detected Listeria monocytogenes in two packages of shredded iceberg lettuce purchased from retail locations in California and Colorado. The recalled salad products were distributed nationwide to retail and foodservice outlets under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of River Ranch, Farm Stand, Hy-Vee, Marketside, Shurfresh, The Farmer’s Market, Cross Valley, Fresh n Easy, Promark, and Sysco.

Read Full Article  Here

Ground Beef Recalled Due to E. Coli Risk

by News Desk

Lancaster Frozen Foods and G&W Incorporated are recalling about 6,908 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, according to the South Carolina meat and poultry inspection department.

Lab testing by the meat and poultry inspection department confirmed a positive result for E.coli in a ground product at Lancaster Frozen Foods. That lot was held by the company, but additional ungroud product from the same lot had been used in other production lots resulting in the recall.

No illnesses have been reported.

Read Full Article Here

Articles of Interest

US Department of Labor’s OSHA Establishes Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee

  By Linda Larsen

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee. This body will make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor on ways to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of OSHA’s administration of whistleblower protections.

Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health said in the news release, “Workers who expose securities and financial fraud, adulterated foods, air and water pollution, or workplace safety hazards have a legal right to speak out without fear of retaliation, and the laws that protect these whistleblowers also protect the health, safety, and well-being of a

Read Full Article Here

FDA Explains Ban on Korean Shellfish

by Mary Rothschild |

Korean shellfish imports have been blocked by the U.S. since May 1 because Korean waters may have been polluted with human fecal waste, the U.S. Food and Drug Admnistration (FDA) said on Friday. Oysters, clams, mussels and scallops harvested in Korea have the potential to be contaminated with norovirus, the agency said.

The Washington State Department of Health had reported the ban more than a week ago, but FDA had not publicly announced the reason for the action.

In a constituent update, FDA said all Korean certified shippers of molluscan shellfish were removed from the Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List (ICSSL), following an evaluation that determined “the Korean Shellfish Sanitation Program (KSSP) no longer meets the sanitation controls spelled out under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.”

Read Full Article Here

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California food police gone wild: LA County health enforcers conduct door-to-door raw milk confiscation operations

By Mike Adams,  
(NaturalNews) In a bombshell revelation of the depth of the food police state that now exists in LA County, California, NaturalNews has learned that the LA County health department has unleashed door-to-door raw milk confiscation teams to threaten and intimidate raw dairy customers into surrendering raw milk products they legally purchased and own. According to Mark McAfee (see quotes below), both LA County and San Diego county have attempted to acquire customer names and addresses from Organic…

Read Full Article Here

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Earth Watch Report – Monday May 7th, 2012

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

06.05.2012 23:30:36	2.8	North America	United States	California	Hollister				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 23:20:38	3.3	Europe	Romania		Bradetu				EMSC
06.05.2012 23:20:59	3.1	Asia	Turkey		Gulpinar				EMSC
06.05.2012 22:45:39	3.0	North America	United States	California	Coyote Valley Rancheria (historical)				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 21:56:24	2.4	North America	United States	Alaska	Potter Hill				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 22:15:41	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Ismetpasa				EMSC
06.05.2012 22:00:45	4.7	Asia	Russia	Sakhalinskaya Oblast’	Van-der-Lind				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 22:16:03	5.0	Europe	Russia		Van-der-Lind				EMSC
06.05.2012 21:35:45	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Meadow Lakes				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 21:15:33	3.8	Asia	Turkey		Altinsac				EMSC
06.05.2012 21:15:55	3.2	Asia	Turkey		Ismetpasa				EMSC
06.05.2012 20:30:43	2.5	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Oaxaca				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 21:16:18	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Gulpinar				EMSC
06.05.2012 21:16:36	3.1	Asia	Turkey		Yaylaliozu				EMSC
07.05.2012 02:23:22	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Kizkapan				EMSC
06.05.2012 20:00:46	3.2	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		Centro Puntas				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 21:20:43	4.3	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Eho				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 22:16:27	4.3	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Eho				EMSC
06.05.2012 19:55:35	2.8	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		Islote				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 19:15:29	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Rahimler				EMSC
06.05.2012 18:05:45	2.0	North America	United States	California	Sids Place				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 18:10:35	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Rahimler				EMSC
06.05.2012 19:16:12	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Toprakkale				EMSC
07.05.2012 01:24:25	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Saraycik				EMSC
06.05.2012 17:05:35	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Cirpi				EMSC
06.05.2012 16:05:34	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Degirmendere				EMSC
06.05.2012 16:05:53	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Aslanpinari				EMSC
06.05.2012 16:06:36	2.8	Asia	Turkey		Asagikalecik				EMSC
06.05.2012 15:00:53	5.0	South America	Peru	Departamento de Ica	Hacienda Rio Seco				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 15:05:32	5.1	South-America	Peru		Huarangal				EMSC
06.05.2012 15:05:53	2.8	Europe	Greece		Mataranga				EMSC
06.05.2012 15:06:15	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Yagmurlar				EMSC
06.05.2012 14:05:22	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Taslik				EMSC
06.05.2012 13:56:01	2.5	North America	United States	Idaho	Yellow Pine				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 14:05:43	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Kahya				EMSC
06.05.2012 14:06:08	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Karakoy				EMSC
06.05.2012 14:06:29	3.4	Asia	Turkey		Keciller				EMSC
06.05.2012 13:05:24	2.9	Europe	Greece		Armenika				EMSC
06.05.2012 13:05:51	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Kumarlar Yaylasi				EMSC
06.05.2012 13:10:37	4.7	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Likei				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 14:06:48	4.7	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Likei				EMSC
06.05.2012 16:55:38	2.3	North America	United States	Missouri	Acorn Corner				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 12:00:37	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Rahimler				EMSC
06.05.2012 11:25:34	2.5	North America	United States	California	Coyote Valley Rancheria (historical)				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 12:01:41	2.5	Asia	Turkey		Madenkoy				EMSC
06.05.2012 12:02:03	3.2	Asia	Turkey		Sogut				EMSC
06.05.2012 12:02:27	3.1	Asia	Turkey		Ahlatlicesme				EMSC
06.05.2012 11:40:55	4.7	South America	Chile	Region de Valparaiso	Hanga Roa				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 12:03:30	4.7	South-America	Chile		Hanga Roa				EMSC
06.05.2012 10:45:40	4.6	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Keudesuie				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 11:00:30	4.6	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Keudesuie				EMSC
06.05.2012 12:03:52	2.0	Europe	Albania		(( Lere ))				EMSC
06.05.2012 13:06:34	4.2	Europe	Russia		Baza				EMSC
06.05.2012 11:00:49	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Taslik				EMSC
06.05.2012 10:00:34	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Baskonak				EMSC
06.05.2012 10:00:56	2.6	Europe	Greece		Korithion				EMSC
06.05.2012 09:50:38	4.6	Asia	Russia	Kamchatskaya Oblast’	Nikol’skoye				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 10:01:18	4.6	Europe	Russia		Nikol’skoye				EMSC
06.05.2012 10:01:42	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Ismetpasa				EMSC
06.05.2012 10:02:03	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Tuncbilek				EMSC
06.05.2012 10:15:34	3.4	Caribbean	British Virgin Islands		The Settlement				USGS-RSOE
06.05.2012 10:02:26	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Tekke				EMSC
06.05.2012 16:35:41	2.4	North America	United States	Arkansas	Crossroads				USGS-RSOE

Two quakes shake New Zealand

• From: AAP

TWO earthquakes have hit parts of New Zealand today.

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook people in the Wellington region and parts of the top of the South Island at 11.33am (9.33am AEST).

The tremor was centred 10 kilometres southwest of Wellington, at a depth of 30km, GeoNet says.

The second quake, also measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, struck at 12.31pm and was felt on the west coast of the South Island.

It was centred 10km south of Ross at a depth of 15km.

Police told AAP they had received no reports of damage.

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Volcanic Activity

Supervolcanoes Monitoring System
Name of Volcano	VEI	Continent	Country	Location	Last eruption	Last activity	Status	Details
Lake Taupo	8	Australia & New-Zealand	New Zealand	North Island	~26,500 years ago	..
Lake Toba	8	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia	Northern Sumatra	~74,000 years ago	14.04.2012
Whakamaru	8	Australia & New-Zealand	New Zealand	North Island	~254,000 years ago	..
Yellowstone Caldera	8	North-America	USA (Pacific Region)	State of Wyoming	640,000 years ago	03.05.2012
Island Park Caldera	8	North-America	USA (Pacific Region)	State of Idaho	2.1 million years ago	03.05.2012
La Garita Caldera	8	North-America	USA (Pacific Region)	State of Colorado	~27.8 million years ago	No data
Mount Tambora	7	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia	Sumbawa Island	1815	30.04.2012
Baekdu Mountain	7	Asia	China	The border North Korea and China	~969 CE	No data
Kikai Caldera	7	Asia	Japan	Osumi Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture	~6,300 years ago	14.04.2012
Laacher See	7	Europe	Germany	Rhineland-Palatinate	~12,900 years ago	27.04.2012
Aira Caldera	7	Asia	Japan	Island of Kyushu	~22,000 years ago	09.02.2012
Campi Flegrei	7	Europe	Italy	Naples	~39,280 years ago	04.05.2012
Reporoa Caldera	7	Australia & New-Zealand	New Zealand	Taupo Volcanic Zone	230,000 years ago	..
Mount Aso	7	Asia	Japan	Island of Kyushu, Kumamoto Prefecture	~80,000 years ago	..
Long Valley Caldera	7	North-America	USA (Pacific Region)	State of California	~760,000 years ago	06.05.2012
Valles Caldera	7	North-America	USA (Pacific Region)	Jemez Mountains, State of New Mexico	~1.12 million years ago	..
Santorini Volcano	7	Europe	Greece	Island of Thera	1927	30.04.2012

VEI : Volcanic Explosivity Index (1-8)

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Farmers worry that May snow and freezing temperatures could bring crop failures to Britain

The Telegraph, UK

© Mark Hamblin/2020VISION / Rex Features
Snow is expected over higher ground in Scotland and northern England as Britain braces itself for a chilly May Bank Holiday

Parts of Britain will be colder than the Arctic this weekend as rain and even snow threaten to put a freeze on millions of families’ May Bank Holiday plans.

Beach trips and barbecues are likely to be off the agenda as forecasters predicted the mercury could plunge as low as 26F (-3C) in places on Saturday.

Holidaymakers were advised to go skiing rather than sunbathing and seaside resorts warned of multi-million pound losses and deserted beaches.

Farmers and gardeners, battered by drought and floods, have also been warned that crops and plants could be killed by widespread frosts.

Flooding continued today as the Met Office said rain hit many parts and the Environment Agency issued 19 flood warnings and 61 alerts. East Anglia, the Midlands and the South were worst hit.

Showers will hit the south coast on Saturday, a wider area of the south on Sunday, and most areas on a washout Bank Holiday Monday, with further widespread rain next week.

Forecasters warned of snow falling on high ground in Scotland, as thousands of skiers prepared for out-of-season sport at Cairngorm and Glencoe.

Parts of Scotland and northern England could see temperatures down to 26F (-3C) on Saturday night – colder than the 32F (0C) expected in Honningsvag, Norway – the most northerly village in Europe.

Top temperatures in Britain are likely to be in the south but will only reach around 50F (10C) at best, the Met Office said.

The cold weather will continue through Sunday and Monday with highs of around 52F (11C) and lows of 28F (-2C).

“It’s certainly cold for this time of year, particularly for a May Bank Holiday weekend,” a Met Office spokesman said.

He added that it will be 5-6C colder than the average May minimum over the weekend.

The cold spell is being blamed on a plunge of Polar air, with weeks of rain caused by stalled high-altitude Atlantic jet stream winds leaving soggy low pressure systems stuck over Britain.

More crop failures on the cards in 2012?

Despite deluges, the Environment Agency said the drought is so severe that levels of groundwater, the main source of drinking water in the south and east, only improved minimally in the last week.

Experts say soil is so dry that deluges have failed to filter down, instead running off to cause floods, evaporate or be sucked up by thirsty plants.

Of 27 groundwater measuring sites across England and Wales, 11 are exceptionally low – down from 14 last week – with another eight still below normal.

Reservoir levels are up by up to 14 per cent – but still exceptionally low in the south-east – while overflowing rivers are exceptionally high at half of all measuring sites.

Forecaster Brian Gaze of The Weather Outlook said: “Skiing looks like a better prospect than sunbathing this weekend.”

Bournemouth area hospitality association Chairman Andrew Woodland said: “Visitor spend will be way down this weekend, with a fall of around £1 million compared to a good weather weekend.

“It’s not only hotels which suffer, as seafront businesses, cafés, pubs and taxis are also affected.”

Man slips to his death from muddy path as ‘Monsoon May’ rain continues to soak Britain

• Tourist, 52, slipped in wet conditions infront of wife and two children
• Snow in Scotland as Met issues early weather warnings for next week
• Flood warnings continue with more persistent and heavy rain expected

By Mail On Sunday Reporter
A holidaymaker plunged 50 metres to his death in a horrific cliff fall in front of his wife and two children.

The 52-year-old man was walking on a cliff path in West Cornwall when he is thought to have slipped on ground left muddy by recent heavy rain.

A sea and air rescue was launched after his family raised the alarm but he was declared dead after his body was recovered from rocks at the base of the cliff.

Tragedy: The 52-year-old holiday maker fell 160ft, whilst walking with his wife. and two children on a clifftop path near Mullion in West CornwallThe tragedy comes as Britain faces a Bank Holiday washout with yet more severe conditions and wet weather expected later in the week.The Met office issued early weather warnings for next week with persistent heavy rain expected to spread across the country during Wednesday evening and the early hours of Thursday.

The lowest temperature recorded overnight on Friday was in south-west Scotland, where it plummeted to -6C (21.2F).

Yesterday, Scotland experienced snow, while the skies over southern England were grey with patchy rain. Further north, sunny intervals were interspersed with showers.

Snow in May: A car travels through appalling weather along the Inverness-Ullapool Road in Scotland

Read Full Article Here

06.05.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

China

Hebei province, Zhangjiakou

Forest / Wild Fire in China on Sunday, 06 May, 2012 at 10:25 (10:25 AM) UTC.

Description

A forest fire broke out in north China’s Hebei province Friday, with 1,800 firefighters and 2,000 local residents attempting to extinguish the blaze, local authorities said Sunday.The fire began in the village of Yinzhuangzi in the city of Zhangjiakou. While the north and west sides of the fire have been controlled, firefighters are still working to extinguish the east side of the blaze.More firefighting equipment has been sent to the site of the blaze, a local official said.

Freeze Warning

BURLINGTON VT
POCATELLO ID
ALBANY NY

Hard Freeze Warning

SALT LAKE CITY UT

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

SALT LAKE CITY UT

LAS VEGAS NV

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Storms, Flooding, Landslides

06.05.2012

Tornado

Japan

[Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures]

Tornado in Japan on Sunday, 06 May, 2012 at 12:30 (12:30 PM) UTC.

