Earth Watch Report – Monday August 13th, 2012

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC)	Magnitude	Area	Country	State/Prov./Gov.	Location	Risk			Source	Details
13.08.2012 10:45:32	2.9	North America	United States	Alaska	Tyonek				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 10:50:28	4.1	Middle East	Iran	East Azarbaijan	Ahar				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 11:21:02	4.2	Middle-East	Iran	East Azarbaijan	Ahar				EMSC
13.08.2012 10:00:34	4.4	Europe	Italy	Sicily	Sclafani				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 10:15:25	3.8	Europe	Italy	Sicily	Sclafani				EMSC
13.08.2012 09:25:28	2.1	North America	United States	Nevada	Mina				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 09:00:34	2.1	North America	United States	Alaska	Adak				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 09:15:24	2.6	Europe	Greece	West Greece	Selianitika				EMSC
13.08.2012 08:10:34	3.7	Middle-East	Iran	East Azarbaijan	Ahar				EMSC
13.08.2012 08:45:32	4.9	South America	Peru	San Martín	Jepelacio				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 08:10:58	5.0	South-America	Peru	Loreto	Barranca				EMSC
13.08.2012 08:11:20	4.1	Asia	Kyrgyzstan	Ysyk-Köl	Kadzhi-Say				EMSC
13.08.2012 10:05:33	3.7	Caribbean	Dominican Republic	La Altagracia	Otra Banda				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 06:25:32	2.1	North America	United States	California	Pearsonville				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 07:05:20	3.8	Middle-East	Iran	East Azarbaijan	Ahar				EMSC
13.08.2012 05:55:27	2.1	North America	United States	Alaska	Glacier View				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 05:50:37	3.8	North America	United States	Alaska	Karluk				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 09:15:43	4.6	Indonesian Archipelago	East Timor		Gunung Dilarini				EMSC
13.08.2012 06:00:30	3.5	Europe	Italy	Sicily	Panarea				EMSC
13.08.2012 05:20:29	2.1	Caribbean	Puerto Rico	Adjuntas	Adjuntas				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 06:00:55	2.7	Middle-East	Iran	?z??rb?yj?n-e Gharb?	Salmas				EMSC
13.08.2012 04:56:36	4.4	Middle-East	Iran	East Azarbaijan	Ahar				EMSC
13.08.2012 06:01:19	4.6	Middle East	Iran	East Azarbaijan	Ahar				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 03:55:21	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Cantwell				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 02:45:48	2.5	North America	United States	Alaska	Ouzinkie				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 02:55:21	2.4	Asia	Turkey	Bal?kesir	Marmara				EMSC
13.08.2012 02:15:27	2.5	North America	United States	California	Brooktrails				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 02:10:28	2.6	North America	United States	Alaska	Y				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 01:56:37	4.4	Asia	Russia	Sakhalin	Vostok				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 01:55:20	4.3	Europe	Russia	Sakhalin	Vostok				EMSC
13.08.2012 01:20:33	4.4	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia	Maluku Utara	Ternate				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 01:55:46	4.4	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia	Maluku Utara	Ternate				EMSC
13.08.2012 01:56:08	3.6	South-America	Peru	Tacna	Sobraya				EMSC
13.08.2012 07:05:48	2.1	Asia	Turkey	Kütahya	Saphane				EMSC
13.08.2012 00:50:20	3.8	Asia	Turkey	Van	Yuvacik				EMSC
13.08.2012 01:15:27	2.8	North America	United States	Alaska	Adak				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 00:50:39	4.3	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia	Aceh	Sinabang				EMSC
13.08.2012 00:05:51	4.3	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia	Aceh	Sinabang				USGS-RSOE
13.08.2012 00:51:02	2.2	Europe	Italy	Emilia-Romagna	San Prospero				EMSC
12.08.2012 23:45:28	2.6	Europe	Greece	Thessaly	Glossa				EMSC
13.08.2012 02:20:33	2.3	North America	Canada	British Columbia	Princeton				USGS-RSOE
12.08.2012 23:20:27	2.6	North America	United States	Alaska	Kokhanok				USGS-RSOE
12.08.2012 22:40:26	3.1	Europe	Greece	West Greece	Temeni				EMSC
12.08.2012 22:30:36	2.4	North America	United States	California	Darwin				USGS-RSOE
12.08.2012 22:20:32	2.2	North America	United States	California	Yorba Linda				USGS-RSOE
12.08.2012 22:25:35	4.7	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia	Central Sulawesi	Beteleme				USGS-RSOE
12.08.2012 22:40:48	4.7	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia	Central Sulawesi	Beteleme				EMSC
12.08.2012 21:45:46	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Valdez				USGS-RSOE
12.08.2012 22:41:10	2.0	Asia	Turkey	Tunceli	Pulumer				EMSC
12.08.2012 20:35:24	2.3	Asia	Turkey	Malatya	Arguvan				EMSC

…………………………………………….

13.08.2012

Earthquake

Iran

Province of East Azarbaijan, [About 21 miles west of Ahar]

 

Earthquake in Iran on Saturday, 11 August, 2012 at 15:59 (03:59 PM) UTC.

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Updated:	Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:58 UTC
Description
The death toll from twin earthquakes rose to 300, officials said Sunday, as rescue efforts in northwest Iran continued and more bodies were expected to be found. But some witnesses complained that the government was not aiding the efforts of residents and private agencies to rescue possible victims of Saturday’s tremors. “From the first minutes in the aftermath … the survivors rushed to unearth the dead and alive and injured and that rescue goes on,” said a witness in one of the affected towns. “But official rescues halted or seem to have stopped, as there is no hope of any alive to be unearthed and the number of Red Crescent rescue team is not big enough and few of them are trained enough.” Air-rescue operations were suspended hours after the earthquakes, one of them measuring a magnitude 6.2, struck as night fell and helicopters were unable to fly in the dark in the mountainous region. Much of the efforts now are said to be about providing food and shelter for the survivors. The quakes hit in a sparsely populated region, but entire villages were sent crumbling to the ground. Many others were partially damaged, and more than 2,000 people have been injured. Even with the relatively low population of the region, Naser Zargar, who heads the coroner’s office in the epicenter town of Ahar, told Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA, on Saturday that the death count could be over 1,000.The mayor of Varzaghan, one of the hardest-hit towns, said 12 villages in the region had been destroyed. Each of those villages had up to 1,000 residents and as many as a third may have been killed, he told IRNA. Many of the dead are women and children killed under the rubble of falling homes as the earthquake struck in late afternoon, a time when men were still outdoors working in this agricultural region. “Due to the traditional architecture of the villages, using clay bricks mixed with straw, rural areas have sustained most of the damage,” said Reza Sedighi, Ahar’s governor and head of the disaster relief center. He estimated that 25% of the public places, administrative buildings and people’s houses were damaged. The food and canned products that have been delivered to Ahar so far have been insufficient and the area is in desperate need of water, dried food and canned goods, he said. “People need tents and blankets as the weather is cold at night and they have to sleep under they sky, anticipating more tremors,” said Majan Laghaie, a reporter for the independent Shargh newspaper. “We visited many villages, five of them entirely heaps of rubble and debris. … People are shocked and still anticipating more tremors.” Ayatollah Shabestari, the provincial representative of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for two days of mourning. There was early criticism of the government’s response to the disaster, even as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Cabinet members sent their official condolences to people of East Azerbaijan province. On Saturday, as the nascent stages of rescue efforts were still underway, Turkish separatists in the region called in to an opposition TV station and complained of the slow response. They appealed to the governments of neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan to send aid. Iran has a deadly history of earthquakes. In 2003, more than 25,000 people were killed when a magnitude 6.6 quake struck the southeast part of the country. “Nowhere in the world does a 6 Richter scale earthquake kill so many people,” Iran’s leading seismologist, Bahram Akasheh, told a local news agency on Sunday. “The maximum number of the casualties should have been 10 injured. Due to the inappropriate constructions, our cities and villages are heavily damaged. It shows our crisis management has failed to strengthen the foundation of buildings. “We have predicted an over-7 Richter earthquake in the central or eastern … mountain ranges,” Akasheh said. “We should for sure anticipate for it in the future.” A former member of parliament, Gholamali Masoudi Rayhan, told the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency, or ILNA, that there were also problems in how state media were covering the disaster.

