Tag Archive: Epidemic Hazard in Tanzania


Earthquakes

USGS

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 23:17:34   36.656   141.015 18.3  NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP  3.7 2012/09/10 23:15:16   19.660   -67.586 58.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 23:14:31   0.522   98.457 52.7  NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP  4.2 2012/09/10 22:03:31   19.509   -67.637 17.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.5   2012/09/10 22:00:01   51.178   157.428 60.5  NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 19:51:24   51.944  -177.653 13.2  ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP  2.5 2012/09/10 19:33:40   18.162   -67.025 24.0  PUERTO RICO
MAP  4.9   2012/09/10 19:08:46   0.905   92.783 15.4  OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
MAP  2.7 2012/09/10 18:55:26   57.166  -157.577 4.9  ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 15:46:03   33.289  -115.706 3.5  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 15:45:48   33.282  -115.714 2.8  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.3 2012/09/10 15:44:43   33.280  -115.713 3.4  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  5.2   2012/09/10 14:35:43   10.465   93.611 37.7  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 14:03:18   39.263   74.211 45.3  SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA
MAP  4.5   2012/09/10 13:16:25   10.488   93.546 62.3  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 11:31:16   12.347   -88.630 25.0  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  5.1   2012/09/10 11:23:29   3.993   126.189 42.4  KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 10:43:55   41.733   143.691 30.0  HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP  4.1 2012/09/10 09:08:39   51.896  -171.046 48.7  FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/10 07:51:09   -6.561   129.720 143.5  BANDA SEA
MAP  3.2 2012/09/10 06:23:51  -33.487   151.950 0.0  NEAR THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA
MAP  4.9   2012/09/10 06:19:20   13.685   92.837 24.0  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.7   2012/09/10 05:41:51   24.163   126.191 31.9  RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP  3.3 2012/09/10 05:09:00   19.684   -64.160 33.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/09/10 05:03:24   17.937   -66.060 13.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  2.5 2012/09/10 04:54:14   35.375  -118.541 4.5  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.2 2012/09/10 04:33:39   19.672   -64.386 41.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 04:32:40   2.952   128.440 178.4  HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
MAP  3.3 2012/09/10 03:28:03   19.654   -64.253 59.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 02:23:17   32.181  -115.225 7.7  BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP  4.5   2012/09/10 02:14:05  -20.370   -68.968 122.9  TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 00:38:26  -10.690   114.006 10.0  SOUTH OF BALI, INDONESIA
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 00:04:45  -20.370  -176.533 250.7  FIJI REGION

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  2.6 2012/09/09 23:40:17   61.364  -152.700 142.7  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  3.0 2012/09/09 22:35:06   19.009   -64.539 36.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.5 2012/09/09 22:13:33   40.577  -124.314 21.9  NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.3 2012/09/09 21:57:19   19.674   -64.236 48.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  3.4 2012/09/09 21:41:11   56.591  -155.437 27.5  ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 21:37:36   9.795   -84.849 24.9  COSTA RICA
MAP  4.8   2012/09/09 21:29:51  -27.470   -67.282 166.6  CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA
MAP  4.5   2012/09/09 21:06:11   -7.328   128.600 150.8  KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
MAP  4.2 2012/09/09 19:30:22   40.004   24.802 13.6  AEGEAN SEA
MAP  5.3   2012/09/09 19:23:51   52.819   174.936 120.6  NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/09 18:59:39   16.095   -98.097 15.2  OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO
MAP  3.3 2012/09/09 18:56:23   19.454   -64.305 66.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/09/09 18:36:22   59.917  -153.782 136.1  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/09 16:49:21   -3.167   135.036 49.5  PAPUA, INDONESIA
MAP  2.8 2012/09/09 16:31:19   19.105   -66.785 31.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 15:56:57  -21.004   -68.763 119.7  TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP  4.1 2012/09/09 15:21:23   36.197   70.611 109.9  HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP  5.0   2012/09/09 14:36:37  -30.378  -177.959 56.9  KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
MAP  2.5 2012/09/09 13:27:30   36.628  -119.214 25.1  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  4.5   2012/09/09 11:27:28   -3.652   144.354 37.1  NEAR NORTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA, P.N.G.
MAP  4.5   2012/09/09 11:08:44   12.560   -88.868 35.0  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 10:02:08   23.371   36.375 10.0  RED SEA
MAP  4.2 2012/09/09 09:50:03   12.652   -88.512 35.3  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  4.8   2012/09/09 09:39:15  -10.839   113.817 6.3  SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA
MAP  5.1   2012/09/09 09:36:40   45.281   151.328 30.8  KURIL ISLANDS
MAP  3.1 2012/09/09 09:10:43   19.175   -64.251 26.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 07:26:07   36.862   24.422 120.3  SOUTHERN GREECE
MAP  6.0   2012/09/09 05:39:21   49.429   155.537 58.7  KURIL ISLANDS
MAP  2.5 2012/09/09 05:33:23   60.625  -147.676 13.9  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/09 05:14:53   16.230   -98.198 11.9  OAXACA, MEXICO
MAP  4.4 2012/09/09 03:30:27  -10.749   114.053 22.2  SOUTH OF BALI, INDONESIA
MAP  3.0 2012/09/09 02:09:00   18.629   -66.737 27.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  3.4 2012/09/09 01:58:53   35.379   -96.543 4.9  OKLAHOMA
MAP  4.9   2012/09/09 00:13:50  -28.087  -176.526 9.9  KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION

Scores Dead After Quakes Hit Southwest China

By Jack Phillips
Epoch Times Staff Created

A boulder lies on a road in Yiliang, in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, following two shallow quakes that struck the area. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A boulder lies on a road in Yiliang, in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, following two shallow quakes that struck the area. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A series of earthquakes on Friday in southwestern China struck a heavily populated area that lacks sound infrastructure, killing at least 64 people and leaving hundreds more injured, with the death toll likely to increase, state-run media reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that two 5.6-magnitude earthquakes hit within an hour of one another in the southwestern province of Yunnan, with both epicenters lying near the mountainous city of Zhaoyang. The agency said there were dozens of aftershocks.

Although only moderately powerful, the two quakes struck at a relatively shallow depth, which increases the likelihood of damage.

The quake was felt and did the most damage in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, state media said. Video footage from state-run CCTV showed piles of rubble, including bricks and pieces of concrete, strewn about streets.

Nearly all of the deaths were reported in Yunnan’s Yiliang County, a heavily populated area with what is said to have poor infrastructure and building construction. The region, considered one of the poorest in China, is mainly occupied by the Yi ethnic group.

“Many of the buildings there are built from bricks and beams, and they don’t have much load-bearing capacity,” Yunnan seismological chief Huang Fugang said, according to Radio Free Asia. “These structures basically aren’t earthquake-proof.”

State media reported that roads, telecommunications lines, medical facilities, schools, power plants, and other infrastructure were damaged in the quakes.

Four years ago, a quake that struck rural Sichuan Province, located north of Yunnan, left nearly 90,000 people dead. Many people blamed the devastation on badly built schools, bridges, and other buildings.

More than 100,000 people were evacuated in affected areas throughout Yunnan, state mouthpiece Xinhua said, adding that more than 6,000 houses were destroyed and 430,000 homes were said to be damaged. Around 200,000 people will likely have to be moved in Yiliang and the lives of 700,000 people were affected, the news agency reported.