Description

A teenage boy died, around 40 people were injured and up to 250 houses were damaged Sunday after an apparent tornado hit Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures, north of Tokyo, local police and firefighters said.An aerial shot from a Kyodo helicopter shows the path of an apparent tornado that struck Tsukuba, Ibaraki Pref. Sunday afternoon. Thunderstorms also caused lightning damage and temporarily disrupted bullet train services on the Tohoku, Yamagata and Akita shinkansen lines, according to East Japan Railway Co.The twister, which occurred at around 1 p.m., shattered windows and blew away the roofs of 150 to 200 homes in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, leaving two people seriously wounded, one of whom, a 14-year-old boy, died after being taken to hospital. The city is located around 50 km northeast of Tokyo.In the city of Moka and the towns of Mashiko and Motegi in Tochigi, around 50 houses were damaged and 10 people were injured, they said.The Japan Meteorological Agency said local observatories had warned the Tokai, Kanto and Tohoku regions of central, eastern and northeastern Japan to brace for possible tornadoes intermittently from Sunday morning as atmospheric conditions were unstable.According to the Mito observatory in Ibaraki, a thunderstorm advisory was issued early Sunday for the whole prefecture. Hailstones fell in Mito, the prefectural capital, at around 1:20 p.m.Following the gusts, which the Mito observatory attributed to either a tornado or downburst, and the thunderstorms, around 20,000 households in Tochigi, Ibaraki and Saitama prefectures suffered power outages, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.In Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture, a 40-year-old mother and her 11-year-old daughter fell unconscious after being struck by lightning around 2:20 p.m., police said.In Uozu, Toyama Prefecture, Yoshihito Yaguramaki, a 64-year-old farmer, was found collapsed in a field and pronounced dead an hour later. Police suspect he was hit by lightning.

Deadly tornado rips through eastern Japan

Mark Willacy
abc.net.au

© AFP/Kei Hashimoto
A tornado sweeping through Tsukuba city in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan.

A tornado ripped through eastern Japan, killing one person and injuring at least 20 people, destroying houses and cutting power to around 20,000 households.

The tornado tore through several towns north-east of Tokyo, with television footage from the city of Tsukuba showing houses torn apart, overturned cars and toppled power poles.

Aerial images showed possibly hundreds of houses and apartments with shattered glass windows, many of them with their roofs blown away.

“You could see the roaring column of wind rushing with sparks from live power lines inside it,” a local man told national broadcaster NHK.

“Winds blew into my house. It took only a moment,” a woman told NHK while cleaning up her home.

Officials say a 14-year-old boy was killed while up to 50 homes were destroyed. Local media reported at least 30 injuries.

Japan’s weather agency issued tornado warnings for a wide region in the east of the country, urging people to seek shelter in case of sudden winds and thunder.

The severe winds caused a power outage for nearly 20,000 households in the region, said a spokeswoman for Tokyo Electric Power.

“The tornado and thunder happening around 12:46 pm (0346 GMT) are believed to be the cause of the outage for 19,300 clients in Tsukuba and its surrounding areas,” she said.

© AFP/JIJI Press
A vehicle is seen overturned among debris after a tornado swept through a residential area.

06.05.2012

Hailstorm

USA

State of Oklahoma, Grandfield City

Hailstorm in USA on Sunday, 06 May, 2012 at 10:39 (10:39 AM) UTC.

Description

Residents of a southwestern Oklahoma farming town spent Saturday cleaning up after a compact storm carrying a big punch pretty well shut the town down.Hail the size of baseballs thrashed the wheat crop just days before harvest, damaging hundreds of homes and vehicles when the storm rolled through Friday evening.City Manager Randy Clark said residents were repairing windows and roofs, and insurance agents and power line repairmen were working through the day Saturday.“We just got clobbered,” Clark said. “I’ve seen hail storms before but this was the most damaging storm I’ve ever seen here in town.”Clark said power lines came down west of town at the airport, and one woman was injured when the storm rolled through about 6 p.m. Friday.The National Weather Service reported the small but ferocious storm developed just 20 minutes before hitting the town. The storm caused significant damage to Randlett, in Cotton County, before heading south and east into northern Texas.

Nepal flash flood death toll may hit 60

Police and military personnel, aided by civilian volunteers, dig through mud and silt during rescue operations following the flash floods. Photo: AFP

The death toll in a flash flood in Nepal’s central Annapurna region could be as high as 60, according to rescuers scouring the area for survivors.

They say there is almost no hope of finding anyone else alive.

Fifteen bodies have been recovered but district police superintendent Sailesh Thapa told AFP that 43 missing people, including three Ukrainian tourists, were feared dead.

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A woman breaks down with her son as the search for her missing husband continues. Photo: Reuters

“So far, 12 of the 15 bodies have been identified. An excavator has reached the worst affected areas and is clearing the mud,” he said.

“We have a list of another 43 people who have gone missing. Their chances of survival are almost zero. The three Ukrainians are still missing.”

Eight people have been rescued since the Seti burst its banks near the city of Pokhara, a tourist hub, on Saturday, sweeping away a village and swamping families picnicking by the river.

Most of the missing are thought to be local.

One witness, Uddha Bahadur Gurung, described how the river suddenly turned into a lethal surge.

“There was nothing unusual. People were enjoying picnics, some were relaxing in the hot spring pools by the river and others working,” he told the Kathmandu Post.

“Out of nowhere came this swelling dark murky water with debris, sweeping away many people.”

Sniffer dogs have been sent 200km from the capital Kathmandu to search for bodies along the banks of the river, which has now subsided, while police and army personnel hunt for survivors.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattari broke off from political negotiations over forming a new government to visit Kharapani village, which was washed away by the flood.

“He has instructed the authorities to bring 20 excavators so that the dead bodies of those who have been buried by the floods can be recovered,” Bishwadeep Pandey, personal secretary to the premier, told AFP.

“The prime minister has also committed the government to provide expenses for the last rites to family members of those who died.”

A landslide caused by days of heavy rain had blocked the Seti near its origin in the snowfields and glaciers of the Himalayas, said Nepalese army spokesman Ramindra Chhetri.

“Then there was a powerful outburst, which resulted in a flash flood in the Seti river that entered human settlements and created havoc,” he told AFP, adding some houses had been covered with mud up to 3.5 metres deep.

“We have mobilised a company, an engineer platoon and soldiers from specialised troops for search and rescue operations,” he said.

The area around 8,091-metre Mount Annapurna attracts thousands of trekkers, both local and foreign, each year as well as day-trippers.

AFP

06.05.2012

Flash Flood

Kenya

Rongai

Flash Flood in Kenya on Sunday, 06 May, 2012 at 10:21 (10:21 AM) UTC.

Description

Kenya’s flash floods have left at least 50 people as dead and displaced thousands of others in this east African nation, a humanitarian agency has said.The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) spokesperson Nelly Muluka said four people were swept away by flood waters near Rongai town Friday night, Xinhua reported Sunday.According to Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), the number of fatalities will continue to rise due to heavy rains that have led to flash floods in several parts of the country.”At least 50 people have lost their lives as a result of the flooding since March. Four people were swept away by flood waters near Rongai on the night of May 4. Their bodies were found on top of the Rimpa bridge in Rongai on Saturday morning,” said Nelly Muluka, KRCS’s spokesperson.

06.05.2012

Landslide

Vietnam

An Giang,

Landslide in Vietnam on Sunday, 06 May, 2012 at 10:32 (10:32 AM) UTC.

Description

It was not clear what had triggered the rockfall at Cam Mountain in the southern province of An Giang on May 5 that killed 6 pilgrims and injured 2 others but local residents have blamed construction work on the mountain for causing the disaster.According to local people, the holy mountain has above sea level height of 710 meters and there have been previous rockslides in the area.In recent times, dynamite and large machines have been used to build some roads including a 6.3km road connecting the mountain’s foot and Van Linh pagoda near the top.The main cause of the rockslide remains unknown, said Nguyen Thanh Tam, director of An Giang’s Department of Transports.However, he admitted that using dynamite on the rocks may be one of major causes of the deadly rockslide.“We would temporarily cancel trips up and down the mountain. We’ll be in collaboration with concerned agencies to investigate into the accident in order to implement appropriate measures for visitors’ safety,” Tam claimed.Another local official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that wind and rain could pry large rocks loose on the towering cliffs.As about 8am of that day, a van carrying 8 pilgrims, who came to the holy mountain to worship and pray for lucky and prosperity, was unexpectedly destroyed by huge boulders and rocks that fell from the towering cliffs when it was travelling under the mountain.“We heard a loud bang and deafening noises at the time of the accident. Fortunately, other vehicles running behind the van stopped in time before entering the dangerous area,” some eyewitnesses recalled.The victims were trapped in the rubble and had blood streaming down their bodies, a resident said.Five people were reported to die on the spot, one died on the way to hospital, and two suffered from serious injuries. Police cordoned off the scene.The perished are Truong Hoai Tam, 29 (the driver); Vo Hoai Phuong, 40; Nguyen Van Nhe, 32; Tran Van Leo, 32; Nguyen Van Nga, 50; and Nguyen Van Linh, 32.

Flash Flood Warning

CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
MEMPHIS TN
SPRINGFIELD MO
QUAD CITIES IA IL

Flash Flood Watch

SPRINGFIELD MO
CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL

Flood Warning

ANCHORAGE AK
SPRINGFIELD MO
SAN JUAN PR
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
SPOKANE, WA
SIOUX FALLS SD
MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
LA CROSSE WI
AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
BOISE ID TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
LINCOLN IL
INDIANAPOLIS IN

High Wind Warning

SALT LAKE CITY UT

Gale Warning

POINT ST GEORGE TO POINT ARENA
MEDFORD, OR
ANCHORAGE ALASKA
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Plagues/ Epidemics

PALOMAR MOUNTAIN: Plague-infected ground squirrel found

•  By MORGAN COOK mcook@nctimes.com

A ground squirrel found in the Cedar Grove Campground on Palomar Mountain has tested positive for plague, San Diego County health officials announced Thursday.

Officials found the infected animal during routine monitoring, county environmental health officials said. Humans can catch the often-fatal disease if they are bitten by infected fleas.

On Wednesday there were no reports of humans catching plague in San Diego County, officials said.

Officials said it’s not unusual to find plague in local mountains during the summer. People should look for warning signs posted in areas where plague has been found.

People visiting the wilderness in mountain should avoid contact with wild animals, especially if they’re sick or dead, avoid camping by animal burrows, and treat pets for fleas or leave them at home.

Anyone who has a sudden fever, chills, or tender, swollen lymph nodes within a week of visiting a known plague area should see a doctor immediately, officials advised.

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Climate Change

Frost kills early blooms in Ontario, apple crop losses to top $100M

Sharon Hill
The Windsor Star

© Jason Kryk
Keith Wright displays a frost-damaged apple blossom at his farm on Ridge Road near Harrow on May 4, 2012.

A catastrophic freeze has wiped out about 80 per cent of Ontario’s apple crop and has the province’s fruit industry looking at losses already estimated at more than $100 million.

“This is the worst disaster fruit growers have ever, ever experienced,” Harrow-area orchard owner Keith Wright said Friday.

“We’ve been here for generations and I’ve never heard of this happening before across the province. This is unheard of where all fruit growing areas in basically the Great Lakes area, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York State, Ontario, are all basically wiped out. It’s unheard of.”

Wright lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of apples and peaches Sunday morning when freezing temperatures killed the blossoms.

Warm temperatures got fruit trees blooming early and when temperatures plummeted Sunday morning it damaged or wiped out much of the $60 million apple crop and 20 to 30 per cent of Ontario’s $48 million tender fruit crop which includes peaches, cherries, pears, plums and nectarines.

Brian Gilroy, a Georgian Bay area apple grower who is chairman of the Ontario Apple Growers, said the loss to fruit growers and the economy will easily be more than $100 million. On top of the lost yield or no crop at all, orchard workers and spinoff industries such as juice, packing, storage and farm supplies will be affected.

Gilroy said consumers will find locally grown apples pricey and difficult to find this fall. Some kinds of apples such as Empire will be very difficult to find.

Washington State has a good crop but consumers should expect apple prices to jump because all of northeastern North America was affected, he said.

What crop growers do get will likely have visible damage such as apples with ridges like the ones on pumpkins.

“This past weekend in southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region temperatures got down to close to -7 (Celcius) while things were out in full bloom and it’s pretty well wiped them out,” Gilroy said of orchards already hit by previous frosts. “It’s very widespread and the worst that anybody’s seen.”

Gilroy said about 65 per cent of the 215 commercial apple growers in Ontario have crop insurance but the disaster has the board approaching the provincial and federal governments for help under an agri-recovery program.

Some growers across Ontario have also lost entire orchards of peaches, sour cherries, pears, plums and nectarines, said Phil Tregunno, chairman of the Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board.

It depended on location. The board is estimating 20 to 30 per cent of that $48 million crop is done.

“It was just way too early,” Tregunno said of blossom season that came about a month early. “That just put us at a huge risk.”

Dave Nickels of Nickels Orchards in Ruthven said he lost all his apples, peaches, cherries and pears. He said when talking to other growers you can’t even get a word out of them because they’re just sick.

“It’s kind of like having a death in the family except there’s no closure to this one,” Nickels said.

Wright said the warm weather came so early growers were worried the blossoms would get hit by frost. At 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning the temperature at Wright’s farm bottomed out at about -3 C. He said at -3.9 degrees researchers estimate there will be 90 per cent bud kill.

In some varieties there is still a chance to get some apples. In early June trees shed excess fruit as a natural thinning process and growers will have to wait to see if shocked trees will drop all their fruit, Wright said.

Janice Wagner of Wagner Orchards in Lakeshore said it looks like they were lucky and their apple blossoms didn’t get frozen, perhaps because they are further from the lake.

Strawberries and blueberries may have escaped. Helen McLeod of MacLeod farms near Cottam said they tried to protect their berries by spraying water on them all night. It’s a trick she hopes worked.

Ted Klassen of Klassen Blueberries on County Road 50 near Lake Erie said he thinks he escaped with very little damage to the blueberry bushes that were in full bloom.

shill@windsorstar.com or 519-255-5796

Study finds stream temperatures don’t parallel warming climate trend

by Staff Writers
Corvallis, OR (SPX)

File image.

A new analysis of streams in the western United States with long-term monitoring programs has found that despite a general increase in air temperatures over the past several decades, streams are not necessarily warming at the same rate.

Several factors may influence the discrepancy, researchers say, including snowmelt, interaction with groundwater, flow and discharge rates, solar radiation, wind and humidity. But even after factoring out those elements, the scientists were surprised by the cooler-than-expected maximum, mean and minimum temperatures of the streams.

Results of the research, which was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University, have been published online in Geophysical Research Letters.

“Individually, you can find streams that seem to be getting warmer and others that are getting cooler,” said Ivan Arismendi, a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. “Some streams show little effect at all. But the bottom line is that recent trends in overall stream temperature do not parallel climate-related trends.”

The researchers caution that the findings don’t mean that climate change will not have an impact on stream temperature, which is a fundamental driver of ecosystem processes in streams. However, the relationship between air temperatures and stream temperatures may be more complex than previously realized and require additional monitoring.

Alternatively, there may be a time lag between air temperature and stream temperature, they say.

“One surprise was how few stream gauging stations have the necessary long-term records for evaluating climate-related trends in water temperatures,” said coauthor Jason Dunham, an aquatic ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “Most of them are located in streams with high human influence, which makes it difficult to separate climate effects from local human impacts.”

“In those areas where human impact was minimal, the variability in trends was impressive,” added Dunham, who has a courtesy appointment in OSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. “It suggests to us that a variety of local influences may strongly affect how stream temperatures respond to climate.”

Arismendi and his colleagues considered more than 600 gauging stations for the study but only 20 of the stations had a sufficiently lengthy period of monitoring – and lacked human influence. These long-term monitoring sites are operated primarily by the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service, and were located in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada and Alaska.

Coauthor Roy Haggerty, a professor in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, said warming temperatures can create more rapid or earlier snowmelt and affect stream temperatures in some locations. Another explanation for the lack of warming in many streams can be a time lag that can occur between precipitation entering underground aquifers and entering the stream.

“Groundwater can influence stream temperatures as well as streamflow and in some cases, it can take many years for that groundwater to make it to the stream,” noted Haggerty, the Hollis M. Dole Professor of Environmental Geology at OSU.

“This and the other physics processes of a stream need to be considered when analyzing its heat budget – from the geology and stream bed, to the amount of shading in the riparian zone.”

Sherri Johnson, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service and coauthor on the study, said stream temperatures can be important for a variety of reasons.