Earthquake in Iran on Saturday, 11 August, 2012 at 15:59 (03:59 PM) UTC.

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Updated:	Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 08:10 UTC
Description
Overcrowded hospitals in northwest Iran struggled to cope with thousands of earthquake victims on Sunday as rescuers raced to reach remote villages after two powerful quakes killed nearly 300 people. Thousands huddled in makeshift camps or slept in the street after Saturday’s quakes for fear of more aftershocks, 60 of which had already struck. A lack of tents and other supplies left them exposed to the night chill, one witness told Reuters. “I saw some people whose entire home was destroyed, and all their livestock killed,” Tahir Sadati, a local photographer, said by telephone. “People need help, they need warm clothes, more tents, blankets and bread.” The worst damage and most casualties appeared to have been in rural villages around the towns of Ahar, Varzaghan and Harees, near the major city of Tabriz, Iranian media reported. Tabriz resident Ahmad, 41, told Reuters his cousin living in a village near Ahar was killed and his body found. “Nobody knows what happened to his wife and two daughters,” aged 4 and 7, Ahmad said. “We fear that if rescuers don’t get to them soon, they will lose their lives too if they’re still alive.” But Iranian officials said rescue operations had ended by Sunday afternoon and that all those trapped beneath the rubble had been freed, Iran’s English-language Press TV reported.Many villages are hard to reach by road, hindering rescue efforts. Hospitals in Tabriz, Ardabil and other cities nearby took in many of the injured, residents and Iranian media said, and there were long queues of survivors waiting to be treated. “I wanted to go there last night to help but heard there was bad traffic and that it wasn’t safe enough,” Ahmad said. “People in those villages need help.” Abbas Falahi, member of parliament for Ahar and Harees, said people in some villages were still “in dire need of food and drinking water”, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. “Despite the promises of officials, little first aide has been distributed in the region and most people are left without tents. If the situation continues, the toll will rise,” he said. Aidin, a Tabriz resident, said he went to give blood at a local hospital on Saturday and saw staff struggling to cope with the influx of patients. Most patients had been taken there by their families, he said, indicating a shortage of ambulances. Ahar’s 120-bed hospital was full, said Arash, a college student in the town. There were traffic jams on the narrow road to Tabriz as victims tried to reach hospitals, he said by telephone. “People are scared and won’t go back into their houses because they fear the buildings aren’t safe.” The U.S. Geological Survey measured Saturday’s first quake at 6.4 magnitude and said it struck 60 km (37 miles) northeast of the city of Tabriz, a trading hub far from Iran’s oil-producing areas and known nuclear facilities. The second, measuring 6.3, struck 11 minutes later near Varzaghan, 49 km (30 miles) northeast of Tabriz. More than 1,000 villages in the area were affected by the earthquakes, Ahmad Reza Shaji’i, a Red Crescent official, told the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). Some 130 villages suffered more than 70 percent damage, and 20 villages were completely destroyed, he said. “We saw some villages that were truly destroyed,” said Sadati, the photographer who was documenting the quake aftermath. “One good thing was that the earthquake happened during the day, so many people were not in their homes. If it had happened at night the casualties would have been far worse.” Close to 300 people were believed to be dead, said Reza Sadighi, Ahar’s local governor, Fars news agency said. National emergency head Gholam Reza Masoumi said 5,000 people are believed to be injured, according to ISNA. Nearly 100 ambulances and 1,100 Red Crescent workers were deployed, Shaji’i said, along with 44,000 food packages and 5,600 tents for shelter. The relief agency had enough supplies and most residents in the area had access to clean water but Shaji’i asked residents to donate cash to the relief effort. Tehran officials sent condolences to the victims and declared two days of mourning in the province, ISNA reported. About 36,000 people in the quake-hit area have been given emergency shelter, Masoumi was quoted as saying by ISNA. Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Hassan-Nejad warned that if relief efforts did not speed up, the death toll would swiftly rise. “Relief groups have still not reached many villages, because in normal conditions some of these villages are several hours away,” he told ISNA. “Currently the roads are closed and the only way to reach these villages is by air.” Photographs posted on Iranian news websites showed numerous bodies, including children, lying on the floor of a white-tiled morgue in Ahar and medical staff treating the injured in the open air as dusk fell on Saturday. Other images showed rescue workers digging people out of rubble – some alive, many dead. Twenty-eight year old Narges in Tehran said she saw dozens of people in a hospital waiting to donate blood for the victims. Iran is crisscrossed by major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 that reduced the historic southeastern city of Bam to dust and killed about 31,000 people. Saturday’s quakes struck in East Azerbaijan province, a mountainous region that neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia to the north. Buildings in Tabriz, the provincial capital, are substantially built and ISNA reported nobody in the city had been killed or hurt. Homes and business premises in Iranian villages, however, are often made of concrete blocks or mud brick that can crumble and collapse in a strong quake. Water, electricity, and phone lines in the area of Varzaghan are all down, further hindering rescue efforts, Iran’s English-language Press TV reported. Tabriz residents left their homes and crowded the streets following the two quakes, those in the city said. “Everyone was scared last night,” a resident said by telephone. “They set up tents and were sleeping in the streets and in parks.”

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Rescuers stop searches after Iran quakes kill 250

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Residents of the zone in northwestern Iran hit by powerful twin earthquakes described moments of terror and panic with birds crowing loudly in warning seconds before the ground shook. As the death toll rose Sunday to more than 250 with entire villages leveled, rescuers called off searches for survivors and turned their attention to caring for the 16,000 people left homeless.