Two buses make their way across a road full of fallen rocks after a series of earthquakes hit the area near Zhaotong municipality at the border of southwest China's Yunnan and Guizhou province on September 7, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages)

Two buses make their way across a road full of fallen rocks after a series of earthquakes hit the area near Zhaotong municipality at the border of southwest China’s Yunnan and Guizhou province on September 7, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages)

Mr. Zhu of Maoping village in Yilang County told The Epoch Times that around “a third of the houses have collapses and 90 percent are damaged so badly that people can’t live there.”

The death toll is likely to increase in the coming days due to landslides and mudslides triggered by the quakes.

“The hardest part of the rescue now is [the] traffic [situation],” Li Fuchun, the head of the Luozehe township, located near the epicenter of the quake, told Xinhua. “Roads are blocked and rescuers have to climb the mountains to reach hard-hit villages.”

A settlement located near a zinc mine in Luozehe was also seriously damaged with around two dozen families forced to evacuate due to falling boulders. “It is scary. My brother was killed by falling rocks. The aftershocks struck again and again. We are so afraid,” miner Peng Zhuwen was quoted as saying.

News of the quake reverberated throughout Chinese social media websites, including the Sina Weibo Twitter-like site, where numerous people posted their condolences, prayers, and pictures of candles for the victims in the disaster.

chinareports@epochtimes.com

южные курилы курильские острова остров Кунашир

Photo: RIA Novosti   i

On Sunday, two earthquakes hit Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East. The first quake of 5.6 point magnitude on the Richter scale was recorded near the island of Paramushir, says seismological station in the city of Severo-Kurilsk. Glass-ware ringed in cupboards for ten seconds, and ceiling lamps rocked.

The second earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 points in Richter scale took place in the deep-water Kurilo-Kamchatka trench. The epicenter was located 270 kilometers east of the city of Kurilsk on the island of Iturup.

There was no tsunami warning.

TASS

Four more tremors at Song Tranh hydro-power plant

 VietNamNet Bridge – In the morning of September 6, thousands of residents of Bac Tra My district, Quang Nam province, panicked because of four consecutive quakes up to 3.4 on the Richter scale. In the last four days, this region suffered from 12 quakes.

Quang Nam: Six earthquakes near hydro-power plant
Earthquakes in Quang Nam have no relation to volcanoes
Quang Nam: in powerful earthquakes, hydro-power plant will create a disaster


Song Tranh 2 dam.

While attending a ceremony to see recruits off, many officials of Bac Tra My district heard big explosions in the earth and fell tremors.

“After the explosion, the ground shook and my car was also shaken,” said Ms. Dung, a district official.

Mr. Tran Van Anh in Phuoc Hiep commune, Phuoc Son district, where is very close to Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant, said: “At 7.20am, when I was drinking tea with my neighbors, an underground blast exploded. After that the ground shook strongly. We had to run out of the house immediately.”

In Hiep Duc and Nam Tra My districts, hundreds of people fled from their houses because of underground blasts and tremors in the early morning.

The Geo-physic Institute verified that four quakes occurred near the Song Tranh 2 plant in the morning of September 6. The strongest tremor is 3.4 Richter and its epicenter was in Phuoc Hiep commune, which is very close to Song Tranh 2.

According to the institute’s statistics, up to 58 tremors were recorded around Song Tranh 2 plant over the last year. From September 3-6, up to 12 quakes occurred. The strongest tremor was 4.2 Richter. Tremors may come from the Tra Bong or Hung Nhuong-Ta Vi faults, around 3km from Song Tranh 2 dam.

According to a research work by the Geophysics Institute, Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant is built on the weak layer of the earth’s crust. If strong earthquakes occur, they will cause danger for both the plant and people in the downstream area.

According to the Institute of Science and Technology of Vietnam’s initial conclusion, underground explosions in the region were caused by reservoir induced earthquakes of 3-4 Richter scale from the fault on the left bank of Tranh River.

The capacity of Song Tranh hydro-power plant’s reservoir is over 730 million of cubic meters, which is located over 100m higher than the downstream area. Experts worry that if the dam is broken, it will cause disaster to the downstream region. It is predicted that the reservoir can cause maximal earthquake of up to 5.5 Richter scale.

Prof. Cao Dinh Trieu from the Geophysics Institute says it needs to set up five fixed quake observing stations around the Song Tranh hydro-power plant.

Compiled by Le Ha

LISS – Live Internet Seismic Server

GSN Stations

These data update automatically every 30 minutes. Last update: September 11, 2012 03:18:49 UTC

Seismograms may take several moments to load. Click on a plot to see larger image.