“Temperature is a key indicator of water quality and many streams throughout the Northwest have increased stream temperatures associated with human activity,” Johnson said. “Generally speaking, cooler stream temperatures are beneficial, and are a crucial factor in maintaining healthy ecosystems and populations of salmon, steelhead, trout and other cold-water species.”

Arismendi, who did his doctoral work at the Universidad Austral de Chile before coming to OSU, said the study points out the value of long-term data from streams that have had minimal human impacts.

“The fact that stream temperatures don’t correlate to climate trends in a predicable way indicates we need to study the relationship further to better appreciate the complexity,” Arismendi said.

“Our knowledge of what influences stream temperatures is limited by the lack of long-term monitoring sites, and previous lumping of results among streams with relatively low and high levels of human impacts.

“Local variability is really important in driving climate sensitivity of streams,” he added.

Related Links
Oregon State University
Climate Science News – Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

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Solar Activity

3MIN News May6: F1 Critical Frequencies – Continuing Analysis

Published on May 6, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-impacts-michigan-fruit-20120504
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/1210-big_quakes_trigger_small_quakes.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120504135935.htm
http://spaceweather.com/
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/
http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/
http://umtof.umd.edu/pm/
http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater
http://www.ips.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/5
http://solarimg.org/artis/
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php
http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/SWMF_RealTime_browse.cgi
http://grb.sonoma.edu/
http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index

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Space weather expert has ominous forecast

Mike Hapgood, who studies solar events, says the world isn’t prepared for a truly damaging storm. And one could happen soon.

A massive explosion on the sun’s surface has triggered the largest solar radiation storm since 2005, hurling charged particles at Earth. (NASA / May 4, 2012)

By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Time6:26 p.m. AKDT, May 4, 2012

A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt.

This isn’t the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England.

Much of the planet’s electronic equipment, as well as orbiting satellites, have been built to withstand these periodic geomagnetic storms. But the world is still not prepared for a truly damaging solar storm, Hapgood argues in a recent commentary published in the journal Nature.

Hapgood talked with The Times about the potential effects of such a storm and how the world should prepare for it.

What exactly is a solar storm?

I find that’s hard to answer. The term “solar storm” has crept into our usage, but nobody has defined what it means. Whether a “solar storm” is happening on the sun or is referring to the effect on the Earth depends on who’s talking.

I prefer “space weather,” because it focuses our attention on the phenomena in space that travel from the sun to the Earth.

People often talk about solar flares and solar storms in the same breath. What’s the difference?

Solar flares mainly emit X-rays — we also get radio waves from these things, and white light in the brightest of flares. They all travel at the same speed as light, so it takes eight minutes to arrive. There are some effects from flares, such as radio interference from the radio bursts.

But that’s a pretty small-beer thing. The big thing is the geomagnetic storms [on Earth] that affect the power grid, and that’s caused by the coronal mass ejections [from the sun].

Coronal mass ejections are caused when the magnetic field in the sun’s atmosphere gets disrupted and then the plasma, the sun’s hot ionized gas, erupts and send charged particles into space. Think of it like a hurricane — is it headed toward us or not headed toward us? If we’re lucky, it misses us.

How are solar flares and coronal mass ejections related?

There’s an association between flares and coronal mass ejections, but it’s a relationship we don’t quite understand scientifically. Sometimes the CME launches before the flare occurs, and vice versa.

What happens when those particles reach Earth?

There can be a whole range of effects. The classic one everyone quotes is the effect on the power grid. A big geomagnetic storm can essentially put extra electric currents into the grid. If it gets bad enough, you can have a complete failure of the power grid — it happened in Quebec back in 1989. If you’ve got that, then you’ve just got to get it back on again. But you could also damage the transformers, which would make it much harder to get the electric power back.

How else could people be affected?

You get big disturbances in the Earth’s upper atmosphere — what we call the ionosphere — and that could be very disruptive to things like GPS [the network of global positioning system satellites]. Given the extent we use GPS in everyday life [including for cellphone networks, shipping safety and financial transaction records], that’s a big issue.

The storms can also disrupt communications on transoceanic flights. Sometimes when that happens, they will either divert or cancel flights. So that would be the like the disruption we had in Europe from the volcano two years ago, where they had to close down airspace for safety reasons.

What went wrong in the 1989 storm?

In the U.K., there were two damaged transformers that had to be repaired. But no power cuts. The worst thing is what happened in Quebec. In Quebec, the power system went from normal operation to failure in 90 seconds. It  affected around 6 million people. The impact was reckoned to be $2 billion Canadian in 1989 prices.

We had lots of disruption to communications to spacecraft operations. The North American Aerospace Defense Command has big radars tracking everything in space, and as they describe it, they lost 1,600 space objects. They found them again, but for a few days they didn’t know where they were.

Is that the biggest geomagnetic storm on record?

We always describe the storm in 1859 as the biggest space weather event. We know there were huge impacts on the telegraph, which suggests there would be similarly severe impacts on modern power grids. It’s hard to compare it to the 1989 event because of the changes in our technology.

Many systems have been built to withstand a storm as big as the 1989 event. Is that good enough?

A serious concern would be whole regions losing electrical power for some significant time. Here in the U.K., the official assessment is that we could lose one or two regions where the power might be out for several months.

What would the consequences be?

In the modern world, we use electricity for so many things. We require electrical power to pump water into people’s houses and to pump the sewage away. [You can imagine] what could happen if the sewage systems aren’t pumping stuff away.

If you don’t have power, you can’t pump fuel into vehicles. If you don’t have any fuel, traffic could come to a standstill.

Could the economy function?

Most of the time you’re using credit cards, debit cards or you’ll be getting money out of an ATM. If you’ve lost the power, the computers in the bank that keep track of our money will have back-up power, but not the ATMs or the machines in the shops. So if you had a big power outage, it wouldn’t be long before we’d be trying to find cash.

What are the chances that something like this will happen soon?

A recent paper [published in February in the journal Space Weather] tried to estimate the chance of having a repeat of 1859 and came up with a value of a 12% chance of it happening in the next 10 years. That’s quite a high risk.

What can be done?

The biggest step is to make more and more people aware of the issue, so they’re thinking about it in the way they design things. That’s the most critical part.

I think it’s also getting a better picture of these very violent past events. We’d like to find out more about the scope of those events. We have a lot of old data from past events that’s on paper — in newspapers and so on — and we’re busy trying to find ways to turn it into digital.

We had a recent flare-up of publicity in March thanks to a solar storm that didn’t really amount to much. Is this sort of coverage a good thing or a bad thing?

It makes such a good scare story, and it’s entertaining. It was a mildly interesting event, certainly, but not at all big-league stuff. It makes people think, “Oh it’s nothing really,” so experts like myself are in danger of being in the crying-wolf situation. That’s something that is a concern to me, personally.

amina.khan@latimes.com

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Space

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name	Apporach Date	Left	AU Distance	LD Distance	Estimated Diameter*	Relative Velocity
(1998 HE3)	10th May 2012	3 day(s)	0.0319	12.4	120 m – 270 m	11.93 km/s	42948 km/h
(2005 SQ9)	11th May 2012	4 day(s)	0.0852	33.2	68 m – 150 m	10.21 km/s	36756 km/h
141432 (2002 CQ11)	12th May 2012	5 day(s)	0.1022	39.8	280 m – 630 m	16.26 km/s	58536 km/h
(2010 SO16)	13th May 2012	6 day(s)	0.1423	55.4	200 m – 440 m	9.53 km/s	34308 km/h
(2008 CB6)	13th May 2012	6 day(s)	0.1103	42.9	10 m – 23 m	10.85 km/s	39060 km/h
(2011 KY15)	15th May 2012	8 day(s)	0.1586	61.7	41 m – 93 m	17.61 km/s	63396 km/h
(2001 BA16)	18th May 2012	11 day(s)	0.1157	45.0	18 m – 41 m	6.66 km/s	23976 km/h
(2010 KK37)	19th May 2012	12 day(s)	0.0058	2.3	19 m – 43 m	10.94 km/s	39384 km/h
4183 Cuno	20th May 2012	13 day(s)	0.1218	47.4	3.5 km – 7.8 km	14.40 km/s	51840 km/h
(2006 KY67)	23rd May 2012	16 day(s)	0.1499	58.3	68 m – 150 m	13.88 km/s	49968 km/h
(2011 KG4)	24th May 2012	17 day(s)	0.1216	47.3	67 m – 150 m	11.50 km/s	41400 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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Mysterious Events

Mysterious flames erupt from earth…

A large crowd flocked to see flames and smoke which mysteriously appeared from a hole dug up in Turai Adi in Kinniya today (May 04). Abdul Kader Farook, who lives near Kinniya Bridge, was digging a hole near his home to dump garbage had noticed flames and smoke coming out of the earth. He had subsequently contacted the police regarding the incident. Police and army personnel were deployed to the location to control the crowds after a tense situation had ensued.

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Wildlife

Peru Government Cover-up of Mystery Dolphin Die-Off along Peru’s Northern Coast?

By LBG1

Real number of dead dolphins could be thousands higher than official count

[Photo-Image: Dead dolphins discovered on Chiclayo shore of Peru, Photo source: ITN News]

If we were conspiracy theorists we’d wonder why the Peru government waited almost five months in revealing lab test results of the mass dolphin die-off of the northern coast of Peru?

Lab tests for viruses in marine mammals usually take ten days. The dolphin die-offs began last November-early December.

On April 29, 2012, the news lab test results failed to find a virus as the cause of the dolphin deaths.

Why is there such a large discrepancy between the official count and the dead dolphins reported by the local press? A discrepancy in the thousands.

We’ve read news reports from Peru the mass dolphin deaths could be related to an ‘earthquake zone’, pollution, climate change, a possible marine mammal virus, morbillivirus DMV, and sonar equipment tests used by oil companies which were allegedly carried out in June of 2011.

Back in early April El Comercio, filed a report on the months long wait for lab results of the cause of death of 5,000 dolphins in the past four months:

Several months ago representatives of the Instituto del Mar del Peru (IMARPE) took samples of the organs of dolphins stranded on beaches in the north for analysis. However, until now this entity has not given an official release about the cause of the mass deaths of these animals, which some attribute to oil exploration.

According to information provided by Wilfredo Sandoval, correspondent for El Comercio in Chiclayo , about five thousand dolphins have died in the last four months, over 200 kilometers of coastline located between Lambayeque and Piura .

During the tour made by Sandoval northern beaches, the authorities found that the dolphins continue to beaching.”

On April 29, 2012, Peru 21 reported scientists have been unable to determine if a virus is the cause of the dolphin die-off. According to news reports lab results for viruses generally take ten days.

Is the Peruvian government downplaying the true number of dead dolphins?

The official count as of April 29, 2012, 877, versus the president of the Association of Fishermen of Puerto Eten, Niquen Francisco, over 3,000, versus a report from El Commercio who reported 5,000 dolphins dead by April 7, 2012.

Interesting info from an ITN News report on a late February 260 dolphin die-off along the Chiclayo shore of Peru:

“An event like this is particularly unusual because dolphins aren’t normally found in these seas.”

Meanwhile, residents and fisherman have been warned to stay away from the dead dolphins and dead pelicans while the carcasses are being incinerated to avoid the spread of a possible highly contagious disease to humans.

Peru 21:

“Yuri Hooker, biologist Marine Coastal Unit of the National Protected Areas by the State told residents, “Having contact with the blood of these animals could be dangerous”.”

“The dolphins found dead on the coast of Lambayeque and Piura are long-beaked species (Delphinus capensis) and Burmeister’s porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis).”

The main suspect touted by officials as the cause of the mass die-off of pelicans, the lack of food, anchovies.

One virus named as a possible suspect as the cause of death in the dolphins, morbillivirus DMV, also dubbed as ‘distemper in a dolphin’.

On February 9, 2012, over 80 days ago, the report more than 200 dead dolphins were discovered on the beaches of Lambayeque ‘last week’. Included in the report the news the dolphins “might have eaten dead anchovies”; the anchovies dead from eating decomposed plankton affected by heavily polluted seawater.

Info on morbilliviruses in marine mammal populations:

Disease of one kind or another is a frequent cause of mortality in marine mammal populations, but highly infectious disease organisms (particularly viruses) can cause the death of large numbers of animals in a very short period. An influenza virus probably caused die death of at least 450 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) along die New England coast of the United States in 1979-1980. The family of viruses that is most often associated widi disease-induced die-offs, however, is the morbilliviruses. Measles is the most familiar virus in this family. Canine distemper virus (probably contracted from domestic dogs or farmed mink) caused the death of several thousand Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica) in the Russian Federation in 1987-1988. The closely related phocine distemper virus caused the death of 18,000 harbor seals in the North Sea during 1988, and a dolphin morbillivirus caused the death of several thousand striped dolphins (Stenella coendeoalba) in the Mediterranean Sea between 1990 and 1992. The death of more than 740 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops tnmcatus) along the Atlantic coast of die United States in 1987 was initially attributed to poisoning by algal toxins (see later), but more recent evidence suggests that this was also caused by dolphin morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses tend to suppress dieir host’s immune system, thus increasing the risk of secondary infection by a wide range of disease agents. These secondary infections are often the final cause of death for an individual infected with a morbillivirus, which can make it difficult to diagnose the real cause of a die-off.

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Earth Watch Report – Friday April 27th, 2012

Earthquakes

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 23:46 PM
3.4     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 23:40 PM
3.0     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 23:27 PM
2.5     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 23:07 PM
2.4     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 23:02 PM
2.7     3.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:34 PM
2.5     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Southern Greece
Apr 26 22:28 PM
2.9     20.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:26 PM
2.4     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:22 PM
2.5     5.0     MAP

USGS     Long Valley Area, California
Apr 26 22:19 PM
2.6     4.5     MAP

EMSC     Greece
Apr 26 22:18 PM
2.5     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:18 PM
2.6     5.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 26 22:17 PM
4.3     10.0     MAP

USGS     Southwest Of Sumatra, Indonesia
Apr 26 22:16 PM
4.3     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Southwest Of Sumatra, Indonesia
Apr 26 22:16 PM
4.3     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Greece
Apr 26 22:07 PM
2.5     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:05 PM
4.9     8.0     MAP

GEOFON     Turkey
Apr 26 22:05 PM
4.6     10.0     MAP

USGS     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:05 PM
4.6     5.8     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 22:02 PM
3.0     5.0     MAP

USGS     Island Of Hawaii, Hawaii
Apr 26 21:36 PM
2.9     36.9     MAP

USGS     Long Valley Area, California
Apr 26 21:08 PM
2.5     4.5     MAP

EMSC     Crete, Greece
Apr 26 21:03 PM
2.8     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 19:58 PM
2.8     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 26 19:53 PM
3.4     4.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 19:48 PM
2.5     3.0     MAP

EMSC     Albania
Apr 26 19:33 PM
2.5     25.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 26 19:21 PM
5.5     26.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 26 19:21 PM
5.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 26 19:21 PM
5.4     10.0     MAP

USGS     Mona Passage, Dominican Republic
Apr 26 18:43 PM
3.3     43.0     MAP

EMSC     Hokkaido, Japan Region
Apr 26 18:41 PM
5.2     60.0     MAP

GEOFON     Hokkaido, Japan Region
Apr 26 18:41 PM
5.2     70.0     MAP

USGS     Hokkaido, Japan Region
Apr 26 18:41 PM
5.1     67.2     MAP

GEOFON     Vanuatu Islands
Apr 26 17:26 PM
4.7     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 26 17:26 PM
3.2     7.0     MAP

USGS     Southern Alaska
Apr 26 17:03 PM
2.5     13.7     MAP

EMSC     Ceram Sea, Indonesia
Apr 26 17:01 PM
4.8     20.0     MAP

GEOFON     Irian Jaya Region, Indonesia
Apr 26 17:01 PM
4.8     22.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 26 16:55 PM
3.0     7.0     MAP

