Earthquakes
RSOE EDIS
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Fourth earthquake rocks East Texas
By Glenn Evans gevans@news-journal.com
The fourth earthquake in 16 days hit East Texas early Saturday.
No injuries or significant damage were reported from the preliminary magnitude 2.5 temblor that hit about 1:30 a.m., said Larry Burns, emergency management coordinator in Timpson.
The quake was centered about seven miles southeast of town, near FM 1645 and Texas 87, according to information from the U.S. Geological Survey.
“One of the guys I work with, he told me it shook but it wasn’t like any of the others we’ve had,” said Burns, who was not in town when the latest quake occurred. “We’re up to four of them so far.”
There perhaps have been more than that, according to accounts collected by the Timpson and Teneha News, Mayor Debra Smith said Saturday.
“I think they’ve determined we are up to seven in the last 12 months,” the mayor said, dating the first reports to July. “But some of them were smaller than the (Geological Survey) keeps up.”
Smith reported the most recent shakeup was less dramatic than a May 17 quake that recently was upgraded to magnitude 4.8, woke residents and was blamed for one injury in the northern Shelby County town of 1,166.
“I think some people felt it,” she said, adding she slept through the latest quake. “We don’t know if it was an aftershock or how they classify those.”
The first quake, on May 10, measured magnitude 3.7. The May 17 earthquake was followed three days later by a 2.7 tremor that struck at 1:28 p.m. one week ago today about a mile south of Timpson.
The May 17 quake, which was felt in Longview and Shreveport, was centered three miles east of town, while the May 10 shakeup emanated from a site four miles to Timpson’s northeast.
Since the quakes began, Smith said, teams from the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen F. Austin State University have placed seismic monitors in two or three locations to continuously record underground activity.
Several residents expressed suspicions that mineral extraction could be a factor in the unusual seismic activity.
“It’s kind of unnerving,” Smith said. “Everybody I talked to said it’s too early to determine if there is any connection to the oil and gas industry and anything significant causing it.”
Magnitude 6.0 – BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
Earthquake Details
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude | 6.0 |
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Date-Time |
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Location | 26.876°N, 140.214°E |
Depth | 472.6 km (293.7 miles) |
Region | BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION |
Distances | 201 km (124 miles) W of Chichi-shima, Bonin Islands, Japan
255 km (158 miles) NNW of Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japan 694 km (431 miles) S of Hachijo-jima, Izu Islands, Japan 979 km (608 miles) S of TOKYO, Japan |
Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 13.4 km (8.3 miles); depth +/- 4.3 km (2.7 miles) |
Parameters | NST=415, Nph=455, Dmin=197 km, Rmss=0.92 sec, Gp= 14°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=G |
Source |
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Event ID | usb000a07p |
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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather
Wildfires continue to rage in six states across the U.S that have already ravaged more than 200 square miles of land
![A firefighter from the Bernardino County Fire Department carries a hose as his crew tries to fight fire in California](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/05/26/article-2150437-134CED42000005DC-563_634x423.jpg)
Crews battled to contain a massive New Mexico wildfire on Friday that has torched a dozen homes, the largest of several blazes that have consumed more than 200 square miles (520 square km) of rugged land in half-a-dozen U.S. states in recent days.
Wildfires in sparsely-populated stretches of Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and California have forced the evacuation of several small towns and torched miles of forest, brush and grass since mid-month.
The fires have taken hold in tinder-dry late-spring conditions in mostly remote tracts of the United States, and have been fanned by gusting winds of up to 50 mph.
The fire in New Mexico burned early Saturday through remote and rugged terrain around the Gila Wilderness and has grown to 85,000 acres (34,400 hectares) or more than 130 square miles (338 square kilometers).
The heavy smoke apparently disoriented six hikers Friday, prompting the New Mexico National Guard to carry out a rescue.
Col. Michael Montoya said one of the hikers had an injured knee and had to be taken to safety by ambulance. The others were able to walk to a secure area.