• By Arash Khamoushi, APIranians search the ruins of buildings after Saturday’s earthquake.

 

At least 20 villages were totally destroyed in the quakes on Saturday that were followed by some 36 aftershocks, state television reported. Ahmad Reza Shajiei, a senior government official in charge of rescue operations, said more than 5,000 tents have been set up to shelter the thousands of displaced who spent the night outdoors.

“The moment the earthquake hit, it was like a snake biting from underground. It was the worst experience of my life,” said resident Morteza Javid, 47, from Ahar.

“The walls were shaking and moving from side to side. It took about a minute before I could run out of the house,” he said. “Seconds before the earthquake, crows were making a lot of noise, but I didn’t understand why. It was only after the quake that I learned the crows were warning us.” Javid said he drove more than a dozen injured people to hospitals during the night.

State television said at least 250 died. The semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted a local official who put the toll at 277. State TV said 44,000 food packages and thousands of blankets have been distributed in the stricken area.

In Washington, the White House press secretary sent a message of sympathy for the victims.

“Our thoughts are with the families of those who were lost, and we wish the wounded a speedy recovery,” it said.” We stand ready to offer assistance in this difficult time.”

The U.S. and Iran are locked in a bitter fight over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, which the West suspect is aimed at producing weapons. Iran denies the allegation.

The U.N. also issued a message of sympathy and offered aid.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that Saturday’s first quake was magnitude 6.4 and struck 35 miles northeast of the city of Tabriz at a depth of 6.2 miles. State TV quoted local Crisis Committee chief Khalil Saei as saying the epicenter was a region between the towns of Ahar and Haris, about 350 miles northwest of the capital Tehran.

The second quake was a magnitude 6.3 and struck 11 minutes later, the USGS reported. Its epicenter was 30 miles northeast of Tabriz at a depth of 6.1 miles.

The quakes hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province, state television reported. In addition to 20 villages destroyed, more than 130 others sustained heavy damage, state TV said.

The aftershocks were felt in a wide region near the Caspian Sea, causing panic among the people.

Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although most are so small they go unnoticed. In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a magnitude 6.6 quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.

Television showed images of people being evacuated on stretchers, while others were treated for broken limbs and concussions. Dozens of families were sleeping on blankets laid out on the ground in parks. Some were crying, and others shivered from the cold in the mountainous region hit by the quake, near the border with Azerbaijan.

More than 1,100 rescuers worked through the night to pull out those trapped under rubble and to reach some of the more remote villages affected. Some 15 dogs were brought in to search for survivors.

By afternoon, state television reported that search operations had ceased. The government’s attention shifted to providing shelter to the homeless and removing debris from the buildings destroyed.

Officials said the search was ended relatively quickly because the remote area is sparsely populated.

Naimeh Alapour said she ran out of her house without the mandatory Islamic headscarf when she felt the earthquake. Alapour, 35, lives in Tabriz, the provincial capital, about 30 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

“I simply took my kid and ran down the steps. The elevator was out of service. I don’t know how I walked nine floors down. It felt like this was the end of the world,” she said.

Officials have announced two days of mourning in East Azerbaijan province.

Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said the government will allocate funds to rebuild the houses destroyed in the quake, aiming to complete the construction before the arrival of cold winter temperatures.

Najjar said the plans aim to construct buildings resistant to earthquake. Most of houses in rural areas are built of mud, and they can crumble when even a moderate quake hits.

According to Najjar, several foreign countries have offered assistance, but he said Iran doesn’t need outside help and can manage the situation. He did not name the countries.

Strong quake jolts western China

(AFP)

BEIJING — A shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook a remote area of China’s western region of Xinjiang, near the border with Tibet, on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said.

It was not immediately clear if there was any damage or casualties and rescue teams had been rushed to the mountainous quake zone to assess the situation, a local official told AFP.

The quake’s epicentre, at a depth of nine kilometres (5.6 miles), was about 280 kilometres east of Hotan town, USGS said. It struck at 6:45 pm (1045 GMT).

The China Earthquake Networks Centre measured it at 6.2-magnitude and put it at a deeper 30 kilometres, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

“A rescue team and other officials are now on the way to the earthquake zone, which is in a mountainous area,” an official with the emergency office of Yutian county — also known as Keriya — told AFP.

“As of now, we haven’t received any news.”

The county is on the southern edge of China’s vast Taklimakan desert.

On Saturday, a quake measuring 5.3 hit Xinjiang, about 188 km from the town of Shache, according to the USGS.

Xinjiang is a vast region with a population of around 20 million, of whom some nine million are Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking, mainly Muslim ethnic minority.

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Volcanic Activity

13.08.2012

Volcano Eruption

New Zealand

Kermadec Island Region, [Monowai Volcano (underwater volcano)]

Volcano Eruption in New Zealand on Saturday, 11 August, 2012 at 11:31 (11:31 AM) UTC.

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Updated:	Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 06:03 UTC
Description
A swarm of more than 150 earthquakes over two days last month caused a previously dormant volcano to erupt beneath the Pacific Ocean, a scientist said Monday. The eruption of the Havre Volcano, about halfway between New Zealand and Tonga, is believed to have caused a floating island of pumice larger than 4,000 square miles that was encountered by a New Zealand navy ship last week. Cornel de Ronde, principal scientist of New Zealand’s Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, told Radio New Zealand the source of the pumice had been identified in cooperation with French researchers in Tahiti who monitor earthquakes in the southwest Pacific. “When they looked at their physical records they saw that on July 17th and 18th, there were some 157 earthquakes of magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.8,” he said. De Ronde said they occurred near the time of the first sighting of the pumice “raft.” When the institute looked at its database, it found the Havre volcano, which it had previously surveyed. It was a caldera volcano, like White Island off the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, which erupted last week, but the Havre was not thought to have erupted before, he said. De Ronde said the pumice island was so light that it had floated several hundred kilometers from the volcano when it was encountered by the HMNZS Canterbury, which took samples last week. Scientists were also analyzing samples of rock ejected from Mount Tongariro, on New Zealand’s North Island, to try to find out why it erupted a week ago for the first time in 115 years.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Sinkholes

Excessive Heat Warning

SAN DIEGO CA
LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
PHOENIX AZ

Heat Advisory

TUCSON AZ

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

CHEYENNE WY
POCATELLO ID
BOISE ID

Fire Weather Watch

GREAT FALLS MT
BILLINGS MT
GLASGOW MT
MISSOULA MT

Extreme Fire Danger

RAPID CITY SD

Today

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of California, [Lake County]

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 06:08 (06:08 AM) UTC.