GEOFON     Chile-bolivia Border Region
Apr 26 16:46 PM
4.3     97.0     MAP

USGS     Antofagasta, Chile
Apr 26 16:45 PM
4.4     110.4     MAP

EMSC     Antofagasta, Chile
Apr 26 16:45 PM
4.4     103.0     MAP

USGS     Off The Coast Of Northern California
Apr 26 16:25 PM
3.0     11.8     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 26 16:23 PM
3.6     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 16:10 PM
3.0     3.0     MAP

USGS     Baja California, Mexico
Apr 26 14:48 PM
2.6     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 26 14:39 PM
4.2     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Romania
Apr 26 14:32 PM
4.0     126.0     MAP

USGS     Southern California
Apr 26 13:01 PM
2.5     3.6     MAP

USGS     Long Valley Area, California
Apr 26 12:20 PM
2.5     4.5     MAP

EMSC     Central Turkey
Apr 26 11:53 AM
3.0     12.0     MAP

EMSC     Central Turkey
Apr 26 11:41 AM
2.6     9.0     MAP

USGS     Dominican Republic Region
Apr 26 11:18 AM
3.4     87.0     MAP

USGS     Near The Coast Of Southern Peru
Apr 26 07:57 AM
4.2     67.7     MAP

EMSC     Near Coast Of Southern Peru
Apr 26 07:57 AM
4.2     68.0     MAP

EMSC     Near The Coast Of Western Turkey
Apr 26 07:47 AM
2.5     17.0     MAP

EMSC     Greece
Apr 26 07:24 AM
2.5     9.0     MAP

EMSC     Dodecanese Islands, Greece
Apr 26 06:50 AM
3.3     7.0     MAP

EMSC     Greece
Apr 26 06:45 AM
2.7     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Fiji Islands Region
Apr 26 06:38 AM
4.8     623.0     MAP

USGS     Fiji Region
Apr 26 06:38 AM
5.0     616.7     MAP

EMSC     Fiji Region
Apr 26 06:38 AM
5.1     614.0     MAP

GEONET     Taupo   ,New Zealand
Apr 26 06:13 AM
2.4     2.0     MAP

GEOFON     Afghanistan-tajikistan Border Region
Apr 26 05:54 AM
4.1     152.0     MAP

USGS     Tajikistan
Apr 26 05:54 AM
4.2     164.9     MAP

EMSC     Tajikistan
Apr 26 05:54 AM
4.2     162.0     MAP

EMSC     Dodecanese Islands, Greece
Apr 26 05:51 AM
2.7     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 05:50 AM
2.7     7.0     MAP

EMSC     Germany
Apr 26 05:27 AM
2.4     20.0     MAP

USGS     Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Apr 26 04:24 AM
3.9     70.7     MAP

EMSC     Dodecanese Islands, Greece
Apr 26 04:13 AM
3.0     9.0     MAP

USGS     Southwestern Siberia, Russia
Apr 26 04:11 AM
4.4     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Southwestern Siberia, Russia
Apr 26 04:11 AM
4.4     30.0     MAP

GEOFON     Southwestern Siberia, Russia
Apr 26 04:11 AM
4.3     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 26 03:42 AM
3.1     2.0     MAP

USGS     Baja California, Mexico
Apr 26 03:25 AM
2.5     6.3     MAP

USGS     South Of The Fiji Islands
Apr 26 02:49 AM
4.8     34.6     MAP

EMSC     South Of Fiji Islands
Apr 26 02:49 AM
4.6     100.0     MAP

GEOFON     South Of Tonga Islands
Apr 26 02:49 AM
5.0     30.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 26 02:43 AM
2.8     7.0     MAP

EMSC     Sicily, Italy
Apr 26 01:59 AM
2.4     26.0     MAP

EMSC     Romania
Apr 26 01:59 AM
2.7     118.0     MAP

EMSC     Greece
Apr 26 01:29 AM
2.8     118.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 26 01:06 AM
2.4     15.0     MAP

EMSC     Southern Iran
Apr 26 00:30 AM
3.5     20.0     MAP

USGS     Central Alaska
Apr 26 00:10 AM
4.0     93.4     MAP

GEOFON     Central Alaska
Apr 26 00:10 AM
4.4     92.0     MAP

sources:  USGS – EMSC – GFZ – GEONET

Swarm: Long Valley caldera rattled by small series of tremors

Posted on April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012 – Long Valley, CA – A series of 8 tremors have erupted at the Long Valley super-volcano caldera over the last 24 hours- two yesterday, and six tremors today. The tremors today were a 1.1 mag (3.2 km), a 2.5 mag (4.5 km), a 1.6 mag (4.5 km), a 1.2 mag (2.8 km), a 1.5 mag (7.9 km) and a 1.3 mag at (3.7 km). This could be the beginning of a swarm so we’ll keep monitoring events and look for updates. –The Extinction Protocol

New dangers and earthquake risks found in Washington

3 more potentially disastrous faults discovered along coast near Canadian border

Kelsey et al / USGS

This LiDAR image acquired in 2006 by USGS shows five paleoseismic study sites (red dots with block perimeters) and three Holocene faults (solid red lines) inferred from the data.

By Crystal Gammon

OurAmazingPlanet

updated 4/26/2012 12:37:04 PM ET

Tectonically speaking, there’s a lot going on in the Pacific Northwest. From the Cascadia subduction zone, where the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is slowly pushing its way underneath the North American plate, to the Seattle Fault, where Native American legends recorded a massive earthquake 1,100 years ago, the region has its fair share of seismic hazards.

Now add to that three more potentially dangerous faults in the Bellingham Basin, a tectonically active area along the coast of Washington, near the Canadian border. A team of researchers has discovered active tectonic faults in this region nearly 40 miles (60 kilometers) north of any previously known faults.

“We’ve known for a long time that the whole Pacific Northwest region is contracting very slowly north-to-south, at the rate of a few millimeters per year,” said Richard Blakely, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., who was part of the study. “It doesn’t sound like very much, but when you concentrate that contraction on specific faults, they can become rather dangerous.”

Big enough
The faults Blakely and his colleagues found are reverse faults — a type of tectonic fault where one side is shoved up over the other side — and the team estimates they’re capable of triggering magnitude-6.0 to -6.5 earthquakes.

“That’s big enough to cause damage and hurt people, but it’s not as severe as a magnitude-7 earthquake, such as the one that occurred on the Seattle fault 1,100 years ago,” Blakely told OurAmazingPlanet.

Read Full Article Here

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Volcanic Activity

Russian Shiveluch volcano spews ash 10.7km above sea level Published: Thursday, Apr 26, 2012, 18:02 IST Place: Vladivostok | Agency: ANI

The Shiveluch volcano on Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Thursday ejected an ash cloud to as high as nearly 11km above the sea level, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. An ash column from the volcano rose to a height of 10.7km above the sea level. There was no immediate threat for the population, and no emissions of volcanic dust were monitored in neighboring villages. Two earthquakes were registered at the volcano over the past 24 hours, which was given the highest Red Aviation Code. This was the most powerful eruption of ash registered at Shiveluch this year. Shiveluch has been active for more than four weeks. Shiveluch, standing 3,283 meters above the sea level, is Kamchatka’s northernmost active volcano.

Strong activity continues at Indonesia’s Mount Lokon volcano

by The Extinction Protocol

Posted on April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012 – REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Head of Data Center for Information and Public Relations of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugrogo said Lokon was shaken by another volcanic tremor in Tomohon, North Sulawesi. In addition, the volcano is stirred by 1 to 3 shallow tremors every 5 minutes. If activity continues to increase at the volcano, officials fear an eruption could be imminent. The volcano remains at alert status 3 for now. The public is admonished to monitor the news for the latest updates about the volcano and a 2.5 kilometer exclusion zone remains in effect around the volcano’s parameter. –ROL  (translated)

Current Emergencies

14

26.04.2012

Volcano Activity

Mexico

State of Puebla, [Popocatepetl Volcano]

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Short Time Event(s)
Upd.	Date (UTC)	Event	Country	Location	Level		Details
	26.04.2012	Forest / Wild Fire	China	Province of Yunnan, [Near to Luohe Village]

Freeze Warning

BINGHAMTON NY
TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
GRAND FORKS ND
LA CROSSE WI
STATE COLLEGE PA
TAUNTON MA
WILMINGTON OH
CLEVELAND OH
BURLINGTON VT
NEW YORK NY
INDIANAPOLIS IN
GRAND RAPIDS MI
MOUNT HOLLY NJ
ALBANY NY
DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
GREEN BAY WI
CHICAGO IL
 BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC

Hard Freeze Warning

NORTHERN INDIANA

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Storms, Flooding

Current Emergencies
Upd.	Date (UTC)	Event	Country	Location	Level		Details
	26.04.2012	Flash Flood	MultiCountries	[Haiti and Dominican Republic]

Winter Storm Warning

 GREAT FALLS MT

High Wind Warning

RIVERTON WY
CHEYENNE WY
 ALBUQUERQUE NM

Flood Warning

SPOKANE, WA
MISSOULA MT
BLACKSBURG VA
BOISE ID
PENDLETON OR
LAKE CHARLES LA
POCATELLO ID

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Radiation

Robert Alvarez

Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Is Far From Over

Spent reactor fuel, containing roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl, still sits in pools vulnerable to earthquakes.

More than a year after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster began, the news media is just beginning to grasp that the dangers to Japan and the rest of the world are far from over. After repeated warnings by former senior Japanese officials, nuclear experts, and now a U.S. senator, it’s sinking in that the irradiated nuclear fuel stored in spent fuel pools amidst the reactor ruins pose far greater dangers than the molten cores. This is why:

• Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl

• Several pools are 100 feet above the ground and are completely open to the atmosphere because the reactor buildings were demolished by explosions. The pools could possibly topple or collapse from structural damage coupled with another powerful earthquake.

• The loss of water exposing the spent fuel will result in overheating and can cause melting and ignite its zirconium metal cladding resulting in a fire that could deposit large amounts of radioactive materials over hundreds, if not thousands of miles.

This was not lost on Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who after visiting the site on April 6, wrote to Japan’s U.S. ambassador, Ichiro Fujusaki, that “loss of containment in any of these pools… could result an even larger release of radiation than the nuclear accident.”

The urgency of the situation is underscored by the ongoing seismic activity where 13 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0-5.7 have occurred off the northeast coast of Japan between April 14 and 17. This has been the norm since the first quake and tsunami hit the Dai-Ichi site on March 11 of last year. Larger quakes are expected closer to the power plant.

Read Full Article Here

Chernobyl in Fukushima’s shadow – nuclear energy today and in the future

Part of: Chernobyl accident , Nuclear meltdown in Japan

This photo taken in the abandoned town of Pripyat, which was formerly populated by Chernobyl workers, begs the question of what nuclear power’s foggy future means to generations to come.

Twenty-six years has passed since the Chernobyl catastrophe. And although Fukushima has somewhat eclipsed Chernobyl, the memory of the late Soviet period disaster remains a living memory to many people, especially specialists among whom, as before, there is no consensus on the present and future of nuclear energy. Aleksandr Nikitin, 26/04-2012 – Translated by Charles Digges

Today, there is great distrust of the safety of nuclear power plants has is seen worldwide. First Chernobyl then Fukushima forced a whole array of countries to reassess their attitude toward nuclear power. There have been no new nuclear plants built in the United States over the past 26 years. Now Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium will be shuttering their reactors. Spain is in the process of electing not building any new nuclear reactors, and Italy decided not to begin a nuclear energy industry at all.  In post-Fukushima Japan, only one reactor out of the country’s 54 is still running. The future of nuclear energy there is especially foggy as the wrecked reactors at Fukushima are in such a condition that they “temporarily or partially” re-achieve criticality – in other words, the emergency is not over. According to expert analysis, more than 30years will be required to fully dismantle Fukushima.

The list of those casting a suspicious eye on nuclear power goes on: In March this year, Bulgaria decided to stop construction of it’s Belene Nuclear Power Plant despite the financial losses it would incur. This is the first instance that an active international contract for the construction of a nuclear power plant has been dissolved. Mexico is putting of the construction of 10 nuclear reactors in favor of developing natural gas power plants. The Lithuanian Seimas, or parliament, is deciding to put to a popular referendum on October 12 the construction of the Visaginas nuclear power plant. India is experiencing difficulties in launching its Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant because of months of thousands-strong protests by local residents demanding its closure in the seismically active area.

It would also seem that the huge expenses of accident clean up and compensation to victims of the Fukushima disaster, which currently however somewhere around $245 billion, is influencing the mood pro-nuclear countries as well. In France, which relies on nuclear for 78 percent of its energy, Nikolai Sarkozy’s opponent from the socialist party, François Hollande – who in current opinion polls is surpassing the incumbent – has suggested cutting France’s reliance on nuclear power by a third by 2025, that is to say to 50 percent of the country’s energy. The fate of nuclear power in the world’s most atomically power country in the world is therefore be decided after the run off round of presidential elections on May 6 (as Sarkozy failed to capture the majority in the first round of balloting on April 22). And China, which wants to shake its large dependence on coal fired plants, and is building more nuclear power plants than anyone else, has begun to invest huge resources in renewable energy, seeing this energy source’s future.

World financial markets have also reacted world situation with nuclear power. Bank Austria, which is a subsidiary of the Italian UniCredit, has cut off a credit line it previously issued to a Slovak company that is building Reactor Units 3 and 4 at Mochovce in Slovakia. European energy giants RWE and E.On have declared that they no longer want to be involved in building new nuclear power plants in Great Britain.  Private companies are exiting the nuclear market as well. Of special resonance was the decision by Germany’s engineering-giant Siemens to pull out of nuclear power reactor and product production. Uranium markets went into a slump after Fukushima. Because of this, Russian State nuclear corporation Rosatom was unable to complete a deal to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Austria’s Mantra Resources Limited, which mines uranium in Tanzania.

Nuclear power cannot survive in a market economy. And for that reason, no country based on a market economy has built a single nuclear power plant since the Chernobyl disaster. Nuclear Energy requires large scale government support. The nuclear power plants in Russia and China belong to the state. Until 2004, the French government entirely owned Electricité de France, which operated every nuclear power plant in the country. Even today, though, even more than 80 percent of the company’s shares belong to the government.

Read Full Article Here

Construction of Chernobyl shelter starts on anniversary

by Staff Writers
Chernobyl, Ukraine (AFP) April 26, 2012

Ukraine launched Thursday construction of a new shelter to permanently secure the stricken Chernobyl plant as it marked the 26th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

President Viktor Yanukovych pressed a symbolic button at the construction site, watched by workers and ambassadors from countries including China and Japan that contributed to the huge project, expected to cost 1.5 billion euros.

“In the name of Ukraine, I express my deep thanks to all the donor countries to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund for their understanding and effective aid to our country in overcoming the consequences of the worst man-made disaster in human history,” Yanukovych said, as cranes loomed over the site.

“We have felt that the whole world has come to help us.”

An explosion during testing at the power plant in the early hours of April 26, 1986, sent radioactive fallout into the atmosphere that spread across Europe, particularly contaminating Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

An international drive has raised funds from governments towards building a new permanent covering to slide over a temporary concrete-and-steel shelter that was hastily erected after the disaster and has since developed cracks.

The 20,000-tonne arched structure that spans 257 metres, known as the New Safe Confinement, is designed to last for a century, and will contain hi-tech equipment to carry out safe decontamination work inside the ruined reactor.

“This construction in its scale has no equals in the world,” Yanukovych said.

The construction of the shelter is expected to cost 990 million euros and to be put in place in 2015, while the decontamination work on the site will push the total cost up to 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion).

Yanukovych said in his speech at the site that “the completion of this project will guarantee the environmental safety of all the surrounding land and make it impossible for radiation to reach the atmosphere.”