More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze that resulted from the merger earlier this week of two lightning-sparked fires.
Fire officials say nearly all of the growth has come in recent days due to relentless winds.
The blaze has destroyed 12 cabins and seven small outbuildings, and the privately owned ghost town of Mogollon was placed under a voluntary evacuation order.
The strong winds pushed ash from the blaze 35 to 40 miles (56 to 64 kilometers) away, while smoke from the giant fire spread across the state and into Arizona.
And in Arizona, nearly 1,000 firefighters using aircraft and hand tools made strides toward containing the Grand Canyon state’s largest and most dangerous blaze, the so-called Gladiator Fire.
That fire, which has torched more than 25 square miles (65 square km) of ponderosa pine and brush about 40 miles north of Phoenix, reached 35-percent containment on Friday.
The progress allowed the local sheriff’s office to start letting some residents return to three small communities for the first time in 13 days.
Across the country in Michigan, two wildfires sparked by lightning strikes burned in forests and marshes of the sparsely populated Northern Peninsula, which is stuck in an extended dry spell, authorities said.
The larger of the two, the Duck Lake Fire has burned about 21,000 acres to the Lake Superior coastline.
There was no containment, as gusty winds had shifted to westerly breezes, threatening the Pike Lake area where there is a resort.
Health officials as far away as Albuquerque and Santa Fe issued alerts for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, advising people to limit outdoor activities and keep windows closed.
They said the effects on most people would be minor, but noted that mild throat and eye irritation or allergy-like symptoms could be expected.
Officials warned people with heart and lung conditions to be especially diligent in minimising their exposure to the smoky air.
In Southern California, firefighters worked to corral a wildfire that has chewed through 3,100 acres (1,255 hectares) of tinder-dry grass and light brush since it broke out Thursday afternoon east of Julian.
The fire was 20 percent contained, said Nick Schuler, battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. No injuries or damage to structures were reported.
In Arizona, residents of the historic mining town of Crown King were allowed to return home after being evacuated because of a wildfire about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Phoenix.
The fire started May 13 and has burned more than 16,000 acres (6,475 hectares). It is 35 percent contained, fire officials said.
Watch an extreme windstorm lift up a parked Boeing 747
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Storms, Flooding
Tropical Storm data
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Beryl, now a tropical storm, nears US southeastern coast
Tropical Storm Beryl has residents in Georgia and Florida bracing for drenching rains and driving winds. The Weather Channel Mike Seidel reports.
Updated at 4:49 p.m. ET: Tropical Storm Beryl already was wrecking some Memorial Day weekend plans on Sunday, sending shoreline campers packing to head inland and canceling some events in the southeastern United States.
The storm is due to make landfall later tonight, from Jacksonville, Fla. to Georgia.
Beryl was still well offshore, but officials in Georgia and Florida were already bracing for drenching rains and driving winds. Campers at Cumberland Island, which is reachable only by boat, were told to leave by 4:45 p.m. The island has a number of undeveloped beaches and forests popular with campers.
Many people, however, seemed determined to make the best of the soggy forecast.
At Greyfield Inn, a 19th-century mansion and the only private inn on Cumberland Island, the rooms were nearly full Sunday; all guests were planning to stay put through the wet weather, said Dawn Drake, who answered the phone at the inn’s office on the Florida coast.
In Jacksonville, Fla., Mayor Alvin Brown ordered a state of emergency, ending the Jazz Festival early and urging people to stay out of the water and off the streets, News4JAX.com reported. Workers are also out clearing tree limbs and debris that could be tossed about by the storm’s winds.
“We are encouraging all residents to stay indoors,” Brown said at a Sunday morning news conference at the Emergency Operations Center.
But business was booming at Red Dog Surf Shop in New Smyrna Beach where customers flocked to buy boards and wax in anticipation of the storm’s high waves. Officials all along the coast warned of rip currents, waves and high tides — all of which can be dangerous but also tend to attract adventurous surfers.