Description

Two major grass fires are burning in Lake County this weekend, according to state fire officials. The Walker fire, at Walker Ridge and state Highway 20 near the Colusa County border, has consumed around 400 acres, some of them in Colusa County, Battalion Chief Julie Hutchinson said. The fire, reported at 3;49 p.m., is in a fairly remote rural area dominated by oak woodland, Hutchinson said. The second fire, however, is much larger and is threatening inhabited areas. The Wye fire, reported just after 4 p.m., is burning on around 5,000 acres in the area of state Highways 20 and 53. The fire is threatening Spring Valley, an unincorporated community with a reported population of more than 800 people, and reidents in the area have been ordered to evacuate, Hutchinson said. One structure has been lost, but Hutchinson could not confirm whether it was a home. Both fires remain uncontained, and the causes remain under investigation. Around 100 fire personnel are on the scene of the Walker fire, and another 200 to 300 at the Wye fire. Hutchinson said there have not been reports of strong winds, but high temperatures have left the vegetation in the area very dry. “We’ve had a week or more of really high temperatures accompanied by a winter with very little rainfall, so the vegetation has all been very dry, very drought stressed,” Hutchinson said.

13.08.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

Canary-Islands (Esp.)

Island of La Gomera, [Garajonay National Park]

Forest / Wild Fire in Canary-Islands (Esp.) on Sunday, 12 August, 2012 at 12:27 (12:27 PM) UTC.

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Updated:	Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:48 UTC
Description
The Canary Islands are battling forest fires that have caused around 4,700 people to evacuate their homes. Spanish firefighters are struggling to contain the blazes as high temperatures and strong winds spur on the flames. A statement issued to reporters said that officials were “finding it difficult to limit the spread of fire”. “We are living through hell, we have asked the central government for more resources with which to fight the fire,” said Casimimo Curbelo, local government leader of La Gomera. The fires are the worst the Islands, which are located off the coast of Morocco, have experienced in at least a decade, and follow the driest winter in 70 years.

 

Enormous 400ft deep Louisiana sinkhole swallows 100ft tall trees and raises concerns of explosions and radiation leaks

• Fears that low levels of radiation are being emitted from the sinkhole and residents are being asked to leave
• Gas bubbles have been bubbling in the Louisiana bayou for weeks and residents have felt small tremors for years
• Officials said on Friday it will be at least 40 days before they get definitive answers about an enormous sinkhole that opened up in Assumption Parish
• Some residents have refused to leave their homes

By Daily Mail Reporter

 

A massive 400-foot deep sinkhole that has opened up in a Louisiana bayou has swallowed all of the 100-foot trees in the surrounding area and led to mandatory evacuations.

About 150 people have been ordered to leave their residences after the 400-sqaure-foot gaping hole opened in Assumption Parish amid fears of potential radiation leaks and natural gas explosions.

But despite the authorities enacting the mandatory evacuation, most people have decided to stay following allegations of a cover-up and industrial mis-management from the owners of a nearby salt cavern.

Diesel sheen is seen on the water in an aerial view of the sinkhole. State officials said on that small amounts of diesel hydrocarbons were found in swamp water where an acre of swampland liquefied over the last week

As state scientists monitored the toxicity of naturally occurring radiation at a slurry hole in Assumption Parish, residents said Thursday they were furious with their public state officials because they think they have been withholding information.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said the slurry hole near Bayou Corne is near areas that have been used for oil and gas exploration. Low levels of radioactivity may be remaining from the work, though not at harmful levels, officials say.

 

More…

• Giant, ten-feet-deep sinkhole on New York street almost swallows two cars
• Sinkhole stretching 100ft deep opens up on highway after 100-year-old railroad tunnel collapses
• The world’s most stunning sinkhole: Cavernous limestone bowl is so beautiful it’s become a tourist attraction

‘Out of abundance of caution and because of the ongoing incident, I have decided to further enhance our monitoring efforts,’ DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch said in a statement.

Officials said the first set of 15 samples from the area show that there are no detectable levels of naturally occurring radioactive material on the surface of the sinkhole and Hatch says they’re confident residents aren’t at risk for exposure.

Bubbles come to the surface where pipelines come across Bayou Corne and a pipeline sign is seen on the right

Department spokesman Rodney Mallett said such material tends to accumulate in low levels on equipment used to drill for oil and gas.

Gas bubbles have been erupting in the area for weeks. Residents have been especially alarmed at the possibility of a natural gas explosion after 28 residents in Grand Bayou had to evacuate their homes on Christmas 2003 because natural gas was seeping from a salt dome storage cavern and bubbling up into water wells.

Residents have also been reporting earthquakes but despite a battery of tests conducted by federal, parish and local officials, no one has been able to figure out the source of the tremors.

Randy Rousseau, who lives in Grand Bayou and owns a body shop in Belle Rose, said he’s noticed tremors for years. He eventually moved out of his house because he didn’t feel safe and has been unable to sell it because the property value plummeted after several small sinkholes opened up in his yard.

The massive sinkhole has caused the governor to order the evacuation of 150 residents from the parish

Scientists said at a community meeting Tuesday the sinkhole might be related to a brine cavern owned by Houston-based Texas Brine Co. contained within an underground salt dome.

It has been reported that local officials at Texas Brine have known since at least January 2011 that there have been problems with the structural integrity of a brine cavern that was plugged in June 2010. Officials did not mention those issues at the meeting.

‘It’s what I’ve been saying all along, that they’ve been hiding things,’ Rousseau said. ‘I think our local officials are trying to do the best they can, but I think they’re being hindered by the higher-ups hiding things.’

Rousseau said he was especially worried after a parish official had him fill out a form asking him to list his next of kin Thursday morning.

‘That’s a little disturbing to me. They said it’s in case they can’t reach us to evacuate. But I mean, come on. They can reach everyone,’ he said.

Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, said he wants more transparency and answers from the Office of Conservation. He said he had no idea about structural issues within the brine cavern until he read about them in the paper.

Residents were told it will be at least 40 days before they get definitive answers about an enormous sinkhole that opened up in Assumption Parish

‘There is a serious lack of competence now in the state, and we knew nothing. Nothing. Why did they close the mine? We didn’t get any answers. It’s a real lack of competence now,’ Harrison said.

Sonny Cranch, spokesman for Texas Brine, said they’re continuing to monitor the area for any changes.

‘We’ve installed booms around the perimeter of the sinkhole to contain any floating contaminants, the diesel, anything else,’ Cranch said.

Dr. Madhurendu Kumar, director of the state Department of Natural Resources’ oil and gas division, said the sinkhole could have been caused by structural problems within the salt dome that sits underneath it.

The wall of salt between the brine cavern and the salt dome might be thinner than experts were led to believe, he said.

He said this sinkhole was unusual because it sits on the edge of the dome, when sinkholes normally sit right on top.

Some residents in the area said that they had been experiencing tremors for years before the enormous sinkhole opened up

Officials said the sinkhole, which has swallowed up and liquefied a 372-foot wide circle of swampland, has not grown in size since Saturday.

The owners of four natural gas pipelines nearby were asked to depressurize and vent off their pipelines as a precaution after the slurry area bent a 400-foot-long section of pipeline.

Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Friday in Assumption Parish and ordered an immediate evacuation of 150 homes and several businesses. The evacuation remains in effect.

Officials said on Friday it will be at least 40 days before they get definitive answers about an enormous sinkhole that opened up in Assumption Parish.

Mark Cartwright, president of United Brine Services, a subsidiary of Texas Brine Co., said the company spent the last week ‘intensely focused’ on an emergency response as they try to figure out the cause behind a sinkhole near Bayou Corne.

Low levels of radioactivity may be emanating, though not at harmful levels, officials said

Cartwright said they’ll be drilling a relief well to investigate a brine cavern they own, which is housed within the Napoleonville salt dome. It will take at least 40 days to drill the well, and scientists have speculated that the 372-foot-wide and 422-foot-deep sinkhole might be related to structural problems within the cavern, he said.

‘Our efforts are going to be more focused on diagnostics, and looking into what caused this event,’ Cartwright said at a press conference in Gonzales.

Commissioner of Conservation Jim Welsh ordered the company Thursday to drill a well and investigate the salt cavern and ‘further evaluate potential causes of the subsidence near its well site,’ as well as obtain samples of cavern content.

Cartwright said the company was just as shocked as anyone else when the sinkhole erupted last Friday, swallowing up an acre of bald cypress trees and leaving diesel fumes and slurry water in its wake.

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Storms / Tornadoes / Flooding

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system	Location	Formed	Last update	Last category	Course	Wind Speed	Gust	Wave	Source	Details
Hector (EP08)	Pacific Ocean – East	11.08.2012	13.08.2012	Tropical Depression	270 °	65 km/h	83 km/h	4.88 m	NOAA NHC

Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 0 Storm name: Hector (EP08) Area: Pacific Ocean – East Start up location: N 17° 30.000, W 106° 0.000 Start up: 11th August 2012 Status: 12th August 2012 Track long: 311.90 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 12th Aug 2012 05:40:34 N 18° 30.000, W 108° 6.000 20 65 83 Tropical Storm 290 11 999 MB NOAA NHC Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 13th Aug 2012 10:38:02 N 18° 6.000, W 111° 24.000 11 65 83 Tropical Depression 270 ° 16 994 MB NOAA NHC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 14th Aug 2012 18:00:00 N 18° 18.000, W 114° 36.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 NOAA NHC 14th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 18° 6.000, W 113° 30.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 NOAA NHC 15th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 18° 36.000, W 115° 24.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC 16th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 19° 24.000, W 117° 0.000 Tropical Depression 46 65 NOAA NHC 17th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 20° 0.000, W 118° 30.000 Tropical Depression 46 65 NOAA NHC 18th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 20° 30.000, W 120° 30.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NOAA NHC

Kai-tak (14W)

Pacific Ocean

12.08.2012

13.08.2012

Tropical Depression

275 °

65 km/h

83 km/h

5.18 m

JTWC

Tropical Storm data

Share: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 1 Storm name: Kai-tak (14W) Area: Pacific Ocean Start up location: N 16° 36.000, E 128° 30.000 Start up: 12th August 2012 Status: Active Track long: 46.86 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 Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 13th Aug 2012 10:04:19 N 16° 36.000, E 126° 36.000 24 65 83 Tropical Depression 275 ° 17 JTWC Forecast track Date Time Position Category Wind km/h Gust km/h Source 14th Aug 2012 18:00:00 N 19° 6.000, E 122° 54.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC 14th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 18° 0.000, E 124° 12.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 JTWC 15th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 20° 12.000, E 121° 12.000 Typhoon I 102 130 JTWC 16th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 22° 0.000, E 117° 42.000 Typhoon I 120 148 JTWC 17th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 23° 24.000, E 114° 36.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC 18th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 25° 12.000, E 111° 54.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 JTWC

…………………………….

Today

Tornado

USA

State of California, [Near to Nuevo, Ramona Expressway]

Tornado in USA on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 08:24 (08:24 AM) UTC.

Description

A menacing thunderstorm spawned a tornado that touched down near Nuevo this afternoon. The tornado downed up to twelve power-lines prompting authorities to shut down both directions of the Ramona Expressway while So Cal Edison removed and repaired the damage. “There are no reported injuries and one vehicle is stranded with the driver trapped while So Cal Edison takes care of the live lines in the roadway,” Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Melodie Hendrickson said. A total of six occupants in the single vehicle that was temporarily stranded were assisted to a safe location at approximately 5:20 p.m., according to a Riverside County Fire Department report.

Flash Flood Watch

SAN DIEGO CA

Flood Warning

TALLAHASSEE FL
AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL

Flood Advisory

MIDLAND/ODESSA TX

Today

Flash Flood

New Zealand

Southland, Christchurch

Flash Flood in New Zealand on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:40 (02:40 AM) UTC.

Description

Residents had to evacuate about 10 homes after torrential rain caused flooding in the Christchurch area on Sunday night. Christchurch City Council’s civil defence manager Murray Sinclair said Dallington was particularly bad, as was St Albans, where Dudley Creek had burst its banks. He said contractors had been putting sandbags on roads in Lyttelton to divert water away from properties and people had evacuated around 10 properties in Lyttelton, Sumner and Akaroa after they flooded. Earthquake-damaged roads in the eastern suburbs were vulnerable to surface flooding because the drains were not taking the water away as effectively as they used to, he said. Dozens of homes were threatened by flash flooding in Lyttelton, after a retaining wall burst. Residents said the wall at the top of Canterbury Street was washed out after a build up of shingle and rocks blocked storm water drains, causing a flash flood on Sunday night. Rowena Laing described seeing a “river of water” washing down a nearby street, Fairfax reports. Firefighters managed to divert the water away from homes. The New Zealand Transport Agency is urging drivers to take care on State Highway 83 from Pukeuri to Duntroon and SH79 from Geraldine to Fairlie due to flooding. And in the North Island, SH29 about 17km west of Auckland near Ruahihi Rd has been reduced to one lane due to a slip on Sunday. Motorists are advised to avoid using this road. More heavy rain is expected to hit Canterbury and eastern Otago on Monday and Tuesday as a front moves slowly across the area. More than 100mm may fall in some places on top of what is already “a very sodden situation”, the Metservice website said. “Members of the public are advised that streams and rivers may rise rapidly and there may be areas of flooding and slips.” Rain or showers are expected across most of the country on Monday.

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Radiation / Nuclear

Today

Nuclear Event

USA

State of Michigan, South Haven [Palisades Nuclear Power Plant]

Nuclear Event in USA on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:32 (02:32 AM) UTC.