Chernobyl is only around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Kiev and lies close to the borders with Russia and Belarus. The area around the plant is still very contaminated and is designated as a depopulated “exclusion zone.”

International donors have so far agreed to contribute 550 million euros ($730 million) to the project, with the balance coming from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

As the president visited the site, some 1,000 Chernobyl clean-up workers rallied in Kiev over cuts to their benefits in the latest of a string of angry protests over the austerity measure, the Interfax news agency reported.

The Soviet Union ordered thousands of people to take part in the clean-up in Ukraine following the Chernobyl accident, working without adequate protection.

Although only two people were killed in the initial explosions, the United Nations atomic agency says that 28 rescue workers died of radiation sickness in the first three months after the accident.

According to Ukrainian official figures, more than 25,000 of the cleanup workers, known as “liquidators” from then-Soviet Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have died since the disaster.

Ukraine on Thursday announced that it was awarding state honours to more than 40 of the liquidators and Yanukovych laid flowers and held a minute’s silence at a memorial at the power station.

On Thursday, relatives of victims held a remembrance ceremony in front of a memorial in Kiev as soldiers in dress uniform stood guard. Chernobyl veterans also attended a memorial ceremony in Minsk.

In neighbouring Belarus which also suffered from Chernobyl’s nuclear fallout about 2,000 supporters of the former Soviet republic’s opposition took to the streets to commemorate the disaster and denounce political repression.

Demonstrators brandished banners saying “We are suffering from Chernobyl”, “There’s no such thing as civilian nuclear energy”, and “No to nuclear power plants in Belarus”.

Other demonstrators shouted anti-regime slogans such as “Freedom to political prisoners”.

photo-zzh-am/ma/gk/db

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Audit Finds Broken EPA Radiation Monitors Broken And Unmaintained

  Posted by Alexander Higgins – April 24, 2012 at 2:53 pm – Permalink – Source via Alexander Higgins Blog

Despite being designated as critical infrastructure in the War on Terror a government audit reveals  a system of broken and unmaintained EPA RADNET radiation monitors.

As many of my regular readers already know, I compiled an application that displays radiation readings for every US city being under surveillance by the Federal government’s EPA RADNET monitors.

As many have repeatedly noticed for over a year, and as previously reported,  the graphs often display no information for certain cities as the EPA data set is empty for those locations.

We now get official confirmation from a Federal Audit performed by the Office of the Inspector General on the status of the network.

The audit has found a system of broken and unmaintained monitors being neglected by the EPA despite the fact the agency has secured tens of millions of dollars of Taxpayer money to keep the system up and running.

The system has been designated as critical infrastructure that is vital to our national security as part of the War on Terror and move over the federal government has reassured the public that the system would be used to assure the levels of radiation falling on the United States from the Fukushima nuclear fallout did not reach harmful levels.

Read Full Article Here

Short Time Event(s)

Today

Nuclear Event

USA

State of Wisconsin, [Point Beach Nuclear Plant]

Generator testing leads to alert at Wisconsin nuclear power plant

The Point Beach nuclear power plant issued an alert after exhaust from a generator created increased carbon monoxide levels in its turbine building.

By: Associated Press report, Associated Press

TWO RIVERS, Wis. — The Point Beach nuclear power plant issued an alert after exhaust from a generator created increased carbon monoxide levels in its turbine building.

Its owner and operator, NextEra Energy Resources, says there was no impact on the operation of the plant or the safety of employees or the public. The state’s Emergency Operations Center was activated after the plant issued an alert at about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

NextEra spokeswoman Sara Cassidy said exhaust from diesel generators being tested by workers on the non-nuclear side of the plant seeped into an adjacent room where carbon monoxide was detected. Cassidy said the room was ventilated and readings returned to normal.

The Point Beach plant is located on the shore of Lake Michigan in Manitowoc County.

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Climate Change

Cut world population and redistribute resources, expert urges

Nuclear disaster or plague likely unless population shrinks and natural resources are reassigned to poor, says Prof Paul Ehrlich

• John Vidal
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 April 2012 06.19 EDT

Paul Ehrlich says we face ‘catastrophic or slow motion’ disasters unless population is brought under control and resources redistributed. Photograph: Rex Features

The world’s most renowned population analyst has called for a massive reduction in the number of humans and for natural resources to be redistributed from the rich to the poor.

Paul Ehrlich, Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University in California and author of the best-selling Population Bomb book in 1968, goes much further than the Royal Society in London which this morning said that physical numbers were as important as the amount of natural resources consumed.

The optimum population of Earth – enough to guarantee the minimal physical ingredients of a decent life to everyone – was 1.5 to 2 billion people rather than the 7 billion who are alive today or the 9 billion expected in 2050, said Ehrlich in an interview with the Guardian.

“How many you support depends on lifestyles. We came up with 1.5 to 2 billion because you can have big active cities and wilderness. If you want a battery chicken world where everyone has minimum space and food and everyone is kept just about alive you might be able to support in the long term about 4 or 5 billion people. But you already have 7 billion. So we have to humanely and as rapidly as possible move to population shrinkage.”

Read Full Article Here

Listen to Interview  Here

Warm ocean currents behind majority of ice loss from Antarctica

Apr 26, 3:02 pm

London, April 26 (ANI): Warm ocean currents attacking the underside of ice shelves are the dominant cause of recent ice loss from Antarctica, researchers have claimed.

The finding brings scientists a step closer to providing reliable projections of future sea level rise.

An international team of scientists used a combination of satellite measurements and models to differentiate between the two known causes of melting ice shelves: warm ocean currents thawing the underbelly of the floating extensions of ice sheets and warm air melting them from above.

The researchers concluded that 20 of the 54 ice shelves studied are being melted by warm ocean currents. Most of these are in West Antarctica, where inland glaciers flowing down to the coast and feeding into these thinning ice shelves have accelerated, draining more ice into the sea and contributing to sea-level rise.

This ocean-driven thinning is responsible for the most widespread and rapid ice losses in West Antarctica, and for the majority of Antarctic ice sheet loss during the study period.

“We can lose an awful lot of ice to the sea without ever having summers warm enough to make the snow on top of the glaciers melt. The oceans can do all the work from below,” said the study’s lead author Hamish Pritchard of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Read Full Article Here

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Solar Activity

2MIN News Apr26: NASA, Magnetic Storm

Published on Apr 26, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

http://www.apmex.com/Commentaries/1155/Closing-Gold-Silver-Market-Report-4-25…
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/120423-fish-glowing-pollution…
http://phys.org/news/2012-04-physicists-standard-quasiparticle-theory-quantum…
http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/4714/martian-volcanic-glass-could-be-hotspo…
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/currents-ice-loss.html
http://spaceweather.com/
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/
http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/
http://umtof.umd.edu/pm/
http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater
http://www.ips.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/5
http://solarimg.org/artis/
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php
http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/SWMF_RealTime_browse.cgi
http://grb.sonoma.edu/

Solar Storms 5 Reasons to Care Right Now.

Published on Apr 26, 2012 by mitos1

2012 has seen some of the highest levels of solar activity ever recorded. But what can solar storms do to you? Daron Taylor takes a look at what these intense geomagnetic storms mean.

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Epidemic

Rio declares dengue epidemic

by Staff Writers
Rio De Janeiro (AFP) April 25, 2012

Rio de Janeiro has declared a dengue epidemic after diagnosing more than 50,000 cases of the tropical mosquito-borne infection this year and over 500 in the last week alone.

“We have a plan focused on the epidemic and we continue to be in a state of alert,” Hans Dohmann, the city’s health secretary, said late Tuesday, adding that the number of cases had surpassed 300 per 100,000 residents per month.

State-run Agencia Brasil meanwhile reported that 517 people had been struck with the disease last week alone.

The state of Rio de Janeiro has reported a total of 64,423 confirmed cases thus far this year, with 13 deaths, 12 in the city itself.

Last year authorities recorded 168,242 cases and 140 deaths.

Dengue is caused by any one of four viruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Symptoms include high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, skin rash and mild bleeding. In its advanced stage the disease causes hemorrhages.

The World Health Organization estimates there are 50-100 million dengue infections worldwide each year.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth – Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Climate right for Asian mosquito to spread in N. Europe

by Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) April 25, 2012

The climate in northwestern Europe and the Balkans is becoming suitable for the Asian tiger mosquito, a disease-spreading invasive species, scientists said on Wednesday.

The warning comes from scientists at the University of Liverpool, northwestern England, who say the two regions have been having progressively milder winters and warmer summers.

These temperate conditions favour the mosquito, which gained a foothold in Albania in 1979 and is now present in more than 15 countries on Europe’s southern rim.

“Over the last two decades, climate conditions have become more suitable over central northwestern Europe — Benelux, western Germany — and the Balkans,” they said.

At the same time, drier conditions in southern Spain have made that region less welcoming for the insect, they said.

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a native of tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, can transmit viruses that cause West Nile fever, yellow fever, dengue, St. Louis and Japanese encephalitis and other diseases.

In 2005-6, it caused an epidemic of chikungunya, a disease that attacks the joints, on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion.

A year later, it unleashed an outbreak of chikungyuna in the Italian province of Ravenna. In 2010, it was fingered as a transmitter of dengue virus in France and Croatia.

As of last December, the mosquito was present in more than 15 countries, from southern Spain to parts of Greece and Turkey, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Reporting in Britain’s Journal of the Royal Society Interface, the Liverpool team looked at European weather records for 1950-2009 and ran a widely-used computer model to simulate weather trends for 2030-2050.

“Similar trends are likely in the future with an increased risk simulated over northern Europe and slightly decreased risk over southern Europe,” says the study.

“These distribution shifts are related to wetter and warmer conditions favouring the overwintering of A. albopictus in the north, and drier and warmer summers that might limit its southward expansion.”

The paper points out that weather alone does not mean that the species will automatically spread there.

It also notes that the study did not consider vegetation or soil types which also determine whether the mosquito would be able to breed there. In addition, cold snaps or hot, dry spell also help limit mosquito survival, and these too were not included in the investigation.

In the mid-1960s, the Asian tiger mosquito was limited to some parts of Asia, India and a handful of Pacific islands.

It has since spread to North and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East, as well as Europe, mainly by hitchhiking a ride in exported materials.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth – Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Current Emergencies

1

19.04.2012

Biological Hazard

China

Ningxia Autonomous region, [Touying township]

3

24.04.2012

Epidemic Hazard

Vietnam

Province of Quang Ngai, [Son Ky Commune]

Short Time Event(s)

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Short Time Event(s)

Today

Biological Hazard

Australia

State of Tasmania, [Port Esperance, Hastings Bay (Southport) and the coastline between]

Short Time Event(s)

26.04.2012

Biological Hazard

Thailand

Province of Ang Thong, [Chamlong in Sawangha district]

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Articles of Interest

Diversity aided mammals’ survival over deep time

by Staff Writers
Nashville, TN (SPX) Apr 25, 2012

Mammals have demonstrated the ability to dramatically alter their size and completely change their diet when their environment is altered.

When it comes to adapting to climate change, diversity is the mammal’s best defense. That is one of the conclusions of the first study of how mammals in North America adapted to climate change in “deep time” – a period of 56 million years beginning with the Eocene and ending 12,000 years ago with the terminal Pleistocene extinction when mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, giant sloths and most of the other “megafauna” on the continent disappeared.

“Before we can predict how mammals will respond to climate change in the future, we need to understand how they responded to climate change in the past,” said Larisa R. G. DeSantis, the assistant professor of earth and environmental studies at Vanderbilt who directed the study. “It is particularly important to establish a baseline that shows how they adapted before humans came on the scene to complicate the picture.”

Establishing such a baseline is particularly important for mammals because their ability to adapt to environmental changes makes it difficult to predict how they will respond. For example, mammals have demonstrated the ability to dramatically alter their size and completely change their diet when their environment is altered.

In addition, mammals have the mobility to move as the environment shifts. And their ability to internally regulate their temperature gives them more flexibility than cold-blooded organisms like reptiles.

The study, which was published on Apr. 23 in the journal PLoS ONE, tracked the waxing and waning of the range and diversity of families of mammals that inhabited the continental United States during this extended period. In taxonomy, species are groups of individuals with common characteristics that (usually) can mate; genera are groups of species that are related or structurally similar and families are collections of genera with common attributes.

Scientists consider the fossil record of mammals in the U.S. for the study period to be reasonably complete. However, it is frequently impossible to distinguish between closely related species based on their fossil remains and it can even be difficult to tell members of different genera apart.

Therefore the researchers performed the analysis at the family level. They analyzed 35 different families, such as Bovidae (bison, sheep, antelopes); Cricetidae (rats, mice, hamsters, voles); Equidae (horses, donkeys); Ursidae (bears); Mammutidae (mammoths); and Leporidae (rabbits and hares).

The study found that the relative range and distribution of mammalian families remained strikingly consistent throughout major climate changes over the past 56 million years.

This period began with an extremely hot climate, with a global temperature about six degrees hotter than today (too hot for ice to survive even at the poles) and gradually cooled down to levels only slightly higher than today. It was followed by a dramatic temperature drop and a similarly abrupt warming and finished off with the Ice Ages that alternated between relatively cold glacial and warm interglacial periods.

“These data clearly show that most families were extremely resilient to climate and environmental change over deep time,” DeSantis said.

Horses were consistently the most widely distributed family from the Eocene to the Pliocene (and remained highly dominant, just not number one, in the Pleistocene). In contrast, families with more restricted ranges maintained lower range areas.

Thus, their work demonstrates that mammals maintained similar niches through deep time and is consistent with the idea that family members may inherit their ranges from ancestral species. The idea that niches are conserved over time is a fundamental assumption of models that predict current responses of mammals to climate change.

The analysis also found a link between a family’s diversity and its range: Family’s with the greater diversity were more stable and had larger ranges than less diverse families.

“Diversity is good. The more species a family has that fill different niches, the greater its ability to maintain larger ranges regardless of climate change,” said DeSantis.

While most families during certain periods of time yielded either gains in species/genera (e.g., Oligocene to Miocene) or losses (Miocene to Pliocene), these changes were remarkably consistent through time with overall gains or losses in one genera typically yielding a gain or loss in of about two species.

Although the extent of family ranges remained relatively constant, the study found that these ranges moved south and east from the Eocene to the Pleistocene. That is most likely a response to the general climate cooling that took place during the period. However, southeastern movement of ranges from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene may also be complicated by the influx of South American animals when the Isthmus of Panama was formed.

This triggered a tremendous exchange of species that has been labeled “The Great American Interchange.” As a result, some of the southern movement of families’ ranges may have been due to the influx of South American mammals, like the sloth and armadillo, moving north, the researchers cautioned.

The study also looked for evidence that families containing megafauna or other species that went extinct during the terminal Pleistocene extinction (also known as the Quaternary or Ice Age extinction) might have been in decline beforehand, but failed to find any evidence for any such “extinction prone” families. If climate change was the culprit, DeSantis and her team expect to see differences between families containing megafauna and those composed of smaller animals. However, the fact that they didn’t find such evidence cannot completely rule out this possibility.

The role that diversity plays in mammalian adaptation is particularly important because mammal species have been going extinct in record numbers for the past 400 years. In a 2008 report, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature predicted that one in four species of land mammals in the world faces extinction. As a result, the diversity of mammalian families is declining at a time when they need it the most to cope with a rapidly changing climate.

Co-authors on the paper were graduate students Rachel A. Beavins Tracy, Cassandra S. Koontz, John C. Roseberry and Matthew C. Velasco. The project was supported by funds from Vanderbilt University.

Related Links
Vanderbilt University
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com

GPS could speed up tsunami alert systems: researchers

by Staff Writers
Vienna (AFP) April 25, 2012

Global positioning systems (GPS) could provide faster tsunami alerts than current warning set-ups, German researchers said Wednesday, citing data collected in last year’s deadly Japan earthquake.