CU/ANWB, Willy Bob, Antigua and Barbuda

 ANWB 24hr plot

CU/BBGH, Gun Hill, Barbados

 BBGH 24hr plot

CU/BCIP, Isla Barro Colorado, Panama

 BCIP 24hr plot

CU/GRGR, Grenville, Grenada

 GRGR 24hr plot

CU/GRTK, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

 GRTK 24hr plot

CU/GTBY, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

 GTBY 24hr plot

CU/MTDJ, Mount Denham, Jamaica

 MTDJ 24hr plot

CU/SDDR, Presa de Sabaneta, Dominican Republic

 SDDR 24hr plot

CU/TGUH, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 TGUH 24hr plot

IC/BJT, Baijiatuan, Beijing, China

 BJT 24hr plot

IC/ENH, Enshi, China

 ENH 24hr plot

IC/HIA, Hailar, Neimenggu Province, China

 HIA 24hr plot

IC/LSA, Lhasa, China

 LSA 24hr plot

IC/MDJ, Mudanjiang, China

 MDJ 24hr plot

IC/QIZ, Qiongzhong, Guangduong Province, China

 QIZ 24hr plot

IU/ADK, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA

 ADK 24hr plot

IU/AFI, Afiamalu, Samoa

 AFI 24hr plot

IU/ANMO, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

 ANMO 24hr plot

IU/ANTO, Ankara, Turkey

 ANTO 24hr plot

IU/BBSR, Bermuda

 BBSR 24hr plot

IU/BILL, Bilibino, Russia

 BILL 24hr plot

IU/CASY, Casey, Antarctica

 CASY 24hr plot

IU/CCM, Cathedral Cave, Missouri, USA

 CCM 24hr plot

IU/CHTO, Chiang Mai, Thailand

 CHTO 24hr plot

IU/COLA, College Outpost, Alaska, USA

 COLA 24hr plot

IU/COR, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

 COR 24hr plot

IU/CTAO, Charters Towers, Australia

 CTAO 24hr plot

IU/DAV,Davao, Philippines

 DAV 24hr plot

IU/DWPF,Disney Wilderness Preserve, Florida, USA

 DWPF 24hr plot

IU/FUNA,Funafuti, Tuvalu

 FUNA 24hr plot

IU/FURI, Mt. Furi, Ethiopia

 FURI 24hr plot

IU/GNI, Garni, Armenia

 GNI 24hr plot

IU/GRFO, Grafenberg, Germany

 GRFO 24hr plot

IU/GUMO, Guam, Mariana Islands

 GUMO 24hr plot

IU/HKT, Hockley, Texas, USA

 HKT 24hr plot

IU/HNR, Honiara, Solomon Islands

 HNR 24hr plot

IU/HRV, Adam Dziewonski Observatory (Oak Ridge), Massachusetts, USA

 HRV 24hr plot

IU/INCN, Inchon, Republic of Korea

 INCN 24hr plot

IU/JOHN, Johnston Island, Pacific Ocean

 JOHN 24hr plot

IU/KBS, Ny-Alesund, Spitzbergen, Norway

 KBS 24hr plot

IU/KEV, Kevo, Finland

 KEV 24hr plot

IU/KIEV, Kiev, Ukraine

 KIEV 24hr plot

IU/KIP, Kipapa, Hawaii, USA

 KIP 24hr plot

IU/KMBO, Kilima Mbogo, Kenya

 KMBO 24hr plot

IU/KNTN, Kanton Island, Kiribati

 KNTN 24hr plot

IU/KONO, Kongsberg, Norway

 KONO 24hr plot

IU/KOWA, Kowa, Mali

 KOWA 24hr plot

IU/LCO, Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile

 LCO 24hr plot

IU/LSZ, Lusaka, Zambia

 LSZ 24hr plot

IU/LVC, Limon Verde, Chile

 LVC 24hr plot

IU/MA2, Magadan, Russia

 MA2 24hr plot

IU/MAJO, Matsushiro, Japan

 MAJO 24hr plot

IU/MAKZ,Makanchi, Kazakhstan

 MAKZ 24hr plot

IU/MBWA, Marble Bar, Western Australia

 MBWA 24hr plot

IU/MIDW, Midway Island, Pacific Ocean, USA

 MIDW 24hr plot

IU/MSKU, Masuku, Gabon

 MSKU 24hr plot

IU/NWAO, Narrogin, Australia

 NWAO 24hr plot

IU/OTAV, Otavalo, Equador

 OTAV 24hr plot

IU/PAB, San Pablo, Spain

 PAB 24hr plot

IU/PAYG Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands

 PAYG 24hr plot

IU/PET, Petropavlovsk, Russia

 PET 24hr plot

IU/PMG, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

 PMG 24hr plot

IU/PMSA, Palmer Station, Antarctica

 PMSA 24hr plot

IU/POHA, Pohakaloa, Hawaii

 POHA 24hr plot

IU/PTCN, Pitcairn Island, South Pacific

 PTCN 24hr plot

IU/PTGA, Pitinga, Brazil

 PTGA 24hr plot

IU/QSPA, South Pole, Antarctica

 QSPA 24hr plot

IU/RAO, Raoul, Kermandec Islands

 RAO 24hr plot

IU/RAR, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

 RAR 24hr plot

IU/RCBR, Riachuelo, Brazil

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IU/RSSD, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

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IU/SAML, Samuel, Brazil

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IU/SBA, Scott Base, Antarctica

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IU/SDV, Santo Domingo, Venezuela

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IU/SFJD, Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland

 SFJD 24hr plot

IU/SJG, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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IU/SLBS, Sierra la Laguna Baja California Sur, Mexico

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IU/SNZO, South Karori, New Zealand

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IU/SSPA, Standing Stone, Pennsylvania USA

 SSPA 24hr plot

IU/TARA, Tarawa Island, Republic of Kiribati

 TARA 24hr plot

IU/TATO, Taipei, Taiwan

 TATO 24hr plot

IU/TEIG, Tepich, Yucatan, Mexico

 TEIG 24hr plot

IU/TIXI, Tiksi, Russia

 TIXI 24hr plot

IU/TRIS, Tristan da Cunha, Atlantic Ocean

 TRIS 24hr plot

IU/TRQA, Tornquist, Argentina

 TRQA 24hr plot

IU/TSUM, Tsumeb, Namibia

 TSUM 24hr plot

IU/TUC, Tucson, Arizona

 TUC 24hr plot

IU/ULN, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

 ULN 24hr plot

IU/WAKE, Wake Island, Pacific Ocean

 WAKE 24hr plot

IU/WCI, Wyandotte Cave, Indiana, USA

 WCI 24hr plot

IU/WVT, Waverly, Tennessee, USA

 WVT 24hr plot

IU/XMAS, Kiritimati Island, Republic of Kiribati

 XMAS 24hr plot

IU/YAK, Yakutsk, Russia

 YAK 24hr plot

IU/YSS, Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, Russia

 YSS 24hr plot

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Volcanic Activity

Giant ‘balloon of magma’ inflates under Santorini

Santorini

Volcanic craters at Santorini. Image Wikipedia. A new survey suggests that the chamber of molten rock beneath Santorini’s volcano expanded 10-20 million cubic metres – up to 15 times the size of London’s Olympic Stadium – between January 2011 and April 2012. Ads by Google $1249+ Austin Laser Lipo – Get a Free Liposuction Consult. Liposuction Financing is Available. – SonoBelloAustin.com/Liposuction The growth of this ‘balloon’ of magma has seen the surface of the island rise 8-14 centimetres during this period, a team led by Oxford University scientists has found. The results come from an expedition, funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, which used satellite radar images and Global Positioning System receivers (GPS) that can detect movements of the Earth’s surface of just a few millimetres. The findings are helping scientists to understand more about the inner workings of the volcano which had its last major explosive eruption 3,600 years ago, burying the islands of Santorini under metres of pumice. However, it still does not provide an answer to the biggest question of all: ‘when will the volcano next erupt?’ A report of the research appears in this week’s Nature Geoscience. In January 2011, a series of small earthquakes began beneath the islands of Santorini. Most were so small they could only be detected with sensitive seismometers but it was the first sign of activity beneath the volcano to be detected for 25 years. Following the earthquakes Michelle Parks, an Oxford University DPhil student, spotted signs of movement of the Earth’s surface on Santorini in satellite radar images. Oxford University undergraduate students then helped researchers complete a new survey of the island. Michelle Parks of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, an author of the paper, said: ‘During my field visits to Santorini in 2011, it became apparent that many of the locals were aware of a change in the behaviour of their volcano. The tour guides, who visit the volcano several times a day, would update me on changes in the amount of strong smelling gas being released from the summit, or changes in the colour of the water in some of the bays around the islands. On one particular day in April 2011, two guides told me they had felt an earthquake while they were on the volcano and that the motion of the ground had actually made them jump. Locals working in restaurants on the main island of Thera became aware of the increase in earthquake activity due to the vibration and clinking of glasses in their bars.’ Ads by Google Ground Penetrating Radar – Nationwide Ground Penetrating Radar Service – http://www.nationalgpr.com Dr Juliet Biggs of Bristol University, also an author of the paper, said: ‘People were obviously aware that something was happening to the volcano, but it wasn’t until we saw the changes in the GPS, and the uplift on the radar images that we really knew that molten rock was being injected at such a shallow level beneath the volcano. Many volcanologists study the rocks produced by old eruptions to understand what happened in the past, so it’s exciting to use cutting-edge satellite technology to link that to what’s going on in the volcanic plumbing system right now.’ Professor David Pyle of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, an author of the paper, said: ‘For me, the challenge of this project is to understand how the information on how the volcano is behaving right now can be squared with what we thought we knew about the volcano, based on the studies of both recent and ancient eruptions. There are very few volcanoes where we have such detailed information about their past history.’ The team calculate that the amount of molten rock that has arrived beneath Santorini in the past year is the equivalent of about 10-20 years growth of the volcano. But this does not mean that an eruption is about to happen: in fact the rate of earthquake activity has dropped off in the past few months. More information: A report of this research, entitled ‘Evolution of Santorini Volcano dominated by episodic and rapid fluxes of melt from depth’, is published in the journal Nature Geosience on Sunday 09 September. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1562 Journal reference: Nature Geoscience search and more info website Provided by Oxford University search and more info website

Dinosaur die-out may have been the second of two massive extinctions: Researchers believe huge underwater volcanoes ‘killed off all the sea-life first’

By Eddie Wrenn
Popular opinion holds that an asteroid struck the Earth 65million years ago, hustling out the Age of Dinosaurs and allowing the mammals – us – to rise.

But new research now paints another picture – with the University of Washington indicating that a separate extinction came shortly first, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor.