Description

The Palisades nuclear plant in southwestern Michigan has been removed from service to repair what officials said is a “very small, very minor” cooling water leak. No radioactive materials were released, spokesman Mark Savage said Sunday. The leak was being repaired inside a containment building at the plant in Covert Township, southwest of Grand Rapids. “Palisades is taking this conservative measure at this time because of our unrelenting commitment and focus on nuclear safety,” Savage said in Sunday morning in a release. “Palisades will be returned to service when repairs are completed.” Officials had been monitoring the leak for a month. Cooling water is used to cool off components of a nuclear reactor by picking up and carrying heat from the reactor. The plant’s reactor was shut down June 12 to repair a leak in a refueling water storage tank and was back online by July 11. “Shortly after that we noticed slowly increasing levels of this (cooling water) leakage,” Savage told The Associated Press on Sunday afternoon. Shutting down the plant drops radiation levels in the containment building and allows workers to safely repair the leak, he added. Palisades has been designated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as one of the nation’s four worst-performing nuclear plants, and it’s come under increasing public and federal scrutiny recently. New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. owns the plant and says it’s working to improve the plant’s safety culture. Last month, Michigan health officials reminded people who live, work or visit within 10 miles of Palisades to have potassium iodide pills on hand. The pills may prevent illnesses associated with radioactive iodine should an accident occur. The Michigan Department of Community Health makes the pills available for free to people near the plant and the state’s other nuclear power plants.

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

Epidemic Hazard in China on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 06:46 (06:46 AM) UTC.

Description
Two cases of cutaneous anthrax have been confirmed in Lianyungang of east China’s Jiangsu Province, reported a spokesman for the Ministry of Health on Monday. Skin irritations were found among seven villagers in Lianyungang, said Deng Haihua, the spokesman said at a press conference here. The symptoms of the other five villagers were not typical, but they have also been placed under medical observation, he said. All seven villagers are in stable, non-serious conditions, he added. The infected villagers were believed to have taken part in killing a sick cow. Cutaneous, or skin, anthrax is the least serious form of the disease. It is usually contracted when a person with a cut or sore on their skin comes into direct, unprotected contact with anthrax spores on a sick or dead animal. The provincial health department responded shortly after the events were reported. Medical teams were sent to treat the villagers and sanitise the farm and their residences, Deng said. Health departments will raise the monitoring level on anthrax and help educate local people about the disease, he said. Agricultural departments were also informed of the events, he said. “We will closely follow the development of these cases and make sure the disease is under control,” he said.
Biohazard name:	Anthrax (cutaneous)
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

13.08.2012

Epidemic Hazard

Nepal

Capital City, Kathmandu

Epidemic Hazard in Nepal on Saturday, 04 August, 2012 at 04:51 (04:51 AM) UTC.

Back

Updated:	Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:33 UTC
Description
Fifteen cholera cases have been confirmed in Kathmandu district since the onset of monsoon. Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital has confirmed 14 cases, while one case is reported in Kanti Children’s Hospital. Contaminated water is the main cause of cholera and diarrhoea in Kathmandu, doctors said. The cholera patients, between three and 88 years of age, were from Teku, Tahachal, Kalimati, Swayambhu, Baneshwor, Rabibhawan, Dallu, Bhimsengola, Kalanki and Pinglasthan in Kathmandu, the hospitals involved in the patients’ treatment reported. According to Dr Indra Prasad Prajapati, the hospital director, cholera cases have gone up this year compared to corresponding periods in the preceding years. “Only eight cases were reported last year during this time,” the director said and feared of focal outbreak if the number kept on rising. However, the epidemic could be limited to small focal area with people drinking the same contaminated water, Dr Prajapati said. He further said that three of the total cholera cases were based in Swayambhu. Dr Prajapati said leakage of drainage pipes and water pipelines is mainly responsible for the contamination of water. The contaminated water causes waterborne diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, worm infection and jaundice. The doctor suggested to boil, double filter and to treat water with chlorine before drinking it. He also urged the government to disseminate awareness messages and repair the drainage and water supply system at the soonest. A total of 2,167 patients were diagnosed with gastrointestinal infections, including diarrhoea and dysentery in 2010/11 and 1,712 in 2011/12, according to hospitals. A miking campaign to make people aware of waterborne diseases is under way at high risk places, director of Kathmandu District Public Health Office (DPHO), Mahendra Prasad Shrestha, informed. “We are also holding a multi-sectoral meeting with Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, the Local Development Minister and others,” DPHO director Shrestha said. He further said that they have further asked the KUKL to increase the amount of chlorine in drinking water for water purification.

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Disease alert as Philippines flood toll jumps to 85

  by Jason Gutierrez

Emergency relief officials and doctors deployed to flood devastated communities in the Philippines Sunday to prevent outbreaks of disease as the death toll jumped to 85.

The flooding that submerged 80 percent of Manila early in the week has largely subsided but more than 150 towns and cities around the capital remain under water, affecting more than three million people. Amid the ongoing relief operation, the weather bureau warned of a low pressure area developing some 850 kilometers (528 miles) to the east in the Pacific Ocean that could turn into a storm and bring more rain. Many provinces around Manila remained inundated as overflowing dams continued to release water, the national disaster coordinating agency said. Relief workers were dealing with “clogged pipelines and trash everywhere. Sanitation has emerged as a key problem,” Red Cross secretary general Gwendolyn Pang told AFP. “We have deployed health officers in evacuation centres and in flood-hit communities with the likelihood of diseases erupting.” The health department said water purification tablets were being distributed, while mass immunizations were being carried out to prevent an outbreak of diseases such as flu. Of particular concern is a possible outbreak of leptospirosis, caused by exposure to water contaminated by rat urine, which infected 3,300 people and claimed some 250 lives in the aftermath of similar flooding in 2009. “Many may have escaped the floods, but many could still die from leptospirosis or other diseases,” Ramos said. The Red Cross put up huge rubber bladder tanks for clean water, while local officials sent portable latrines to packed evacuation centers. Food packs were also rushed to some 770,000 people displaced by flooding. Civil defense chief Benito Ramos said more than half of them were living in dire conditions in 948 evacuation centers — mostly schools and churches converted into temporary shelter areas. But in a town north of Manila, at least one family had set up camp on top of elevated tombs at a cemetery as they waited for aid, illustrating the extent of the crisis. In all, more than three million people in 167 towns and 16 cities were affected by the heavy rains and floods, the disaster agency said. “Many have returned to their homes as the waters subsided, but it is far from a normal situation,” Ramos said. “We are trying to help them return to their normal lives with a massive clean-up operation. There is muck everywhere, and it would take some time.” Ramos said the death toll rose to 85 on Sunday from 66 the previous day, with most of the casualties due to drowning. The floods were caused by seasonal southwest monsoon that brought an unusual amount of rainfall over Manila and nearby areas, causing dams and river systems to overflow. If the new low pressure disturbance develops into a major storm, it would bring more misery, Ramos warned.

12.08.2012

Epidemic Hazard

Kenya

Coast Province, Mombasa

Epidemic Hazard in Kenya on Sunday, 12 August, 2012 at 17:20 (05:20 PM) UTC.