“On the occasion of the Fukushima earthquake, we analysed data from more than 500 GPS stations and showed that a correct estimate of the magnitude of 9.0 and of the generated tsunami could have been possible in just three to four minutes after the earthquake,” Andrey Babeyko, a scientist from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam, said in a statement.

This “shows again what potential a GPS shield has in tsunami early warning systems,” he added.

The findings were presented at a week-long conference of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna.

If an earthquake occurs near the coast, it can take just 20-30 minutes before a resulting tsunami hits land, but GPS measurements taken almost while the earthquake is still happening would enable a faster assessment of its scale, the researchers said.

Traditional measuring methods require more time to provide an accurate picture, often underestimating the magnitude of a quake at first, they added.

In the case of last year’s earthquake in Japan, the authorities became aware of its scale only 20 minutes after the event, possibly leading to many more casualties than if a warning had gone out earlier, according to GFZ.

Some 19,000 people died when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 triggered a tsunami and a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Earth Watch Report – Thursday April 12th, 2012

Earthquakes

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 23:56 PM
5.5     10.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 23:56 PM
5.5     13.9     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 23:56 PM
5.5     2.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Pacific Ocean
Apr 11 23:33 PM
5.9     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Fiji Region
Apr 11 23:28 PM
4.6     536.0     MAP

USGS     Fiji Region
Apr 11 23:28 PM
4.6     535.7     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 23:18 PM
4.6     10.2     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 23:18 PM
4.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Michoacan, Mexico
Apr 11 22:55 PM
7.0     80.0     MAP
I Felt It

USGS     Michoacan, Mexico     
Apr 11 22:55 PM     
7.0     84.0     MAP     

USGS     Michoacan, Mexico     
Apr 11 22:55 PM     
6.5     20.0     MAP  

GEOFON     Michoacan, Mexico
Apr 11 22:55 PM
6.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 22:51 PM
5.4     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 22:51 PM
5.5     10.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 22:51 PM
5.4     14.7     MAP

USGS     Offshore Northern California
Apr 11 22:42 PM
3.9     7.3     MAP

GEOFON     Off Coast Of Oregon
Apr 11 22:41 PM
5.8     10.0     MAP     

EMSC     Off Coast Of Oregon     
Apr 11 22:41 PM
6.0     20.0     MAP     

USGS     Off The Coast Of Oregon     
Apr 11 22:41 PM
5.9     14.0     MAP   

USGS     Off The Coast Of Oregon     
Apr 11 22:41 PM     
5.9     10.2     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 22:35 PM
5.0     20.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 22:35 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 22:35 PM
4.9     14.8     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 11 22:15 PM
2.5     6.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 22:15 PM
5.4     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 22:15 PM
5.0     13.8     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 22:15 PM
5.0     10.0     MAP

USGS     Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Apr 11 22:02 PM
4.2     35.6     MAP

USGS     Southern Alaska
Apr 11 21:53 PM
3.0     197.9     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 11 21:38 PM
2.5     2.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 21:36 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 21:36 PM
5.0     15.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 21:36 PM
4.9     2.0     MAP

EMSC     Central Turkey
Apr 11 21:30 PM
2.6     5.0     MAP

USGS     Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Apr 11 21:23 PM
3.2     18.3     MAP

EMSC     Spain
Apr 11 21:17 PM
3.0     8.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 11 21:07 PM
2.5     14.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 21:02 PM
4.7     15.2     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 21:02 PM
5.1     10.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 21:02 PM
5.2     2.0     MAP

EMSC     Spain
Apr 11 20:58 PM
3.2     8.0     MAP

USGS     Mona Passage, Puerto Rico
Apr 11 20:50 PM
2.9     11.6     MAP

GEOFON     Near East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Apr 11 20:29 PM
4.8     63.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Honshu, Japan
Apr 11 20:29 PM
4.8     46.0     MAP

GEOFON     Poland
Apr 11 20:13 PM
3.7     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Poland
Apr 11 20:13 PM
3.8     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Poland
Apr 11 20:13 PM
3.8     2.0     MAP

USGS     Dominican Republic Region
Apr 11 20:03 PM
3.6     165.3     MAP

GEONET     Canterbury
Apr 11 19:36 PM
2.9     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 19:14 PM
5.0     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 19:14 PM
4.9     2.0     MAP

EMSC     Western Turkey
Apr 11 19:13 PM
2.5     5.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 19:04 PM
5.5     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 19:04 PM
5.4     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 19:04 PM
5.5     10.3     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:54 PM
5.4     40.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:54 PM
5.4     14.3     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:54 PM
5.4     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Near The Coast Of Western Turkey
Apr 11 18:44 PM
2.4     6.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:32 PM
4.7     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:32 PM
4.7     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:15 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 18:15 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Near The Coast Of Western Turkey
Apr 11 18:10 PM
3.4     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 17:54 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 17:41 PM
4.7     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 17:41 PM
4.7     10.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 17:16 PM
5.1     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 17:16 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:58 PM
5.0     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:49 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:49 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

USGS     Dominican Republic Region
Apr 11 16:32 PM
2.5     104.0     MAP

EMSC     Sicily, Italy
Apr 11 16:30 PM
2.5     6.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 11 16:27 PM
3.7     5.0     MAP

EMSC     South Of Java, Indonesia
Apr 11 16:21 PM
5.0     53.0     MAP

GEOFON     South Of Java, Indonesia
Apr 11 16:21 PM
5.0     43.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:13 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:13 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

GEONET     West Coast
Apr 11 16:12 PM
3.7     60.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:04 PM
5.1     12.0     MAP
USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:04 PM
5.1     10.8     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 16:04 PM
5.0     10.0     MAP

GEONET     Canterbury
Apr 11 16:03 PM
3.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Central Turkey
Apr 11 15:52 PM
2.6     6.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:46 PM
5.1     21.6     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:46 PM
5.0     2.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:46 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:41 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:41 PM
5.3     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:37 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:37 PM
4.7     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 11 15:35 PM
2.5     5.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:09 PM
4.9     100.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:09 PM
5.0     13.1     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:06 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP
EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 15:06 PM
4.8     5.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:54 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:54 PM
5.3     11.9     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:54 PM
5.2     2.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:49 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:49 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:34 PM
5.2     20.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:34 PM
5.3     14.4     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 14:34 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:26 PM
5.0     9.4     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:26 PM
5.0     9.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:18 PM
5.0     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:18 PM
5.0     10.3     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:18 PM
5.0     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:08 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:08 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 14:08 PM
5.2     9.6     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:58 PM
5.5     13.7     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:58 PM
5.3     10.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:58 PM
5.3     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:42 PM
5.3     20.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:42 PM
5.4     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:42 PM
5.3     11.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:39 PM
4.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     South Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:39 PM
4.6     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     South Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:39 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Albania
Apr 11 13:38 PM
3.2     2.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:32 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

USGS     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:32 PM
4.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 13:32 PM
4.6     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:19 PM
5.0     30.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:19 PM
5.0     20.4     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:15 PM
5.1     5.3     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:15 PM
5.1     5.0     MAP

USGS     Tonga
Apr 11 13:12 PM
4.8     245.2     MAP

GEOFON     Tonga Islands
Apr 11 13:12 PM
5.2     238.0     MAP

EMSC     Tonga
Apr 11 13:12 PM
4.9     215.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:10 PM
4.5     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 13:10 PM
4.5     10.0     MAP

USGS     Central Alaska
Apr 11 13:06 PM
3.4     174.1     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 12:53 PM
4.9     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 12:53 PM
4.8     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:37 PM
5.1     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:37 PM
5.2     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:37 PM
5.2     2.0     MAP

EMSC     Strait Of Gibraltar
Apr 11 12:27 PM
2.7     1.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:21 PM
5.1     9.9     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:21 PM
5.1     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:21 PM
5.1     10.0     MAP

USGS     Off The West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:10 PM
5.1     10.4     MAP

EMSC     Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:10 PM
5.5     10.0     MAP

GEOFON     Off West Coast Of Northern Sumatra
Apr 11 12:10 PM
5.5     10.0     MAP

EMSC     Eastern Turkey
Apr 11 12:10 PM
2.7     23.0     MAP

EMSC     North Indian Ocean
Apr 11 11:53 AM
5.7     10.0     MAP

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 8.6 – Off West Coast of Sumatra

US Geological Survey
2012-04-11 10:54:00

Date-Time:
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 08:38:37 UTC
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 02:38:37 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
2.311°N, 93.063°E

Depth:
22.9 km (14.2 miles)

Region:
OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

Distances:
434 km (269 miles) SW of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia

550 km (341 miles) SW of Lhokseumawe, Sumatra, Indonesia

963 km (598 miles) W of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

1797 km (1116 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

The April 11, 2012 Event: cluster of large earthquakes rattle the globe from Indonesia to Mexico

Posted on April 12, 2012

April 12, 2012 – WORLD – A strong earthquake hit Mexico on Wednesday, shaking buildings and sending people running out of offices onto the streets of the capital Mexico City. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.5 -magnitude quake was centered on Mexico’s Pacific coast near Michoacan and struck fairly deep under the earth at 65 km or 40 miles. Prior to the Mexico earthquake, a powerful and shallow 5.9 struck near the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the coast of Oregon- indicating tectonic plates worldwide are being rattled by planetary seismic tension. Prior to Oregon earthquake, two massive 8.0+ magnitude earthquakes (8.6 and 8.2) struck the ocean floor off the north coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. As I warned in my book The Extinction Protocol, the power unleashed in these seismic events is growing. This is testament to the dangers and seriousness of the earth-changes facing us and how these events are unleashing more unbridled force with each successive eruption. The Indian Ocean strike-slip fault earthquakes are very unusual. As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard of a strike-slip lateral earthquake of this great a magnitude; especially under water. Preliminary assessment of the Indonesian quakes by U.S. geologists suggests one plate lurched past each other as much as 70 feet. San Andreas is a strike-slip, lateral- can we even imagine two sections of ground moving 70 feet near San Francisco? Had the force of the Sumatra quakes been unleashed upon San Andreas, the city would have been completely destroyed. Ironically, the largest surface displacement ever recorded in a lateral strike-slip fault was 21 feet and that was in the 1906 7.9 San Andreas earthquake. Just so we understand the significance of what transpired today; the Japanese March 11, 2011 earthquake move the ocean floor 79 feet sideways and 10 ft upwards, but today’s earthquakes happened in double 8.0+ magnitude sequence and moved the earth nearly as far. Worst, the seismic tension from the event ricocheted around the world and contributed to other earthquakes. –The Extinction Protocol

Arizona earthquake numbers saw a large increase in 2011

by Jonathan DuHamel on Apr. 11, 2012,

According to the Arizona Geological Survey, 131 earthquakes were detected in 2011 compared with 53 in 2010. That was twice as many as in 2009 and about a third more than in 2008. Most of the earthquakes were in the northwestern part of the state. The Yuma area was also shaken by earthquakes associated with the Gulf of California Rift Zone.

Many of these earthquakes (magnitude ca. 1.6) occurred near Lake Mead. These are attributed to mining and quarrying, and also to crustal adjustments to water going into and out of the lake. The strongest earthquakes (magnitude ca. 3.6) occurred near Clarkdale in the central part of the state. The Survey says that these events are consistent with past behavior: “a propensity for deeper seismicity to occur in two pockets, the northwestern Utah-Arizona border and well within the Colorado Plateau in the northeast corner of the state” and “the highest concentration of energy release correlates well with the pattern of established Quaternary faulting, indicating that this portion of the crust continues to be an active area of strain release and of particular interest for hazard studies in Arizona.” The strain is due to on-going crustal extension.

Read more here. The Arizona Geological Survey provides several videos dealing with earthquakes and geothermal energy on its Youtube Channel. Give it a look. Also take a look at the new issue of Arizona Geology Magazine.

See also:

The Great Arizona-Sonora Earthquake of 1887

Arizona earthquakes, 1852-2011, a video time line

Precariously Balanced Rocks and earthquakes

Where the Next Big American Earthquake and Tsunami Might Occur

The Measure of an Earthquake

8.9 Aceh quake triggers Indian Ocean tsunami warning

BBC News
2012-04-11 04:58:00

An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 8.9 has struck under the sea off Indonesia’s northern Aceh province.

The quake triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean region.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was not yet known whether a tsunami had been generated, but advised authorities to “take appropriate action”.

The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh.

The US Geological Survey, which documents quakes worldwide, said the Aceh quake was centred 33km (20 miles) under the sea about 495km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.

It was initially reported as 8.9 magnitude but was later revised down to 8.7 by the USGS.

The tsunami warning said quakes of such a magnitude “have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin”.

Tsunami watch lifted after two big earthquakes

By the CNN Wire Staff

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) — A massive earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday afternoon, triggering a tsunami watch for the Indian Ocean, which was later canceled.

The quake struck about 434 kilometers (270 miles) southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s Aceh province, and had a magnitude of 8.6, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It took place at a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles).

A second large quake, with a magnitude of 8.2, occurred off the west coast of Sumatra about two hours later, the USGS said.

Gary Gibson from the Seismology Research Center in Melbourne, Australia, said the location of the second quake reduced the possibility of a tsunami.

There was also a series of smaller quakes off the west coast of northern Sumatra with magnitudes between 5.1 and 5.4.

There were no reports of destruction or deaths.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on local television that there were no reports of casualties or damage in Aceh.

Four people were slightly injured on Simeulue Island, off the coast of Aceh, the National Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for the entire Indian Ocean. And a few hours later, the center announced the tsunami watch was canceled.

“A significant tsunami was generated by this earthquake. However, sea level readings now indicate that the threat has diminished or is over for most areas,” the center said.

************************************************************************************************

Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Still In Effect

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE FOR

Florida From  Central Florida  to the  Panhandle

El Paso, Texas  to Santa Teresa, New Mexico

Pueblo ,Colorado

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Freeze Watch Still in Effect  For

Buffalo,  New York
Clevelnad, Ohio
Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina

Blacksburg, Virginia

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Baltimore, Maryland,Washington, D.C.

***********************************************************************************************

Storms, Flooding

Hailstorm in China on Thursday, 12 April, 2012 at 03:24 (03:24 AM) UTC.

HS-20120412-34868-CHN
Hailstorm
Thursday, 12 April, 2012 at 03:24 (03:24 AM) UTC
—

Severe

Asia
China
MultiProvinces
Provinces of Jiangxi and Guizhou

N 28° 40.465, E 115° 54.551

Base data

EDIS Number:

Event type:

Date/Time:

Last update:

Cause of event:

Damage level:

Geographic information

Continent:

Country:

County / State:

Area:

City:

Coordinate:

Giant Wave Impact in New Zealand on Wednesday, 11 April, 2012 at 11:31 (11:31 AM) UTC.

GW-20120411-34852-NZL
Giant Wave Impact
Wednesday, 11 April, 2012 at 11:31 (11:31 AM) UTC
—
Storm surge
Moderate

Australia & New-Zealand
New Zealand
Southland
Foveaux Strait

S 46° 35.360, E 168° 3.774

Base data

EDIS Number:

Event type:

Date/Time:

Last update:

Cause of event:

Damage level:

Geographic information

Continent:

Country:

County / State:

Area:

City:

Coordinate:

Winter Storm Watch

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE Hanford, California
647 PM PDT WED APR 11 2012

...WINTER-LIKE STORM TO REACH THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA THURSDAY
NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE Reno, Nevada
300 PM PDT WED APR 11 2012

...HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE IN THE SIERRA...

.A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION THURSDAY
AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW IN
THE SIERRA.

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
FRIDAY EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WATCH FOR HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM
THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS
OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 1 TO 2 FEET.

* ELEVATION: ABOVE 4000 FEET.

* TIMING: FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: CAMP NELSON...GIANT FOREST...JOHNSONDALE...
  LODGEPOLE...SHAVER LAKE...YOSEMITE VALLEY.