Joe Murphy, a spokesman for the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, said he was not seeing a flood of checkouts or people trying to get off the island. The hotel expected about 140 checkouts out of 466 rooms, he said.
Outdoor dining had been moved inside and the hotel set up movies and family game activities, but the hotel had no plans to board up or move patio furniture inside.
“So far it’s kind of business as usual, but with that sort of anticipation of what does the storm mean,” Murphy said.
Beryl was upgraded from a subtropical storm on Sunday afternoon. It was centered about 85 miles (140 kilometers) east-southeast of Jacksonville, Fla., and about 110 miles (175 km) southeast of Brunswick, Ga. Forecasters said the system had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving west at 10 mph (17 kph).
Beryl was projected to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday, though tropical storm conditions — meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) — were expected to reach the U.S. coast hours before that. Once it makes landfall, Beryl will continue dumping rain over parts of Florida and Georgia before slowly moving back out to sea.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the entire Georgia coastline, as well as parts of Florida and South Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Beryl was expected to weaken to a depression Monday once it came ashore, the center said.
On Tybee Island, a barrier island not far from Savannah, water off the beaches was closed for swimming Sunday morning. Tybee Island fire Chief C.L. Sasser said winds of up to 42 mph were creating “horrendous water currents.” Only people with flotation devices strapped or tethered to their bodies were being allowed into the water, and they were being cautioned to not venture in farther than knee deep.
“Even if you’re standing in waist-deep water, the current can sweep you out quickly,” he said.
His ocean rescue team pulled a total of 48 people from the water on Saturday, he said, including about 27 that were considered to be in life-threatening conditions. One man who was sucked under the water was rescued by friends and onlookers and was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
A band of showers soaked the beaches late Sunday morning, causing crowds to thin, Sasser said. With alternating rainy and sunny weather forecast throughout the day, he said he expected the crowds on the sands to ebb and flow.
In South Carolina, Janice Keith with the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau said the office hadn’t fielded any calls from concerned tourists.
In Beaufort County, emergency management deputy director David Zeoli said officials were continuing to monitor the storm and encourage people to have a plan in case conditions get worse.
Zeoli said winds had kicked up in the area that includes Hilton Head Island, a popular golf and beach destination. “It’s just a wet day here,” he said.
Msnbc.com’s James Eng contributed to this report from The Associated Press.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640
Tropical Storm Beryl/Sunday Update!!! 100 People Already Pulled from the Rip Currents!
Tropical Storm Warning
FLORIDA/SOUTHEAST GEORGIA CHARLESTON SC JACKSONVILLE FL TALLAHASSEE FL CAPE FEAR TO 31N OUT TO 32N 73W TO 31N 74W ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N W OF 77W-
Hurricane Statement
CHARLESTON SC JACKSONVILLE FL TALLAHASSEE FL
Flash Flood Warning
SIOUX FALLS SD TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN DULUTH MN
Flash Flood Watch
TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN SIOUX FALLS SD CHARLESTON SC DULUTH MN
Flood Warning
TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN DULUTH MN GREAT FALLS MT SIOUX FALLS SD
Winter Storm Warning
GREAT FALLS MT
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Radiation
Actual Fukushima worker “In case of the major aftershock, all the reactors will be in crisis”
Posted by Mochizuki
Fukushima Diary
Actual Fukushima worker Happy11311 admits if another major aftershock hits Fukushima, they can’t even get close to the reactors and the risk is not only SFP4, it would be all the reactors.
I tweeted this before but in case of another major aftershock or Tsunami, it won’t be only reactor4. I think all the reactors will be in crisis. Tepco says they have prepared multiple coolant means, but if the radiation level goes too high, we can not even get close. Also even if the reactor buildings remain safe, roads won’t be safe to approach the reactors.
Actually 311 caused a lot of cracks on the ground, there were a lot of places where you can not drive by car. Even pumper trucks or fire trucks can not drive maybe. Above all, now we don’t have enough human resource nor engineers to settle down reactor4 in addition to other reactors.