Description
A truck driver was yesterday quarantined at Mombasa’s Aga Khan Hospital on suspicion he was infected with the deadly Ebola virus. The man only identified as Moses, 61, is said to have been in Kampala as from August 3, and arrived yesterday in Mombasa with symptoms resembling those of Ebola. According to Coast provincial director of Public Health and Sanitation Anisa Omar, the man had symptoms of fatigue, sore throat and fever, prompting doctors to seclude him from the rest of the patients at the hospital. “It’s true the man was in Kampala from August 3 and when he arrived, he developed the symptoms. He decided to seek medical attention at the hospital where he was isolated from the other patients after being examined by the doctors,’ Omar said. Anisa said the patient’s blood samples have been taken to the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi. She however allayed fears of the virus spreading to other parts of the region saying the situation is under control. This comes a week after Public Health Minister Beth Mugo assured the country that the government was doing all it can to shield Kenyans from the deadly virus. Ebola kiled 14 people in Western Uganda two weeks ago.
Biohazard name:	Ebola (susp.)
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:	suspected

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Solar Activity

2MIN News August 12, 2012: Quakes, M Flare, Weather

Published on Aug 12, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

Earthquake/Solar Flare Watch: http://youtu.be/zd7Z6dmABf8 [August 12-18, 2012]
[EXPLANATION Video For Earthquake Watches] Last Quake Watch: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs
*****Astrotometry™ Response Video: http://youtu.be/DlJAw6x1STc

TODAY’S LINKS
4 Iran Quakes? http://news.am/eng/news/116869.html
Video: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-08-11/iran-earthquake/56969296/1
250 Dead: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444318104577584474193941882.html
Heat Tracking: http://www.weather.com/news/weather-forecast/heat-wave-tracker-20120627
China Flood: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/raw-video-floods-devastate-chi…

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]

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]

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!]

Earthquake/Solar Flare Predictions: August 12-18, 2012

Published on Aug 9, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

SOLAR FLARE PREDICTION:

DCSYMBOLS:
dcsymbols Flare Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR0mg03vz6k
BigBytes [dcsymbols] Websites: http://dcsymbols.com/ & http://dcsymbols.com/future/quepaso.htm & http://dcsymbols.com/future/future.htm

PATRICK GERYL:
Patrick Geryl: Flare Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KngICgxdpws&feature=youtu.be
Patrick Geryl Website: http://www.howtosurvive2012.com/htm_night/home.htm

—

EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION:

Suspicious0bservers LAST Quake Watch & Explanation: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs
[We had 4 Significant Magnitude Earthquakes During the Last Watch, Luckily None Caused Damage]

Other Earthquake Forecasters: Concurrence & Background

dcsymbols:
http://youtu.be/HE2FIE7D4xY

Astrotometry™:
http://youtu.be/Y5iZ8owQSVI
http://youtu.be/uqDPQdwAm9s

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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 HS15)	14th August 2012	1 day(s)	0.1804	70.2	200 m – 450 m	11.54 km/s	41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius	16th August 2012	3 day(s)	0.1079	42.0	220 m – 490 m	13.48 km/s	48528 km/h
(2008 TC4)	18th August 2012	5 day(s)	0.1937	75.4	140 m – 300 m	17.34 km/s	62424 km/h
(2012 OP4)	18th August 2012	5 day(s)	0.1039	40.4	300 m – 670 m	22.54 km/s	81144 km/h
(2012 EC)	20th August 2012	7 day(s)	0.0815	31.7	56 m – 130 m	5.57 km/s	20052 km/h
(2006 CV)	20th August 2012	7 day(s)	0.1744	67.9	290 m – 640 m	13.24 km/s	47664 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70)	21st August 2012	8 day(s)	0.1503	58.5	670 m – 1.5 km	12.92 km/s	46512 km/h
(2007 WU3)	21st August 2012	8 day(s)	0.1954	76.0	56 m – 120 m	5.25 km/s	18900 km/h
(2012 BB14)	24th August 2012	11 day(s)	0.1234	48.0	27 m – 60 m	2.58 km/s	9288 km/h
(2012 FM52)	25th August 2012	12 day(s)	0.0599	23.3	510 m – 1.1 km	17.17 km/s	61812 km/h
66146 (1998 TU3)	25th August 2012	12 day(s)	0.1265	49.2	3.0 km – 6.8 km	16.03 km/s	57708 km/h
(2009 AV)	26th August 2012	13 day(s)	0.1615	62.8	670 m – 1.5 km	22.51 km/s	81036 km/h
331769 (2003 BQ35)	28th August 2012	15 day(s)	0.1585	61.7	240 m – 530 m	4.64 km/s	16704 km/h
(2010 SC)	28th August 2012	15 day(s)	0.1679	65.3	16 m – 36 m	9.56 km/s	34416 km/h
4769 Castalia	28th August 2012	15 day(s)	0.1135	44.2	1.4 km	12.06 km/s	43416 km/h
(2012 LU7)	02nd September 2012	20 day(s)	0.1200	46.7	440 m – 990 m	8.16 km/s	29376 km/h
(2012 FS35)	02nd September 2012	20 day(s)	0.1545	60.1	2.3 m – 5.2 m	2.87 km/s	10332 km/h
(2012 HG31)	03rd September 2012	21 day(s)	0.0716	27.9	440 m – 990 m	10.33 km/s	37188 km/h
(2012 PX)	04th September 2012	22 day(s)	0.0452	17.6	61 m – 140 m	9.94 km/s	35784 km/h
(2012 EH5)	05th September 2012	23 day(s)	0.1613	62.8	38 m – 84 m	9.75 km/s	35100 km/h
(2011 EO11)	05th September 2012	23 day(s)	0.1034	40.2	9.0 m – 20 m	8.81 km/s	31716 km/h
(2007 PS25)	06th September 2012	24 day(s)	0.0497	19.3	23 m – 52 m	8.50 km/s	30600 km/h
329520 (2002 SV)	08th September 2012	26 day(s)	0.1076	41.9	300 m – 670 m	9.17 km/s	33012 km/h
(2011 ES4)	10th September 2012	28 day(s)	0.1792	69.8	20 m – 44 m	12.96 km/s	46656 km/h
(2008 CO)	11th September 2012	29 day(s)	0.1847	71.9	74 m – 160 m	4.10 km/s	14760 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 Washington, [Puget Sound Region]

Biological Hazard in USA on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 06:07 (06:07 AM) UTC.