They suggest that by the time of the asteroid impact, life on the seafloor – mostly species of clams and snails – was already perishing, because of the effects of huge volcanic eruptions on the Deccan Plateau, in what is now India.

Round 1: An underwater volcano erupts near Tonga in 2009 - perhaps a reminder of an extinction more than 65million years agoRound 1: An underwater volcano erupts near Tonga in 2009 – perhaps a reminder of an extinction more than 65million years ago

Round 2: An artist’s impression of how the six-mile wide asteroid might have looked as it ploughed into our world, decimating life on the surface

The well-known dinosaur extinction event is believed to have been triggered by an asteroid at least six miles in diameter slamming into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

Thomas Tobin, a UW doctoral student in Earth and space sciences, said: ‘The eruptions started 300,000 to 200,000 years before the impact, and they may have lasted 100,000 years.’

During the earlier extinction it was primarily life on the ocean floor that died, in contrast to the later extinction triggered by the asteroid impact, which appeared to kill many more free-swimming species.

The eruptions would have filled the atmosphere with fine particles, or aerosols, that initially cooled the planet.

But, more importantly, the eruptions also would have spewed carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to produce long-term warming that led to the first of the two mass extinctions.

Thomas Tobin clears sand from around the fossil of a giant ammonite he found in 2009 on James Ross Island in AntarcticaThomas Tobin clears sand from around the fossil of a giant ammonite he found in 2009 on James Ross Island in Antarctica

Thomas Tobin clears sand from around the fossil of a giant ammonite he found in 2009 on James Ross Island in Antarctica

Tobin said: ‘The aerosols are active on a year to 10-year time scale, while the carbon dioxide has effects on a scale of hundreds to tens of thousands of years.

‘The species in the first event are extinct but the groups are all recognisable things you could find around on a beach today,’ he said.

Tobin is the lead author of a paper in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology that documents results of research conducted in a fossil-rich area on Seymour Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula.

That particular area has very thick sediment deposits and, for a given interval of time, might contain 10 times more sediment as the well-known Hell Creek Formation in Montana. That means scientists have much greater detail as they try to determine what was happening at the time, Tobin said.

The researchers took small surface core samples from rocks and fossils in the Antarctic sediment and used a method called magnetostratigraphy, employing known changes over time in Earth’s magnetic field to determine when the fossils were deposited. The thicker sediment allowed dating to be done more precisely.

‘I think the evidence we have from this location is indicative of two separate events, and also indicates that warming took place,’ Tobin said.

There is no direct evidence yet that the first extinction event had any effect on the second, but Tobin believes it is possible that surviving species from the first event were compromised enough that they were unable to survive the long-term environmental effects of the asteroid impact.

‘It seems improbable to me that they are completely independent events,’ he added.

11.09.2012 Volcano Eruption Nicaragua Chinandega Department, [ San Cristobal volcano] Damage level Details

Volcano Eruption in Nicaragua on Saturday, 08 September, 2012 at 18:12 (06:12 PM) UTC.

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Updated: Sunday, 09 September, 2012 at 03:31 UTC
Description
The San Cristobal volcano in Nicaragua rumbled to life Saturday with three explosions, forcing the evacuation of 3,000 residents, authorities said. Television footage showed a column of smoke and ash rising from the cone of the volcano, Nicaragua’s tallest at 1,745 meters (5,725 feet), in the northeast. The civil defense agency said it readied 50 trucks and 350 troops to support the population in case of greater emergency, while the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies, or INETER, added they expect “more gas emissions and sporadic explosions.” There are some hamlets perched on the slopes of the volcano, and winds could push the fumes from the eruption there, said the director of the national disaster prevention and mitigation agency, William Gonzalez. He said authorities ordered some 3,000 people living in villages in that zone to evacuate. Ashes fell on the towns of El Viejo, El Chonco, Villa 15 de Julio and Rancheria, according to a statement by INETER, which monitors volcanic activity. San Cristobal, located 135 kilometers (83 miles) northwest of Managua, is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. Since Thursday, when an earthquake of 7.6-magnitude rocked neighboring Costa Rica and was also felt in Nicaragua, INETER began surveillance at several active volcanoes, fearing the powerful quake would have an “impact on the activation” on the volcanoes. Rosario Murillo, the first lady and government spokeswoman, said some US experts have noted that the ash plume reaches 5,000 meters, which could be an indicator of potential for greater activity.

Volcano Eruption in Nicaragua on Saturday, 08 September, 2012 at 18:12 (06:12 PM) UTC.

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Updated: Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 03:11 UTC
Description
Nicaragua has begun evacuating around 3,000 people after the country’s largest volcano, San Cristobal, which is located along its Pacific coast, started to erupt with vehemence. Authorities have so far pointed to no immediate reports of injuries or damage, but the government has issued a yellow alert in a sign that emergency plans had been activated following the eruption on Saturday of the volcano, located about 154 kilometers (95 miles) north of the capital Managua, Reuters reported. The volcano has let out an ash plume of up to five kilometers (three miles), which has formed a cloud extending 48 kilometers (30 miles). Firefighter Sergeant Fernando Quintero said, “At this stage, we try to evacuate the people, who are in the neighboring areas, but most resist being evacuated.” The Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies noted in a preliminary report that “more gas emissions and sporadic explosions” could be expected from San Cristobal, and said in its monthly bulletin that the volcano has emitted “abundant gases in a constant manner.”

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

Kazakhstan falls prey to drought

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by

Kazakhstan’s wheat farmers have suffered from drought affecting grain production with a drop to more than half. An exceptionally dry summer has yielded a miserable harvest amounting to the loss of 600,000 hectares, according to figures. Al Jazeera’s Robin Forestier-Walker reports from the Kostanay region on Kazakhstan’s northern border with Russia.

Today Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of Alberta, [Blood Reserve] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:41 (03:41 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 3,500 people have been evacuated, at least one building has been destroyed and local states of emergency have been declared in several southern Alberta communities Monday as two huge grass fires are being fueled by powerful winds. The first fire, which officials believe started on the Blood Reserve, near Lethbridge, about 220 kilometres southeast of Calgary, jumped the Oldman River. A second wildfire has now forced the evacuation of Milk River, which is southeast of Lethbridge. A sudden drastic change in winds has pushed about 800 residents to seek refuges in Raymond, to the north, after first being told by officials to flee south, to Coutts, at the U.S. border. That first blaze sparked the evacuation of the nearby town of Coalhurst, where about 500 homes are in the path of the swift-moving fire. Residents had been told to seek refuge to the north along Highway 25 at the Picture Butte Community Centre, but the roadway quickly became clogged with traffic making the escape route slow-going and then, it was closed when “people gawking” at the smoke caused a head-on collision, according to Lethbridge County Reeve Lorne Hickey.

Between 300 and 400 residents of Mountain Meadows and Sunsets Acres as well as Township 8-22 in his county have also been told to get out. Lethbridge Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Johnson said the city and county is throwing every emergency worker at the fire and has called in off-duty firefighters to help. Fire breaks are being dug to try to contain the blaze. While the city of Lethbridge is under a state of emergency, residents in the neighbourhoods of Indian Battle Heights, Heritage Heights and West Highlands are being told to prepare for possible evacuation. A mandatory evacuation ordered was order for the Westside Trailer Court. Affected residents are being told to go to the Fritz Sick Centre or the ENMAX Centre. City officials also told residents to stay off their cell phones to “keep lines clear for emergency services.” In some cases, residents had only minutes to get out. Others are now preparing to leave.