* WINDS: SOUTHWEST WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 60 MPH
  OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

* IMPACTS: SNOW COULD CAUSE TRAVEL DELAYS AND POSSIBLE ROAD
  CLOSURES ABOVE 5000 FEET. GUSTY WINDS WILL CREATE AREAS OF
  BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH REDUCED VISIBILITIES. PEOPLE
  LIVING IN OR PLANNING TRAVEL INTO THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA
  ABOVE 5000 FEET SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR WINTER WEATHER
  CONDITIONS.

Flood Advisory

FLOOD ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE Amarillo, Texas
1220 AM CDT THU APR 12 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED AN

* URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR...
  SOUTHERN MOORE COUNTY IN THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF DUMAS...

* UNTIL 415 AM CDT

* HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
  MOORE COUNTY.

* THE HEAVY RAIN HAS CAUSED FLOODED ROADWAYS IN WESTERN MOORE
  COUNTY AND WILL LIKELY CAUSE URBAN FLOODING IN DUMAS AND IN
  CREEKS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MOORE COUNTY.

Flood Watch

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE Spokane, Washington
1138 AM PDT WED APR 11 2012

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPOKANE, WA HAS ISSUED A FLOOD
WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS IN IDAHO...

  COEUR D`ALENE RIVER AT CATALDO AFFECTING KOOTENAI AND SHOSHONE
  COUNTIES

...EXPECTED RAIN FALL TONIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY OVER THE COEUR D`ALENE
RIVER BASIN WILL LEAD TO POSSIBLE MINOR FLOODING ON THE COEUR D`ALENE
RIVER AT CATALDO.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPOKANE, WA HAS ISSUED A
* FLOOD WATCH FOR
  THE COEUR D`ALENE RIVER AT CATALDO
* FROM THURSDAY EVENING TO FRIDAY EVENING.
* AT  9:30 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 37.6 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS POSSIBLE.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 43.00 FEET.
* FORECAST...THE RIVER WILL RISE TODAY AND THURSDAY...POSSIBLY
  ACHIEVING FLOOD STAGE LATE THURSDAY EVENING. THE RIVER WILL
  LIKELY CREST SLIGHTLY ABOVE FLOOD STAGE AND BEGIN TO DROP
  DURING THE DAY FRIDAY.
* AT 43.0 FEET...MINOR FLOODING OF FARMLAND FROM CATALDO DOWNSTREAM TO
  HARRISON IS LIKELY. THE CAMPGROUND AT CATALDO WILL ALSO BEGIN TO
  FLOOD. PORTIONS OF DUDLEY ROAD, WEST OF LATOUR CREEK, WILL LIKELY
  BE UNDERWATER AND IMPASSABLE. IF THERE IS SIGNIFICANT WATER ALREADY
  IN THE FLOODPLAIN, THESE IMPACTS MAY OCCUR AT LOWER STAGES.

***********************************************************************************************

Radiation

Fukushima Radiation Plume Has Now Hit Hawaii- In a year it’ll Probably Reach U.S. West Coast

Energy News
2012-04-08 09:38:00

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear, joins Thom Hartmann. California beware! A radioactive wave is headed toward the West Coast of the United States courtesy of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

KAMPS: And that plume, as you said, it’s taken a year but it has now hit Hawaii. Another year from now it’ll probably reach the West Coast of the US.

***********************************************************************************************

SOLAR ACTIVITY

2MIN News Apr11: 8.9 Quake Indonesia [8.6 USGS] & a New Gamma Burst!

***********************************************************************************************

Solar System

A Magnetic Surprise from Venus

Artist’s impression showing how the solar wind shapes the magnetospheres of Venus (shown with a brown tail, closer to the Sun) and Earth (shown in blue). Both planets are roughly the same size. Venus is closer to the Sun, at roughly 0.7 AU (Astronomical Unit) while Earth is located at 1 AU. Unlike Venus, Earth has an internal magnetic field which makes its magnetosphere bigger. The lines coming out of the Sun symbolise the propagation direction of the solar wind. Credit: ESA

Venus is a rarity among planets – a world that does not internally generate a magnetic field. Despite the absence of a large protective magnetosphere, the near-Venus environment does exhibit a number of similarities with planets such as Earth. The latest, surprising, example is the evidence for magnetic reconnection in Venus’ induced magnetotail.

Planets which generate magnetic fields in their interiors, such as Earth, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn, are surrounded by invisible magnetospheres. Their magnetic fields deflect the charged particles of the solar wind (electrons and protons) as they stream away from the Sun. This deflection creates a magnetosphere – a protective “bubble” around the planet – which ends in an elongated magnetotail on the lee side of the magnetosphere.

Since Venus has no intrinsic magnetic field to act as a shield against incoming charged particles, the solar wind sometimes interacts directly with the upper atmosphere. However, Venus is partially protected by an induced magnetic field. ….

Read Full Article Here

*******************************************************************************************

Mysterious Booms / Rumblings

Long rumbling (20 min or more) then mystery ‘boom’ — St. Louis, MO – part 1

 

Published on Apr 12, 2012 by dutchsince

Boom can be heard at the very first few seconds of PART 2 — uploading that video next (right now its 2am CDT)

I am not drawing ANY conclusions on this yet.. just a strange coincidence as of now… but hoping there are some other people besides my wife and I, who heard these sounds yesterday—- here in South Saint Louis, Missouri USA.

Approx coordinates of the rumbles and boom heard: 38°36’14.85″N , 90°14’7.74″W ..

Confirmed 1st hand reports — heard by myself, my wife, and neighbor. Looking for others in the area who may have heard these multiple rumbles. 3am for 15 or 20 minutes.. 9am for 20-30 minutes.. and 11am for about 10 – 15 seconds.. Two times VERY long.. one time very short…..not a jet, train, or truck.. which you CAN hear in the video clearly as such.

Some kind of rumbling / drilling sound ?!! Carries on for a very long time.

One boom at 3am (not captured on video).. one boom about 945am (captured on video at the very start of part 2)… camera is a Sony DCR SX-63 … records in 30 minute segments.. part 1 30 min long.. part two 17 min long.

every bird in the area is chirping.. its about 40 degrees F outside. No wind 1-5 mph tops.

you can hear the rumble OVER any animals, trucks, planes, helicopters AND EVEN over the police sirens. NO air conditioners fans or construction going on.. especially at 3am the first time we heard it (it woke up my wife .. who woke me up).

Yesterday — 4/11/2012 — my wife and I were awoke about 3am CDT to a long persistent rumble — which shook our house and windows… it lasted for about 15 minutes before I got out of bed and came down to record video of it….

my camera died at 315am (approx) .. as soon as i took it outside… blast confounded! Then the sound stopped abruptly.

Then…. within the hour of this first rumble at 3am — we saw the large earthquakes in Indonesia — don’t know yet if these are related… may not be related at all (im HOPING!).

Then move forward to about 9am CDT — the rumble appeared again.. this time with a series of “booms”. I grabbed my cam and ran outside.. and this is where you begin in the video.

Clearly.. a low audible rumble for many minutes.. towards the end of this Part 1 .. you can hear it pick up in intensity.

Start of video 2 you can hear the last “boom”.. only one boom heard on cam. At 3am.. the first “boom” rattled the windows and woke my wife, who woke me in turn to check out what was going on.

Hoping this is just some kind of anomaly… if we get a repeat… I will deploy the cam again if I hear it.

The part 2 of this video.. the boom in particular.. sounds similar to the Wisconsin booms a few weeks ago… if you have some kind of audio processing gear.. let me know what you think if you have the time to analyze this fully.

[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

Food Safety Report – Monday April 2nd, 2012

Food Safety

NYC Investigating Possible Tofu-Related Botulism Cases

By News Desk

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is investigating one confirmed and one suspect case of botulism and has issued a warning about unrefrigerated fresh bulk tofu, which is the possible but unconfirmed source of the illnesses.New…

Read Full Article Here

Pathogens Thrive on Ripe Fruit, Dublin Conference Learns

By News Desk

Escherichia coil and Salmonella enterica thrive on ripe fruit, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference held earlier this week in Dublin.The work by researchers at the Imperial College London is expected to have a…

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Chicken Apple Sausage May Contain Plastic Pieces

By News Desk

Eddy Packing Co. of Yoakum, TX, is recalling approximately 26,136 pounds of chicken apple sausages that may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Saturday.The problem was discovered as a result of…

Read Full Article Here

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Allergen Alert

Allergen Alert: Cream Puffs With Sodium Caseinate

By News Desk

Creme Curls Bakery of Hudsonville, MI is recalling 19.4 ounce cartons of Simply Enjoy Vanilla cream puffs distributed by Foodhold U.S.A. and 13.2 ounce cartons of Vanilla Cream Puffs distributed by Crème Curls Bakery, because the product contains sodium caseinate,…

Read Full Article Here

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Politics, Legislation and Economy News – Wednesday March 21st, 2012

Politics and Legislation

Obama’s Order Revealed: Hidden Executive Orders

CONTRIBUTOR: Chris Kitze.

The dismissals over President Obama’s latest Executive Order for National Defense Resources Preparedness as just “an update” miss the point. We’ve hit a nerve on Before It’s News with this story with almost 60,000 views this morning. People are upset, angry and disappointed. Why? Because a normally arcane proclamation is seeing…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1911/189/Obamas_Order_Revealed:_Hidden_Executive_Orders.html

David Cameron unveils plan to sell off the roads

Sovereign wealth funds to be allowed to lease motorways in England, says prime minister

David Cameron will clear the way for a multibillion-pound semi-privatisation of trunk roads and motorways as he announces plans to allow sovereign wealth funds from countries such as China to lease roads in England.

Just 48 hours before the budget, the prime minister will give a speech calling for radical action to improve Britain’s infrastructure, which is falling behind those of key competitors in Europe.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/mar/19/david-cameron-sell-off-roads

Durbin, leaders at odds over House bill to ease corporate regulations

By Alexander Bolton

Sen. Dick Durbin is fighting his top Democratic colleagues, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer, who want to move a bill easing regulation of Wall Street.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/216879-durbin-leaders-at-odds-over-house-bill-to-ease-corporate-regulations

Senators to Pentagon: No troop cuts until Congress gets a say in budget

By Jeremy Herb

The leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee are warning the Pentagon: Don’t make any sudden moves without consulting us first.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/budget-approriations/216765-senators-to-pentagon-no-troop-cuts-until-congress-gets-a-say

House GOP weighs new gas-price bill

By Ben Geman

House Republicans are planning new legislation to thwart Environmental Protection Agency rules that they argue could worsen rising gasoline prices.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/216811-house-gop-weighs-new-gas-price-bill

Federal investigation of Iran dissident group bypasses K Street firms

By Kevin Bogardus

A federal investigation of an Iranian dissident group that has targeted a number of former government officials seems to have bypassed K Street.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/216863-federal-investigation-of-iran-dissident-group-bypasses-k-street-firms

At heart of health law clash, a 1942 case of a farmer’s wheat

By Adam Liptak

If the Obama administration persuades the Supreme Court to uphold its health care overhaul law, it will be in large part thanks to a 70-year-old precedent involving an Ohio farmer named Roscoe C. Filburn.

Momentum stalls on Obama nuclear agenda

By Matt Spetalnick and Alister Bull

Shortly after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama set the goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency and pledged dramatic steps to lead the way.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/20/us-nuclear-obama-idUSBRE82J06420120320

U.S. Exempts Japan, 10 EU Nations From Iran Oil Sanctions

The Obama administration won’t impose sanctions on Japan and 10 European Union nations that have “significantly” cut back their imports of Iranian oil this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. The U.S. didn’t grant exemptions today to China, the top importer of Iranian crude in the first half of last year, or to India and South Korea, the No. 3 and No. 4 buyers, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-20/u-s-exempts-11-nations-from-iran-oil-sanctions-on-banking.html

Economy

The U.S. Economy: Soul Crushing Total System Failure

No matter how often the pretty people on television tell us that the U.S. economy is getting better, it isn’t going to change the soul crushing agony that millions of American families are going through right now. The stock market may have gotten back to where it was in 2008, but the job market sure hasn’t. As I wrote about a few days ago, the percentage of working age Americans that are actually employed has stayed very flat since late 2009, and the average duration of unemployment is hovering near an all-time high.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-u-s-economy-soul-crushing-total-system-failure

Greece on the breadline: cashless currency takes off

In recent weeks, Theodoros Mavridis has bought fresh eggs, tsipourou(the local brandy: beware), fruit, olives, olive oil, jam, and soap. He has also had some legal advice, and enjoyed the services of an accountant to help fill in his tax return.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Greece_on_the_breadline%3A_cashless_currency_takes_off_/18530/0/0/0/Y/M.html

Americans Will Need “Black Markets” To Survive

MEDIA ROOTS – As Americans come to grips with a severe financial hangover, the American economy will adapt to meet the peoples’ needs. After 30 years of easy credit, subprime mortgages, zero interest loans and binge spending, the economy has imploded. The wizards of Wall Street continue casting spells and weaving their magic, as the mainstream media rattles on about the wizards’ omnipotence like an rickety player piano.

Meanwhile, back in the world of reality, some Americans are beginning to realize the necessity of more contemporary ways of doing business. As decreasing wages, increasing taxes, stifling regulations and a mortally wounded economy, are forcing people to do business a different way. If current conditions continue, “black markets” will emerge, giving local economies an IV to keep them stable.

http://mediaroots.org/americans-will-need-black-markets-to-survive.php

House GOP budget to slash taxes

By Erik Wasson and Bernie Becker

House Republicans will slash personal income taxes to a 25 percent top rate and a 10 percent lower rate as part of their fiscal 2013 budget proposal to be released Tuesday.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/216813-ryan-budget-to-slash-tax-brackets

Kingdom vows measures to bring down oil prices

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah chairs the Cabinet meeting in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)

By RIYADH: ARAB NEWS

Published: Mar 20, 2012 01:07 Updated: Mar 20, 2012 01:14

Saudi Arabia announced yesterday it would work individually and in coordination with the GCC countries and other producers to ensure an adequate oil supply to bring down prices to reasonable levels that could accelerate global economic recovery.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, took the landmark decision after realizing the negative impact of rising oil prices on the world economy, especially on the economies of developing countries.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article589449.ece

Wars and Rumors of War

US navy to position three aircraft carriers near Iran

The US navy will have three aircraft carriers positioned near Iran in the coming days, and is doubling the number of minesweeping ships and helicopters based in the Gulf. Israel, meanwhile, is keeping up rhetoric that makes many think the Jewish state — the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, which is not involved in the talks — is serious about possibly attacking Iran, with or without US support.

http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/4723

Unity: Syria’s Only Option

Corporate-funded think-tank and purveyor of US foreign policy, the Brookings Institution, had in 2009 literally blueprinted the strategy with which the West would slowly strangle and topple the government of Iran. Throughout the pages of their report, “Which Path to Persia?”

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Unity%3A_Syria%27s_Only_Option_/18538/0/0/0/Y/M.html

Obama Apologizes For Kandahar Massacre But Not For His Own Killings

How shall the world view the apology by President Obama for the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers allegedly by a lone U.S. serviceman in Kandahar Province when the President is himself personally responsible for the extra-judicial killing of hundreds of civilians by means of drone aircraft strikes whose crime he defends? Army Staff Sgt., Robert Bales, of Lake Tapps, Wash., is being held in prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Mr. Obama is free to travel the campaign trail.

“We’re heart-broken over the loss of innocent life,” the president said of the Kandahar massacre. His seeming expression of contrition rings hollow, though, particularly if one considers how Mr. Obama goes about his daily routine ordering drone strikes and seemingly is unaffected by the “loss of innocent lives” they cause, as well as by the hated companion night raids on Afghan homes, also the result of his policy.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Obama_Apologizes_For_Kandahar_Massacre_But_Not_For_His_Own_Killings/18535/0/0/0/Y/M.html

If a President Has a Power to Assassinate You…

Posted by Michael S. Rozeff

In this blog, I want to focus only on a few, not all, of its implications.