If you drive from Iwaki, it would take 6 hours if the situation is as bad as 311. Also, there as a heliport on the ground in 311, but it will be removed soon though we are supposed to build a heliport somewhere in the plant area..
They all plan to build tanks for contaminated water, but there is no plan to build a heliport. There used to be one, but not anymore.
In case of another major aftershock or Tsunami, it’s not self defense force, fire brigades or riot police, it’s us, normal plant workers to try to settle it down.
Weakened Fukushima nuclear pool is not unstable, Japan insists
Toshiaki Shimizu / AFP – Getty Images
Goshi Hosono, Japan’s environment minister, shows reporters the fuel rod pool at Fukushima’s No. 4 reactor on Saturday.
FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Amid concerns of a new disaster should a quake destroy the pool cooling off radioactive nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima’s Reactor No. 4, Japan on Saturday arranged a tour for journalists and declared the situation manageable — but also very long term.
“I don’t think the situation is unstable,” said Goshi Hosono, Japan’s environment minister and the man in charge of the cleanup. He was speaking to reporters after his first tour of the twisted and partly destroyed building that houses the reactor.
Hosono said he expected workers to begin removing fuel from the reactor’s storage pool next year.
Work began last month to raise what amounts to a giant tent over the building to keep radioactive dust from scattering during the transport of the fuel rods, which now are under just a tarp at the top of the building.
Senator Ron Wyden was the first U.S. Senator to get a look inside Japan’s Fukushima nuclear energy plant. Wyden discusses what he saw inside the plant and whether or not imported food from Japan is safe to eat.
Hosono said his biggest concern was ensuring Japan could secure the labor and talent to finish the decommissioning of the Fukushima reactors over the coming decades.
“This may take 30 or even 40 years to complete and extremely difficult work is still ahead of us,” he said.
Tokyo Electric Power, the utility that operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, says its analysis shows the No. 4 reactor building would hold up in a strong earthquake even after being badly damaged by a hydrogen explosion when three nearby reactors suffered meltdowns in March 2011.
Japanese safety regulators on Friday ordered Tepco to recheck its findings after measurements showed the west wall of the reactor building was buckling out by about 1.2 inches.
Some experts believe the fuel in the pool is now too weak to generate much radioactivity, but others are still worried.
“The No. 4 reactor is visibly damaged and in a fragile state, down to the floor that holds the spent fuel pool,” Hiroaki Koide, an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute, told the New York Times. “Any radioactive release could be huge and go directly into the environment.”
Hosono said the government accepted Tepco’s estimate that the No. 4 reactor could withstand an earthquake measuring a “strong 6” on the Japanese scale.
The magnitude 9 quake last March that triggered a tsunami and overran Fukushima’s backup power systems was measured at 7 on the Japanese scale.
Some environmental critics charge the No. 4 reactor presents a particular risk of a knock-on disaster if a subsequent earthquake were to topple it or puncture its fuel storage pool and allow the 65 feet of water now covering and cooling 1,535 uranium fuel assemblies to drain away.
Such an accident, they say, could release far more radiation than the leaks of radioactive water Tepco has battled since improvising a system for cooling reactor cores last year.
Hosono climbed a narrow and dark staircase built with scaffolding to take reporters to the top of the No. 4 building where the fuel pool has been covered with a tarp.
Tepco has taken steps to shore up support for the pool, which measures 30 feet by 60 feet across, by adding a cement column underneath.
Officials from the utility demonstrated how they were using water in the pool as a kind of level to confirm the building was not tipping. They also showed a grid of floats holding up the tarp they said could support a person if a worker fell in.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Solar Activity
2MIN News May27: Earth Sun Planetary Update
Published on May 27, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers
http://phys.org/news/2012-05-scientist-evolution-debate-history.html
http://www.weather.com/news/tropical-oddities-20120522
http://www.weather.com/news/jack-hayes-retiring-20120525
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-05/27/c_131613019_2.htm
http://www.arabnews.com/global-outrage-over-syria-child-massacre-92-killed
http://phys.org/news/2012-05-thousands-shellfish-dead-peru.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/26/us-bankia-stake-sales-idUSBRE84P04D…
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]
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!]