10.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Wyoming, [Casper Mountain] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 18:29 (06:29 PM) UTC.

Description
A rapidly spreading wildfire has burned at least six structures and forced some 400 people to be evacuated from Casper Mountain. Wyoming State Forester Bill Crapser says still more buildings may have been lost to the Sheep Herder Hill Fire about 10 miles southeast of the Casper city limits. The fire began Sunday afternoon and winds quickly fanned the blaze to more than seven square miles. About 150 homes and cabins remain evacuated Monday. Crapser estimates about three-quarters are year-round homes and the rest are seasonal cabins. Nine families that fled are staying at the Parkway Plaza Hotel in Casper. The Red Cross says it may open a shelter for evacuees. Dry, windy weather has prompted the National Weather Service to put all of Wyoming under a wildfire alert.
10.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Russia [Asia] Tomsk Oblast, [Districts of Verkhneketsky, Parabelsky, Barguzinsky ] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Russia [Asia] on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 10:29 (10:29 AM) UTC.

Description
Five forest fires had been raging in Siberia as of Monday morning, the Siberian Federal District Forestry Department said. The fires are 62 hectares in size; the largest of them (44 hectares) in the Verkhneketsky district of the Tomsk region has been confined. There are also fires in the Barguzinsky district of Buryatia, the Parabelsky district of the Tomsk region and the Krasnoyarsk territory. Fires were burning on nine hectares in Siberia on Friday. The fire zone grew 6.9 times by Monday morning. Forest guards had put out 12 forest fires on 22 hectares by Monday. One hundred and twenty-seven people, 39 fire trucks and two aircraft extinguished the fires. “There is no threat to residential areas or economic sites,” the department said.
11.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of British Columbia, [Peachland region (Trepanier Forest Fire)] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 06:47 (06:47 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 900 residents of Peachland, B.C., were forced to flee their homes and hundreds of others were on alert when a forest fire spread through the Okanagan town Sunday. A state of emergency was declared and an evacuation order and alert were put in place by Sunday evening after the Trepanier Forest Fire broke out about 3 p.m. Kari O’Rourke, public information officer with the Emergency Operations Centre, said 593 homes, equating to 950 people in Peachland and the Trepanier Bench area were put on evacuation order, and 375 houses, or 600 residents, south of the Trepanier area were put on alert, including the Ponderosa Golf Club. Under the evacuation alert, residents were told to prepare to leave their homes with little notice should the fire threat increase. Hwy. 97 was closed at Princeton Rd. in Peachland and at Glenrosa Rd. in West Kelowna. Residents affected by the fire were asked to report to the Emergency Support Services Reception Centre set up at the Westbank Lions Community Hall, 2466 Main St. in West Kelowna, B.C. A second reception centre was opened at the Summerland Arena and Curling Club, 8820 Jubilee Road East. Crews from B.C. Wildfire Management, Kelowna and West Kelowna, Peachland were still fighting the flames as of Sunday night but were unsure of what caused the massive blaze. O’Rourke said it was not known how large the fire was as of press time.
10.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Nevada, Dayton Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 06:46 (06:46 AM) UTC.

Description
A wildfire had burned at least 800 acres southeast of Dayton on Sunday as crews worked to keep the flames from threatening homes or structures. Containment is expected Tuesday, Sierra Front reports. The fire was in the Brunswick Canyon area east of Carson City on the boundary with Lyon County Crews were attacking the fire from the air and on the ground, dispatcher Charlie Peters of the Sierra Front fire responders said. Firefighters were called just after noon Sunday to Mount Como, after sagebrush, pinion and juniper were ablaze, Peters said. Officials were concerned that gusty winds could cause the flames to spread. Communication towers and power lines are in the area. NV Energy also was on the scene. The fire on federal land was being attacked by the U.S. Forest Service and Nevada Division of Forestry. Two helicopters, five air tankers, two water tenders, four hand crews and five fire engines are assigned to the fire.

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Storms / Flooding / Landslides

  Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Leslie (AL12) Atlantic Ocean 30.08.2012 10.09.2012 Tropical Depression 30 ° 93 km/h 111 km/h 4.57 m NOAA NHC Details

 Tropical Storm data

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Storm name: Leslie (AL12)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 14° 6.000, W 43° 24.000
Start up: 30th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 2,140.00 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
31st Aug 2012 04:48:01 N 14° 42.000, W 46° 48.000 30 83 102 Tropical Storm 280 12 1002 MB NOAA NHC
01st Sep 2012 05:02:48 N 17° 24.000, W 52° 48.000 33 102 120 Tropical Storm 295 19 999 MB NOAA NHC
02nd Sep 2012 05:34:37 N 20° 12.000, W 58° 24.000 30 102 120 Tropical Storm 305 11 998 MB NOAA NHC
03rd Sep 2012 04:53:21 N 23° 24.000, W 61° 42.000 17 93 111 Tropical Storm 325 19 998 MB NOAA NHC
04th Sep 2012 05:13:40 N 24° 0.000, W 63° 6.000 0 102 120 Tropical Storm 0 12 998 MB NOAA NHC
05th Sep 2012 05:20:37 N 25° 12.000, W 62° 48.000 4 102 120 Tropical Storm 345 9 994 MB NOAA NHC
06th Sep 2012 04:44:33 N 26° 12.000, W 62° 30.000 4 120 148 Hurricane I. 10 9 985 MB NOAA NHC
07th Sep 2012 05:21:34 N 26° 30.000, W 62° 12.000 0 120 148 Hurricane I. 0 19 985 MB NOAA NHC
08th Sep 2012 05:14:29 N 27° 36.000, W 62° 18.000 6 102 120 Tropical Storm 350 9 983 MB NOAA NHC
10th Sep 2012 05:41:20 N 34° 24.000, W 61° 48.000 26 93 111 Tropical Storm 15 14 988 MB NOAA NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
11th Sep 2012 07:31:46 N 42° 42.000, W 57° 30.000 65 111 139 Hurricane I 25 ° 19 988 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
12th Sep 2012 12:00:00 N 59° 48.000, W 38° 36.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC
12th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 54° 12.000, W 47° 12.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC
13th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 62° 30.000, W 29° 0.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
14th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 62° 30.000, W 10° 0.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NOAA NHC
Michael (AL13) Atlantic Ocean 04.09.2012 10.09.2012 Hurricane II 275 ° 130 km/h 157 km/h 4.27 m NOAA NHC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Michael (AL13)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 25° 54.000, W 42° 48.000
Start up: 04th September 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 718.61 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
04th Sep 2012 05:09:18 N 25° 54.000, W 42° 48.000 7 56 74 Tropical Depression 305 8 1012 MB NOAA NHC
05th Sep 2012 05:21:26 N 27° 24.000, W 43° 42.000 0 83 102 Tropical Storm 0 11 1005 MB NOAA NHC
06th Sep 2012 04:47:08 N 29° 18.000, W 42° 12.000 11 120 148 Hurricane I. 50 16 990 MB NOAA NHC
07th Sep 2012 05:20:37 N 30° 48.000, W 40° 48.000 7 167 204 Hurricane II. 25 9 970 MB NOAA NHC
08th Sep 2012 05:11:40 N 31° 48.000, W 41° 48.000 9 157 194 Hurricane II. 320 10 974 MB NOAA NHC
10th Sep 2012 05:44:13 N 33° 36.000, W 44° 24.000 9 139 167 Hurricane I. 265 10 983 MB NOAA NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
11th Sep 2012 07:34:11 N 35° 18.000, W 48° 0.000 20 120 148 Hurricane I 345 ° 19 989 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
12th Sep 2012 12:00:00 N 47° 12.000, W 41° 36.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 NOAA NHC
12th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 42° 0.000, W 46° 0.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 NOAA NHC
13th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 52° 12.000, W 34° 30.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 NOAA NHC

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Beijing Floods- Worst in Six Decades- Displace Thousands- Kill at Least 37

Internet users say authorities’ incompetence to blame, at least in part

By Jack Phillips
Epoch Times Staff Created

Flooding leaves many vehicles submerged in water in a residential community in Beijing on July 21. (The Epoch Times Photo Archive)

Flooding leaves many vehicles submerged in water in a residential community in Beijing on July 21. (The Epoch Times Photo Archive)

Some of the worst flooding to hit Beijing in decades left at least 37 people dead and forced more than 30,000 residents to flee, state-run media reported, citing local authorities on Sunday. The number of deaths officially sits at 37, but numbers in China are often political and are likely to not reflect the full toll.