If a president of the U.S. has a power to assassinate American citizens, then, logically, this means that he also has punitive powers that stop short of killing, since killing is for most of us just about the worst thing that can be done to us. In particular, if he has the assassination power, then he also has the power to …..

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/108104.html

A Ugandan View of ‘KONY 2012′: War Criminal by Franchise

By: Paulo Wangoola, Founder and President, Mpambo Afrikan Multiversity, Uganda

As I viewed the video my mind wondered and settled far away from Joseph Kony. Kony is a mere case of the numerous questionable leaders, past and contemporary, who have emerged in Afrika, and have actively prosecuted horrendous war on the people, particularly women and children; for example Botha, De Clerk, Mobutu, Savimbi, Kabila, Kagame, Amin, Obote, Museveni, Ben Ali, Hosni Mubaraka, Bokassa, etc, etc. How come all these leaders have gained, consolidated and entrenched their power with the active support of the Coordinate White Republic of Europe and North America? Why is it that as a rule, the Coordinate White Republic is the last to abandon Afrika’s dictators, although even then, only after they have groomed a new and better dictator; that is when they can confidently announce the dictator is dead; long live dictatorship?

http://www.blacklistednews.com/A_Ugandan_View_of_%E2%80%98KONY_2012%E2%80%B2%3A_War_Criminal_by_Franchise/18544/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Colonialism in 10 Minutes: The Scramble For Africa

Uploaded by PeteMcCormack2 on Feb 25, 2008

An excerpt from the film Uganda Rising showing in a (very!) brief overview the utter decimation of Africa that took place via colonialism and the so-called “Scramble For Africa.”

Despite the film’s focus on Uganda, I think this excerpt sheds light on just how much of the violence that we see today actually has a colonial/European precedent rooted in exploitation and racism.

It’s also an instructive lead in, I think, to Darfur in 10 Minutes: An Overview of the Conflict in Sudan.

Uganda Rising was produced by Alison Lawton.
It was directed by Jesse James Miller and Pete McCormack (me). Jesse also edited the film, and I wrote it.

For more about the film, visit http://www.ugandarising.com.

Murder Is Not an Anomaly in War

Chris Hedges, Truthdig Op-Ed:

“The scale of our state-sponsored murder is masked from public view. Reporters who travel with military units and become psychologically part of the team spin out what the public and their military handlers want, mythic tales of heroism and valor. War is seen only through the lens of the occupiers. It is defended as a national virtue. This myth allows us to make sense of mayhem and death.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/murder-not-anomaly-war-1332235352

Israelis agree Iran hasn’t decided to construct nuclear bomb

JERUSALEM – Despite saber-rattling from Jerusalem, Israeli officials now agree with the U.S. assessment that Tehran has not yet decided on the actual construction of a nuclear bomb, according to senior Israeli government and defense figures.

Even so, there is great concern in Israel about leaving Iran “on the cusp” of a bomb — explaining why Israel continues to hint at a military attack on Iran’s nuclear installations before it moves enough of them underground to protect them from Israel’s bombs.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/03/19/israelis-agree-iran-hasnt-decided-to-construct-nuclear-bomb/#ixzz1pjSBldt5

Iran threatens to retaliate to any attack by US, Israel

TEHRAN: Tehran will retaliate against any attack by Israeli or American forces “on the same level” , Iran’s top leader said on Tuesday in a defiant address just moments after US president Barack Obama appealed directly to the Iranian people with a message of solidarity.

The contrasting approaches highlighted the broad range of political posturing and tactics as the standoff deepens over Iran’s nuclear programme.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Iran-threatens-to-retaliate-to-any-attack-by-US-Israel/articleshow/12349499.cms

American lawmakers are rejecting renewed calls by Pakistan for an end to U.S.

sponsored drone strikes in the country. Tuesday, a Pakistani government commission demanded an end to U.S. military strikes conducted by unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft known as drones. Pakistan has long complained that drone attacks are a violation of national sovereignty.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/-US-Lawmakers-Reject-Pakistani-Calls-to-End-Drone-Strikes-143553096.html

McCain suggests US not to quit Afghan war

Republican Senator John McCain has suggested that Washington has no intention of leaving Afghanistan — where it has been waging a so-called war on terror for more than a decade. McCain, a vociferous supporter of a large and long-drawn-out US military presence in Afghanistan, told NBC television’s Meet the Press program on Sunday that the occupation of Afghanistan was “succeeding” and Washington should not leave the country. He criticized US President Barack Obama for setting 2014 as the deadline for the American withdrawal.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232371.html

Environmental

UPDATE 1-Chevron executives barred from leaving Brazil over spill

SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO, March 17 (Reuters) – A Brazilian court on Saturday barred 17 executives from Chevron and Transocean from leaving Brazil, pending criminal charges related to a high-profile oil spill last November.

A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro state granted a request from prosecutors who are pressing for charges against both firms, a spokesman for prosecutor Eduardo Oliveira said in a phone interview. George Buck, who heads Chevron’s Brazil unit, and the other 16 executives must turn in their passports to the police within 24 hours, the spokesman said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/18/brazil-chevron-spill-idUSL2E8EH1ZP20120318

USDA Green-Lights Field Trials of Monsanto Drought-Resistant Corn After Admitting it Performs No Better Than Natural Corn

Ethan A. Huff, News Report:

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) does not even pretend to legitimately evaluate genetically-modified organisms (GMO) before approving them anymore, having recently green-lighted approval for a new variety of ‘drought-resistant’ GM corn produced by Monsanto that admittedly grows no better under drought conditions than natural varieties do.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/usda-green-lights-field-trials-monsanto-drought-resistant-corn-after-admitting-it-performs-no-bett-0

Cleaning tool disconnects in Keystone oil pipeline

Part of a pipeline cleaning tool disconnected within TransCanada Corp’s Canada-to-United States Keystone oil pipeline, but the incident was not affecting the line’s operation or flow rate, the company said on Monday. TransCanada was using the inline tool, known in industry coin as a “pig”, as part of normal maintenance when the piece broke off, spokesman Terry Cunha said. The pipeline is currently moving 500,000 barrels a day, down from its capacity of 591,000, he said. It does not normally operate at full capacity rates.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/19/transcanada-keystone-idUSL1E8EJD1720120319

Cyber Space

US to fast-track cyber weapons

The Pentagon is accelerating efforts to develop a new generation of cyberweapons capable of disrupting enemy military networks even when those networks are not connected to the Internet, according to current and former U.S. officials.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-accelerating-cyberweapon-research/2012/03/13/gIQAMRGVLS_story.html

Whistle Blowers

Army threatens to fire whistleblower for talking to McClatchy

The military’s embattled crime lab is trying to fire an outspoken whistleblower who’s spotlighted its problems. Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory warned its firearms branch chief, Donald Mikko, in a memo of its plans to fire him, in part for talking to a McClatchy reporter. As part of an internal investigation, Mikko was interrogated for about four hours and questioned about his contacts with McClatchy, according to his attorney Peter Lown. The Army Criminal Investigation Command, which oversees the lab, launched the inquiry after McClatchy published a story late last year about the lab losing evidence.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/19/142444/army-threatens-to-fire-whistleblower.html

Activism

Occupy’s Front Line Moves to the Front Lawn

Laura Gottesdiener, News Analysis:

“Across the country, homeowners, activist organizations, lawyers, and Occupiers are uniting to create a direct-action campaign against foreclosures. Begun as a national campaign on December 6th by Occupy our Homes, the coalition movement has already stopped nearly one hundred evictions and the actions are intensifying.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/occupy-s-front-line-moves-front-lawn-1332236487

Police State Blues: “Our Rights do Not End Where the Caprice of Authoritarian Bullies Begins”

Phil Rockstroh, Op-Ed:

“In a police state, unjust actions by authoritarian bullies, operating at the behest of privileged bullies in power, act by caprice and will escalate their level of brutality by the degree that the public at large reacts with support and indifference to the state’s assaults on civil liberties and common decency. The defining creed of a violent gang, such as the NYPD, is to ensure their own survival by the modus operandi of violently crushing perceived rivals.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/police-state-blues-our-rights-do-not-end-where-caprice-authoritarian-bullies-begins-1332255789

Shut Down Monsanto Protest at the Gates Foundation

Video Feature:

“As part of the Global Day of Action to Shut Down Monsanto on Saturday, this action was co-organized by AGRA Watch/Community Alliance for Global Justice, Washington Fair Trade Coalition, Washington Biotechnology Action Council, and GMO-Free Washington. The protest was directed at the Gates Foundation for their efforts to spread Monsanto’s dangerous GMOs throughout Africa.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/shut-down-monsanto-protest-gates-foundation-1332253478

From Wall Street To Beursplein, Our Resistance Is Global

News Report:

“Amsterdam is home to the world’occupy s oldest stock market – and it is #Occupied. Protesters in Amsterdam, along with dozens of cities across the Netherlands and hundreds throughout the world, took their square on a Global Day of Action on October 15, 2011, four weeks after Occupy Wall Street began. Occupy Amsterdam has occupied Beursplein (Exchange Square, directly in front of the Amsterdam stock exchange, now owned by Wall Street-based NYSE Euronext) ever since.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/wall-street-beursplein-our-resistance-global-1332257090

Radiation

Fukushima Farmers Face Decades of Tainted Crops as Fears Linger

Farmers in Japan’s Fukushima face years of additional losses as consumers continue to doubt the safety of produce from the region devastated a year ago by the tsunami and nuclear fallout, which may taint crops for decades.

Almost 100,000 farmers lost about 58 billion yen ($694 million) by March 1, or 25 percent of production, according to JA, the country’s biggest agricultural group. Imports of farm products jumped 16 percent to 5.58 trillion yen in 2011, according to the agriculture ministry.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-18/fukushima-farmers-face-decades-of-tainted-crops-as-fears-linger

Psy – Ops

‘People yawning, developing goose bumps could be terrorist’ says US Homeland Security

Washington: A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document aimed at raising awareness on how people can help combat terrorism, has warned that passengers yawning, developing goose bumps and appearing fidgety could all be potential terrorists.

http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-174646.html

Misc

TSA Nabs Suspected Al Queda Terrorist At Chicago Airport, A toddler in a wheelchair

Global Intelligence & Information Grid Goes Online: DI2E framework aims for streamlined intelligence sharing

Editor’s Note: This something we have been following for half a decade. Integrating intelligence agencies, geospatial intelligence, jets, drones and more down to the boots on the ground in one system. A few years ago the head of the DNI mentioned that there was plans to integrate all of the world’s intelligence agencies and DI2E is a continuation of that. We will release a flashpoint analysis on this subject very soon. –MV

http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/4752

In China, millions make themselves at home in caves

Some are basic, others beautiful, with high ceilings and nice yards. ‘Life is easy and comfortable here,’ one cave dweller says.

Reporting from Yanan, China—
Like many peasants from the outskirts of Yanan, China, Ren Shouhua was born in a cave and lived there until he got a job in the city and moved into a concrete-block house.

His progression made sense as he strove to improve his life. But there’s a twist: The 46-year-old Ren plans to move back to a cave when he retires.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-caves-20120318,0,2352472.story

French police: Gun used in Jewish school attack tied to murder of Muslim soldiers

Netanyahu calls Toulouse shooting that killed rabbi, three children a ‘despicable anti-Semitic’ attack.

TOULOUSE- French police reopened the area where four people were killed shortly after 8:00 A.M. outside a Jewish school on Monday, and are investigating whether the gun used for the murder of a rabbi and three children was also used to murder two Muslim French paratroopers last week.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/french-police-gun-used-in-jewish-school-attack-tied-to-murder-of-muslim-soldiers-1.419587

Coup in Beijing, Says Chinese Internet Rumor Mill

A photo published on Weibo, China’s biggest microblog site, on March 19 shows a tank on Changan Street in Beijing. User Wangdaxia posted the photo with a short article describing what happened the night of March 19. (Internet Screenshot) Over the night of March 19 and early morning of March 20,…

http://www.theepochtimes.com/

FYI: Government Buying Out All The 5.56 Military Surplus Ammo & Is Telling Ammo Dealers To Stop Selling To Their Vendors & Civilians.

CONTRIBUTOR: John Rolls. From: Anonymous Source Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 8:27 PM To: The Americas, Israel & Europe

Subject: Government buying out all the 5.56 Military surplus ammo and is telling ammo dealers to stop selling to their vendors and civilians. I have been calling allot of ammo distributors and ALL of them are telling me…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1914/592/FYI:_Government_Buying_Out_All_The_5.56_Military_Surplus_Ammo_Is_Telling_Ammo_Dealers_To_Stop_Selling_To_Their_Vendors_Civilians..html

Yuri Bezmenov: Deception Was My Job (Complete)

Uploaded by GBPPR2 on Jan 20, 2011

This is G. Edward Griffin’s shocking video interview, Soviet Subversion of the Free-World Press (1984), where he interviews ex-KGB officer and Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov who decided to openly reveal KGB’s subversive tactics against western society as a whole.

Bezmenov explains how Jewish Marxist ideology is destabilizing the economy and purposefully pushing the U.S. into numerous crises so that a “Big Brother” tyranny can be put into place in Washington, how most Americans don’t even realize that they are under attack, and that normal parliamentary procedures will not alter the federal government’s direction.

He then explains how Marxist leaders use informers to make lists of anti-Communist and other politically incorrect people who they want to execute once they – actually a Jewish oligarchy – come to power. The oligarch’s secret lists include “civil rights” activists and idealistically-minded “useful idiot” leftists as well.

Bezmenov provides several real world examples of how Marxist leaders even execute and/or imprison each other. Also he explains how American embassy employees were known to betray Soviets attempting to defect, how there existed a “triangle of hate” in the Soviet government, why he realized that Marxism-Leninism was a murderous doctrine, and how the CIA ignored (or didn’t care) about Communist subversion.

He also mentions that revolutions throughout history are never the result of a majority movement, but of a small dedicated and highly-organized group who seize power, whether for good or bad. Next he explains how the American mass media spread lies about life in the Soviet Union.

Bezmenov also explains how the LOOK magazine article falsely claimed that the Russian people were proud of their victory in the Second World War, where in reality the Judeo-Bolshevik-Communist-Marxist government was happy that Hitler had been defeated so that they could remain in power.

Find out how the KGB utilized various individuals to undermine the Western society in its morals and values.

Global Watch:Wars and Rumors of Wars, Awakenings,Desert Deluge,Plagues and Pandemics

Wars and Rumors  of  Wars http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/russia-says-it-will-use-nuclear-weapons-if-war-broke-out-with-nato/ http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/u-s-officials-believe-iran-sanctions-will-fail-making-military-action-likely-russia-prepares-military-response/ http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/iran-claims-warships-have-entered-the-mediterranean-israels-navy-put-on-alert/ http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/u-s-drones-in-the-air-over-syria-monitoring-military-crackdown/ http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/iran-halts-oil-exports-to-france-and-united-kingdom/ http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/rumors-of-war-n-korea-threatens-to-attack-s-korea-if-it-proceeds-with-live-military-exercise/ Awakenings http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/japans-mt-fuji-volcano-awakens-after-300-years-increased-risk-of-an-eruption-warns-scientist/ http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/massive-explosive-eruption-seen-at-japans-sakurajima-volcano/ Desert Deluge http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/chile-atacama-desert-driest-place-on-earth-pounded-by-days-of-heavy-rains/ Plagues and Pandemics http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/incurable-virus-killing-thousands-of-lambs-in-uk/ http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241744-Nasty-Superbug-Emerging-Strikes-Otherwise-Healthy-Young-Patients