Solar Update/ Double Flares
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Space
UPCOMING CLOSE APPROACHES TO EARTH |
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1 AU = ~150 million kilometers 1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers
* Diameter estimates based on the object’s absolute magnitude. |
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Sinkholes
Massive Sinkhole Forms Near Central City, Colorado
Central City, Colorado – A massive crater alongside the road in between the cities of Black Hawk and Central City has traffic moving along a bit slower than usual after crews had to close a lane.
The sinkhole happened at the end of Gregory Street just east of Central City. The asphalt on the side of the road gave way to a small cavern early Saturday morning. By midday the cavern had turned into a crater.
Officials said an old mine shaft caved in. There’s some speculation that recent, heavy rains and heavy Memorial Day weekend traffic may have been a contributing factor.
The shaft is about 30 feet wide by 50 feet deep. Crews will fill it in with large rocks and then add filler to the rock for stabilization.
Experts say such collapses aren’t uncommon in Gilpin County.
“It’s known for being one of the richest square miles on Earth, maybe in the United States. I mean this place was hopping back in the early 1900s,” Deb Zack with the Division of Reclamation, Mining, & Safety said.
Crews don’t believe that the shaft continues under the road but they’ll be keeping a close eye on the spot.
Traffic will be down to one lane in the small section in between the two towns until crews can get the hole filled in and stabilized.
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Articles of Interest
27.05.2012 | Explosion | USA | State of Wisconsin, Milwaukee | ![]() |
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Explosion in USA on Sunday, 27 May, 2012 at 11:06 (11:06 AM) UTC.
Description | |
A house explosion in a northern suburb of Milwaukee on Saturday injured six people, including a firefighter and a police officer, fire officials said.The cause of the blast was not immediately clear, but is under investigation, said Kerry Wenzel, a spokeswoman with the North Shore Fire Department.Video from CNN affiliate WISN showed a gaping hole where a house once stood, as firefighters doused the debris with water.Fire Chief Robert Whitaker said three structures were involved in the incident — the house that was destroyed and those on either side of it.Among the injured were two residents, a neighbor and a passerby, both of whom tried to assist those inside, he said.The injured police officer was treated for smoke inhalation, while the firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, the chief said. |
27.05.2012 | Technological Disaster | South Africa | Kleinzee | ![]() |
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Technological Disaster in South Africa on Sunday, 27 May, 2012 at 11:00 (11:00 AM) UTC.
Description | |
The bodies of 10 illegal miners were recovered from a disused diamond mine near Kleinzee, in the Northern Cape on Saturday, De Beers said.”Ten deceased diggers had been recovered from the collapsed tunnels [by Saturday evening]. One digger has been rescued and eleven diggers reportedly escaped,” the diamond company said in a statement.”The co-ordinated rescue and recovery operation is continuing. The operation will progress until all illegally excavated tunnels are found and searched for survivors or deceased diggers.”De Beers said the collapsed tunnel that was discovered by the rescue team was cleared on Saturday.”Mining could then proceed towards what is reported, by diggers, to be another tunnel in the network. This work will continue until the tunnel is intersected.”The tunnels were not part of a previously worked underground mine but were excavated illegally at the site.On Friday, rescuers recovered the bodies of five miner at the site, police spokesperson Captain Cherelle Ehlers said. She said rescue teams reached the collapsed tunnel by digging a trench alongside the entrance of a disused mine to try and get to the trapped miners.Earlier this week, police recovered two bodies and rescuers could see another, but the unstable conditions prevented them from retrieving it.One injured illegal digger was later rescued.Tunnels at the mine collapsed at 15:00 on Tuesday. The mine had closed the tunnels in April.Eleven illegal diggers reportedly escaped and alerted the police. The collapsed hole was about six metres deep and led to several tunnels and an underground waiting area. |
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