The floods, which state media said were the worst in six decades, came on Saturday afternoon and lasted into the night, leaving 80,000 people stranded as over 500 flights were canceled.

Around 6.7 inches of rain on average fell on Beijing by 6 a.m., but some areas fared worse than others. In suburban Hebei township, 18.1 inches fell. In six townships, Internet access and mobile communication was cut, while train services between Beijing and Guangzhou were shut down because railway sections were inundated.

A lightning strike killed a person, and the head of the police bureau in Fangshan district was shocked by a downed electric wire.

Four people were killed in Shuozhou city in northern Shanxi Province when floods carried their truck into the middle of a river while attempting to cross it. Six people were left dead in southwestern Sichuan Province in rain-caused landslides. Seven counties said they received more than 3.9 inches of rain.

Photos uploaded to the popular Sina Weibo microblogging website showed numerous instances of flooding in Beijing. One showed several dozen men pulling a rope in a tug-of-war fashion, in an attempt to drag out five cars and trying to help one man who was drowning.

One user on Weibo said that some of the figures released by state media, which said that 10 people were killed, may not be correct. The user said that “certainly far more than 10 people” were killed in the floods.

Other posts on the microblogging site blamed local officials for not doing enough to mitigate the disaster and said the city’s draining systems and roads have a problem.

“Lang,” a Weibo user, said that the roads were poorly designed because they could only hold “50 millimeters (1.9 inches) of rainfall,” while Beijing authorities only blame the disaster on “acts of God” rather than admitting that the roads and the city’s infrastructure have problems.

“Bad engineering, corruption, and incompetence forced people to suffer” during the floods, said user “Not to V.”

Another user sarcastically said, “We hoped [authorities] could have established a drainage system that is as effective as deleting the words they dislike,” referring to China’s censorship policy on the Internet.

One user, “Han Zhiguo” said the floods showed that there were “two totally different sides of Beijing,” saying that kind-hearted people spontaneously rescued thousands of people and even provided shelter locations, but the local government provided no shelter locations including hotels or officials buildings.

Even worse, the user said, “toll stations still paid close attention and collected the charges and traffic cops posted tickets on flooded vehicles,” accusing the city’s management of being “inhumane.”

Today Flash Flood Canada Province of Nova Scotia, [NS-wide] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Canada on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:38 (03:38 AM) UTC.

Description
Nova Scotia was pummelled with rain Monday, with upwards of 75 millimetres falling in the central part of the province washing out roads, stranding residents and causing dozens of families to leave their homes. While the rain was letting up Monday evening in the Truro area, it’s just beginning in Cape Breton, according to Peter Coade, CBC’s meteorologist. Upwards of 125 millimetres is expected in Cape Breton overnight. While water levels were receding in central Nova Scotia later Monday evening, officials are watching high tide closely, which began around 9 p.m. AT. In the Indian Brook First Nation, near Shubenacadie, 135 people are stranded as Monday’s heavy rain washed out the two access roads to their community. Forecasters with the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Monday’s rainstorm was not due to tropical storm Leslie — the current storm is blocking Leslie’s progression. Leslie is expected to head for Newfoundland Tuesday morning. Chris Fogarty said the weather would likely get worse overnight as the two systems converge, with Cape Breton getting the highest winds and heaviest rain. Donna Munro, who lives in North River near Truro, was paddled to safety by a neighbour in a canoe as the area around her home flooded with about 1.5 metres of water. Munro said she and her son stepped onto the doorstep and the doorstep started separating from the front of the house. Her son got to safety and she was rescued a short time later by a neighbour with a canoe. “The force of the water, when the tide came in, is what I think really elevated everything on top of all the rain we had too. It just all added to it like a snowball effect,” she said. “It was the force and the viciousness of it, I think, that just sped it along that much quicker.”

Roads and bridges will be inspected by engineers from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal as quickly as possible, he said. Motorists should continue to use caution and watch for closed roads and water on roads, according to the provincial release. The Canadian Red Cross has set up two reception centres for area residents who have been displaced by the storm: at the Bible Hill Village Fire Hall at 69 Pictou Rd. and the Immanuel Baptist Church at 295 Young St. However, the reception centres are not serving as shelters at the moment, according to Mona O’Brien, district community supervisor for the Canadian Red Cross in Truro. The flooding in central Nova Scotia Monday posed some concern in the Salmon River area, according to the Emergency Management Office. Water levels are on the decline in some areas, but the area isn’t in the clear yet. “The water has subsided quite a bit in the North River and the Salmon River,” according to Bob Taylor, mayor of the municipality of Colchester. “Having said that, there’s still a lot of water from the uplands, also we don’t know how much the tide is going to affect us.” People are being asked to stay away from flooding areas because of the high tide.

Today Flash Flood China Province of Sichuan, [Guangyuan and Suining] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in China on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:34 (03:34 AM) UTC.

Description
A new round of torrential rains that started Sunday night inundated parts of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, leaving six people dead and four missing, local authorities said Monday. The victims were reported in the cities of Guangyuan and Suining, the Sichuan provincial flood control office said in a statement. Rainstorms continued into Monday night and a township in Shehong county of Suining reported the largest precipitation of 257.3 mm in just six hours Monday, it said. The rains also left parts of the county seats of Daying and Shehong in Suining submerged under waters of up to two meters deep. The rains are forecast to last till 8 am Wednesday, according to the provincial meteorological center.
10.09.2012 Flash Flood Pakistan MultiStates, [States of Punjab and North West Frontier] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Pakistan on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 10:07 (10:07 AM) UTC.

Description
At least 78 people died and dozens were injured as torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Pakistan over the past three days, a government spokesman said Monday. Heavy monsoon rains which began falling last week destroyed more than 1,600 houses while damaging a further 5,000, Irshad Bhatti, a spokesman for the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported. “A total of 78 people have died and 68 injured in rains and flash floods in the country so far,” he said, adding that the casualties were caused mostly by houses collapsing and people being caught in floods. The worst-hit region was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where 32 people have died and 26 were injured in several districts, he said, adding that 83 houses were totally destroyed and another 4,200 were partially damaged, he said. In the northwestern district of Swabi eight Afghan refugees were killed when the roof of their mud house collapsed overnight, police official Mohammad Ali said. The dead, who were members of the same family, included two women and six children aged between one and 12 years he said. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, flash flood killed at least 31 people, Bhatti said. Rains killed at least 26 people in that region last month. A state of emergency, meanwhile has been declared in the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts of the Punjab province, where army troops have been called to join rescue work, local administration officials aid. Weather officials predict heavy rain in the next two days in southern Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. Rescue teams are closely monitoring the situation, Bhatti said. Floods in Pakistan in the summer of 2011 affected 5.8 million people, with flood waters killing livestock, destroying crops, homes and infrastructure as the nation struggled to recover from record inundations the previous year.
10.09.2012 Flash Flood USA State of Arizona, [Great Phoenix region] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in USA on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 05:46 (05:46 AM) UTC.