Description
Shellfish collected from a large area of central and south Puget Sound contain enough Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) biotoxin to make people sick. So, the Washington State Department of Health has closed recreational shellfish harvest in Jefferson, Island, Snohomish, Kitsap, King and Pierce Counties. Commercially harvested shellfish have been thoroughly tested and should be safe to eat. Warning signs are posted at beaches used by recreational shellfish harvesters to warn people not to collect shellfish from the closed areas. The closures include clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, geoduck, and other species of molluscan shellfish. Crab is not included in the closure, but “crab butter” should not be eaten. The PSP toxin is produced by algae that are often more common during the warmest months of the year. People can get very sick from eating shellfish contaminated with the toxin. Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing. Symptoms of PSP can appear within minutes or hours and usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet. This is followed by difficulty breathing, and potentially death. Anyone who has eaten shellfish and begins having these symptoms should get medical help immediately. A person can’t tell if PSP is present by looking at the water or shellfish. For this reason, the term “red tide,” which is often used for PSP, is misleading and inaccurate. PSP can only be detected by laboratory testing.
Biohazard name:	Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP)
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

Today

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Texas, Jamaica Beach

Biological Hazard in USA on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:50 (02:50 AM) UTC.

Description
Thousands of dead fish are washing ashore along the Texas coast from the Colorado River to Galveston Island and Parks and Wildlife biologists suspect low oxygen levels off shore may be to blame. What tides are bringing in on Jamaica Beach is making people pause. “I hope it’s nothing major,” said Mark Gannon, who took his family to the beach Sunday. “I hope the water is safe.” Thousands of dead shad litter the sand. “Any idea what it is?” asked Gannon’s wife Alexia. Her children tried to explain the problem. “At night time, the waves pull up really far so the fish can’t handle that, so they get up on the shore,” said Abby Gannon. Authorities said the answer is not so simple.　Biologists with the Parks and Wildlife Department began testing ph, saline and oxygen levels in water samples taken along the coast. “When something’s affecting one [fish] then usually a lot of them are being affected at the same time because it’s such a big group [swimming in schools] together,” said Steven Mitchell of Texas Parks and Wildlife. He suspects low oxygen in the water is a problem. However, he won’t know for sure until biologists are able to test water up to 10 miles off shore. That could take several days. Meanwhile, there is no threat to people on the beach, authorities said.　Still, people like the Gannons said their plan to spend the children’s final week of summer vacation on the beach could change a bit. “I imagine as it gets warmer the smell [of the dead shad] will get stronger and we will likely want to go home,” Alexia Gannon said.
Biohazard name:	Mass. Die-off (fishes)
Biohazard level:	0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:	This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:	confirmed

13.08.2012

Biological Hazard

USA

State of Colorado, Pueblo

Biological Hazard in USA on Saturday, 28 July, 2012 at 03:32 (03:32 AM) UTC.

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Updated:	Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 02:58 UTC
Description
After more than three decades without a case of anthrax in Colorado, the lethal bacterial disease has come back to an unusual extent on at least one Logan County ranch. After initial reports of one cow death last week, Veterinary Practice News reported Friday, the death of nearly 60 cattle from the anthrax bacillus. The one cow fatality from early last week has been laboratory-confirmed to have died from anthrax by the Colorado State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. According to the report, officials said they are certain “beyond a reasonable doubt,” based on the clinical signs, that the other cattle died from anthrax as well. The Colorado Department of Agriculture quarantined the affected ranch last week and because no cattle left the Logan County ranch in the months before detection of the clinical signs of anthrax, infected cattle likely did not enter the food chain. Colorado State Veterinarian, Dr. Keith Roehr says drought conditions may have created a favorable environment for bacterial growth; however, he is confident that the outbreak has been contained. The moderator for the International Society for Infectious Diseases website, ProMED mail says, “With this very high number of affected animals on the one Logan County ranch, neighboring ranches up to 5 miles out are at immediate risk from biting flies with contaminated mouthparts. In fact, ranches up to three counties out should be on full alert.”Anthrax is a pathogen in livestock and wild animals. Some of the more common herbivores are cattle, sheep, goats, horses, camels and deers. It infects humans primarily through occupational or incidental exposure with infected animals of their skins. Anthrax is caused by the bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. This spore forming bacteria can survive in the environment for years because of its ability to resist heat, cold, drying, etc. this is usually the infectious stage of anthrax. When conditions become favorable, the spores germinate into colonies of bacteria. An example would be a grazing cow ingests spores that in the cow, germinate, grow spread and eventually kill the animal. The bacteria will form spores in the carcass and then return to the soil to infect other animals. The vegetative form is rarely implicated in transmission. There are no reports of person-to-person transmission of anthrax. People get anthrax by handling contaminated animal or animal products, consuming undercooked meat of infected animals and more recently, intentional release of spores. There are three types of human anthrax with differing degrees of seriousness: cutaneous, gastrointestinal and inhalation.

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Articles of Interest

China reservoir collapse kills at least 10: state media

by Staff Writers
Shanghai (AFP)

At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured after the earthen wall of a reservoir collapsed in eastern China, flooding a rural area, state media said Sunday.

The 29-metre (96-foot) wall, part of a reservoir in Zhejiang province, collapsed early Friday, following heavy rainfall after Typhoon Haikui passed through the area, the China Daily newspaper said.

The paper put the death toll at 10 while the official Xinhua news agency said Saturday that 11 people died and 27 were injured.

Local officials in Shenjiakeng village, where the accident took place, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The collapse flooded a “large area” of the village with water and silt, affecting 80 families and damaging at least a third of homes, China Daily said.

Haikui, now a tropical storm, had previously killed at least six people and continues to bring heavy rain to parts of eastern China, Xinhua has reported, quoting government statistics.

Related Links
Water News – Science, Technology and Politics

More than 10,000 earthworms found dead in a parking lot of 250m2 North Japan

Posted by Mochizuki

Fukushima Diary

In Komatsu city Ishikawa, more than 10,000 earthworms found dead in a parking lot. Ishikawa prefecture is facing Japan / Korea sea.

Mr. Kobayashi is living near the parking lot. He comments he found earthworms dead in the evening of 8/5/2012. It kept increasing and now it’s scattered around in the 250 m2 of the area.
There are about 500 dead worms in the space for one car. Because 16 cars can park there, more than 10,000 worms are dead in the whole area including the passageway.

Former director of insects museum visited the place to comment it is rare to see this many worms dead at once. It’s an ordinary type of earthworm. He assumes they came from the near greenery to the parking lot for water because of the intense heat and died there.

Citizens nearby the area talks, “I haven’t seen such a thing. Is this because of the intense heat ?” or “It may increase more.”

Today

Power Outage

USA

State of California, Sacramento

Power Outage in USA on Monday, 13 August, 2012 at 06:06 (06:06 AM) UTC.

Description

Nearly 14,000 households in northeast Sacramento were rolling in darkness Sunday evening for 2 1/2 hours as SMUD struggled to restore power to the affected customers. SMUD spokesman Clint Swett said an equipment problem at a Citrus Heights area substation caused the outage that affected people from Carmichael to Citrus Heights. The outage was first reported at 5:30 p.m., and power was restored by 8 p.m. Swett said it was premature to speculate whether the power failure was caused by the heat. Sacramento topped out at 104 degrees Sunday afternoon. “When we have a power outage, we do our best to restore power first and then investigate what happened,” Swett said.

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