Description
Thunderstorms struck parts of the north and west Valley Sunday evening, and forecasters at the National Weather Service said there was a chance of more rain overnight. Charlotte Dewey, a meteorologist at the Weather Service’s Phoenix office, said two storm systems — one starting near Circle City, northwest of Phoenix, and the other near North Mountain Park — moved on a northwest trajectory. Those storms began diminishing at about 8 p.m., but forecasters called for a 30 percent chance of measurable rain in the metro area overnight. The temperature on Sunday hit a high of 93 degrees at about 3:50 p.m. The chance of thunderstorms on Monday was 50 percent, according to the Weather Service’s website. Those odds grow to 60 percent going into Monday night and on Tuesday. Weather experts predicted Monday’s high to hit 94 degrees, and Tuesday’s predicted high is 92 degrees. Rain chances decrease later in the week and Thursday is expected to be sunny with a high of 95 degrees, according to the Weather Service’s website. The Weather Service reported flash floods in the northwest and southwest ends of the state Sunday. Mike Bruce, a meteorologist, said blowing dust and wind, downed power lines and street flooding was reported in the Yuma area.

The strongest wind gust was reported to be 65 miles an hour at the Yuma International Airport, Bruce said. Jose Guerrero, a Yuma resident living near Interstate 8 and 16th Street, said he did not see much rain but the gusting wind knocked down some neighbors’ patio furniture. Clay Morgan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Las Vegas, said his office got reports of several flooded and impassible roads in Golden Valley, a town just west of Kingman. The water was reported to be as high as 2 feet in some areas. The agency had issued a flash flood watch at about 3:45 p.m. Sunday. Santana Madrid, an employe at a Subway restaurant at Marana Road and State Route 68 in Golden Valley, said his tires were nearly submerged driving into work Sunday evening. Madrid said some the dirt roads in the town got it the worst. Morgan said the reason for the flooding was due to washes that flow northeast-southwest through the town. Morgan said flash-flood watches remained in effect for the area Monday and Monday night as the storm system currently buffeting Yuma makes its way north.

……………………..

10.09.2012 Complex Emergency Vietnam Province of Yen Bai, [Yen Bai-wide] Damage level Details

Complex Emergency in Vietnam on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 05:57 (05:57 AM) UTC.

Description
Officials say landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains have killed 29 people and left four missing in northern and central Vietnam. Disaster official Ngo Van Hung of northern Yen Bai province said Monday that 16 villagers from the mostly poor Hmong ethnic minority group died in a landslide while they were illegally collecting tin ore from a mine operated by a private company. Authorities are searching for two other people missing from Friday’s incident, he added. The government disaster agency says flooding killed another 13 people and left two missing in central Vietnam over the past week. The agency says on its website that flooding caused by heavy rains has caused an estimated $22 million in damage to rice crops and infrastructure.

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Radiation

26.33 microSv/h- Tomioka-Naraha- Border- R6 Barricade for Fukushima Daiichi- Sep 2012

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by

On 9 Sep 2012, I measured radiation at Tomioka-Naraha, Border, of Fukushima prefecture Japan.
I monitored 0.86 micro Sievert per hour in air at chest hight, 26.33 on road side dust.
The monitorinig place is 16km (10 miles) from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant.
Along the national road route 6, No Entory barricade for Fukushima Daiich nuclear power plant.
Young policemen sent from a west region of Japan are guarding this place standing outside for long hours, only wearing “family use” masks.
This Route-6 barricade has been moved 6km (4 miles) closer to Fukushima Daiich since Aug of 2012. They, the young policemen also have been faced to higher risk of internal exposure.
The map shown in the video is from “Radiation counter map of the Fukushima Daiich accident, the 7th edition” by Prof. Yukio HAYAKAWA of Gunma university, Japan.
Measuring instrument is made of Ukraine, ECOTEST MKS-05.
26.33μSv/h 富岡-楢葉町境 国道6号通行止地点 路上砂 2012.9.9

 

 

 

 

 

#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Pipe Shavings Causing the Decrease in Water Flow- TEPCO Thinks

Incurious TEPCO’s conclusion for now is that the white pieces floating in the buffer tank and caught by the strainer are the shavings of plastic pipes and they are the cause of the decreased water flow into the reactors.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (9/6/2012):

福島第一の注水量低下、配管の削りかすが原因か

Decrease in the amount of water injected [into the reactor] caused by shavings from the pipes?

福島第一原子力発電所1~3号機の原子炉を冷やす注水量が必要量を下回った問題で、東京電力は6日、ポリエチレン製配管の削りかすが弁や配管などに詰まった可能性が高いと発表した。

TEPCO announced on September 6 that it was likely that the shavings from the polyethylene pipes were clogging up the valves and pipes and causing the amounts of water injected into the reactors at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to fall below the necessary amounts for cooling.

東電はこれまで、鉄さびが配管につまった可能性を示唆していたが、注水量の低下は、処理した汚染水を冷却用タンクに移す全長2・7キロ・メートルの配管 を8月30日にポリ塩化ビニール製からポリエチレン製(直径15センチ・メートル)に切り替えた後に起こったことを重視。削りかすは配管の切断作業などで 出たとみられる。タンク内や、冷却装置のフィルター部分からは、削りかすとみられる白い物質が見つかっている。

TEPCO had hinted at the possibility of metal rust clogging the pipes. However, the company thought it important that the problem started to happen after August 30, when the 2.7-kilometer pipes that transport the treated water to the cooling tanks were switched from polyvinyl chloride pipes [probably Kanaflex] to polyethylene pipes (15 centimeter in diameter). The shavings are considered to have been generated when the pipes were being cut. White substances that looks like the shavings have been found inside the [buffer] tank and on the filter of the cooling equipment.

If it is true, I don’t know what to say, other than that TEPCO is fast running out of money and quality subcontractors. This is decidedly not the “nuclear plant” spec.

Posted by arevamirpal::laprimavera

 

 

 

#Radioactive Japan: Radiation Exposure Offers Many “Educational” Opportunities for Children

Exactly one and a half year since the start of the nuclear accident on March 11, 2011, this is where Japan stands. All the lip service to “protecting children” or “children are our future” is, well, lip service.

The mayor of a big city in Kanagawa Prefecture declares eating food containing radioactive cesium in the school lunches is part of children’s education. A large city in Fukushima Prefecture in the highly contaminated Nakadori (middle third) refuses to install air conditioning systems in the city’s public schools because children should not miss the opportunity to learn about global warming. A city in Tokyo has just started feeding children with milk from Fukushima for their school lunch program. A professor in a college in Shizuoka Prefecture with the PhD in tourism sends her students to Fukushima to buy Fukushima produce and goods to dispel “baseless rumors”.

It is worse than the worst that Professor Kunihiko Takeda of Chubu University feared exactly a year ago, with his short poetic prose titled “A girl doesn’t talk“; he pleaded with teachers and educators to do all they could to protect children. His plea has fallen on totally deaf ears, and here we are. This has got to be the end.

First, for Takao Abe, Mayor of Kawasaki City in Kanagawa Prefecture, making children eat food that has been proven to contain radioactive cesium of Fukushima origin is nothing but highly educational, and the parents should just shut up (Tokyo Shinbun 9/5/2012):

Mayor Takao Abe said during the regular press conference on September 4 that it was important for children to learn that they were living in dangers, and that he would continue to use the frozen oranges from Kanagawa and canned apples from Yamagata that were found with radioactive cesium in the school lunches in the elementary schools in Kawasaki City, emphasizing the educational aspect of using food [known to be contaminated with radioactive cesium].

According to the city’s inspection, 9.1 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium was found in the frozen oranges [from Kanagawa], and 1.6 Bq/kg in the canned apple [from Aomori]. However, since the levels are below the national safety limit (100 Bq/kg) the city has been serving the frozen oranges in the school lunches since April this year. The city will start using the canned apple in September.

When asked about Yokohama City and Kamakura City not using the frozen oranges, Mayor Abe responded, “It is a mistake to teach children to be afraid of such a trivial level [of radioactive cesium].” He further commented, “On the road, there is a danger of being hit by a car. A total stranger may stab you. Do you teach children not to walk past a stranger?”

There are parents who are not convinced, but to them, the mayor said, “Don’t be a chicken.”

Mayor Abe was born and raised in Fukushima, by the way. But that has nothing to do with anything, right?

Koriyama City in high-radiation Nakadori of Fukushima Prefecture refused to install air conditioning systems in the city’s schools because it was important for children to suffer to learn about “ecology” (tweet from one of my followers, about an NHK program on the topic):

郡山の学校、エアコン設置が認められないと、6月東電説明会でもあった。教育委員会からも「こどもにエコを学ばせたい」と言われたとのこと。先の動画から。放射能汚染と猛暑の中の児童を心配する親からの嘆願を、市議会も東電も教育委員会も却下。

They don’t allow installation of air conditioning systems in schools in Koriyama City. It was talked about in the meeting with TEPCO in June. The city’s Board of Education also said [to the parents], “We want children to learn ecology.” From the video. The Koriyama City Assembly, TEPCO, and Board of Education all turned down the petition from the parents who worried about their children in the radiation contamination and the severe heat of the summer.

When the Japanese say “ecology“, all they mean is “energy-saving to prevent global warming“. Global warming.

Then, it is more important for Fuchu City in western Tokyo to help Fukushima recover from the “baseless rumors” than protecting children from potentially contaminated food; or good deal with a major milk supplier (Snow Brand Megmilk) cannot be ditched (the link goes to a page with the handout from the Board of Education). The latter, more likely. So, starting September 10, Fuchu City’s milk from Snow Brand Megmilk will contain milk from Fukushima, in addition to Kanagawa, Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Aomori. In for a penny, in for a pound, or literally, “Eat poison, lick the platter that serves the poison”.

And lastly, Professor Akane Okubo got her PhD in tourism (I never heard of such a thing until I checked her bio), and teaches at Fuji Tokoha University in Shizuoka Prefecture while she continue to work for the research institute of Japan Travel Bureau (JTB), one of the largest tour operators in Japan. In the past, she worked for another tourism outfit (Jalan). How does she educate her students? By sending them off to Fukushima to buy up produce and goods in Fukushima to counter “baseless rumors”. She must have gotten a lucrative grant from the national government for her “research”. From Yomiuri Shinbun (9/10/2012):

大久保教授は「地元の人に話を聞いて、自分で何ができるか考えることが重要。風評被害の払拭に少しでも役に立てれば」と話した。

Professor Okubo said, “It is important for the student to listen to the local people and to think about what they can do. We would like to do any small thing to help dispel baseless rumors.”

Now that’s unintentionally funny. “Japanese university students” and “think” clearly don’t go together.

The pace of descending into deeper and deeper lunacy seems to be accelerating in Japan. Maybe this is what people must have felt like in the 1930s, right before the last world war.

Posted by arevamirpal::laprimavera

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Epidemic Hazards  /  Diseases

Vietnam hit by new ‘highly-toxic’ bird flu

HANOI: A new highly-toxic strain of the potentially deadly bird flu virus has appeared in Vietnam and is spreading fast, according to state media reports.

The strain appeared to be a mutation of the H5N1 virus which swept through the country’s poultry flocks last year, forcing mass culls of birds in affected areas, according to agriculture officials.

The new virus “is quickly spreading and this is the big concern of the government”, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said, according to a Thursday report in the VietnamNet online newspaper.

Experts cited in the report said the new virus appeared in July and had spread through Vietnam’s northern and central regions in August.

Outbreaks have been detected in six provinces so far and some 180,000 birds have been culled, the Animal Health department said.

The Central Veterinary Diagnosis Center said the virus appeared similar to the standard strains of bird flu but was more toxic.The center will test how much protection existing vaccines for humans offer, the report said.

Some experts suggested that the new strain resulted from widespread smuggling of poultry from China into the northern parts of Vietnam.

According to the World Health Organization, Vietnam has recorded one of the highest numbers of fatalities from bird flu in southeast Asia, with at least 59 deaths since 2003.

The avian influenza virus has killed more than 330 people around the world, and scientists fear it could mutate into a form readily transmissible between humans, with the potential to cause millions of deaths. — AFP

Today Epidemic Hazard China Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong [Chai Wan District] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in China on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:22 (03:22 AM) UTC.

Description
A rare superbug first linked to travel to India has been found in a 78-year-old Burmese man who died of pneumonia, the Centre for Health Protection revealed yesterday. The man, a Hong Kong resident who lived in Eastern District, died on Friday 10 days after being admitted to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Chai Wan, with fever, shortness of breath and a cough. His urine specimen tested positive for NDM-1, in reference to New Delhi. The man visited Burma from March 21 to June 24 and was treated there for an infection. A center spokesman said NDM is an enzyme, which can inactivate antibiotics carbapenems and other beta-lactams such as penicillin. The case was the 11th detected here since a worldwide health alert was sounded in 2008. The first fatality was recorded two years later. The spokesman said proper use of antibiotics and personal hygiene, especially hand cleansing, are required to prevent contagion. Meanwhile, the center has warned travelers to Sichuan province of a bubonic plague outbreak. It received notification from the Ministry of Health yesterday that three villagers in Ganzizhou ate a dead marmot on September 2. One of them suffered painful swelling to the lymph nodes two days later and died on Friday. The provincial health authority confirmed the case as bubonic plague and has traced 59 close contacts. None, including the other two villagers who ate the animal, has shown symptoms. Plague is transmitted from infected animals, mainly rodents, to man through the bite of a flea from an infected animal. Humans may also contract plague when cuts or other breaks in their skin come into contact with the body fluid or tissue of infected animals. The center spokesman reminded travelers to avoid visiting plague- endemic areas. Those who need to visit such areas should be vigilant, wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers to avoid being bitten by fleas and apply insect repellent.
Biohazard name: Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1)
Biohazard level: 3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
Today Epidemic Hazard China Municipality of Shanghai, Shanghai [Changqiao area in Xuhui District] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in China on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:12 (03:12 AM) UTC.

Description
Over 400 residents in the Changqiao area in Xuhui District received emergency measles shots after a migrant woman from Anhui Province living in the neighborhood was detected with the infectious disease on Monday last week, local news portal eastday.com said yesterday. More than 400 nearby residents received measles shots within four hours. The woman is the first measles case detected in the community this year.
Biohazard name: Measles
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 Epidemic Hazard Tanzania Mwanza Region, [District of Mwanza] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in Tanzania on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:02 (03:02 AM) UTC.

Description
With summer season at its prime, one of Malawi’s border districts, Mwanza, has been hit by chickenpox outbreak which according to health officials has already attacked 100 people. Chickenpox, according to various health journals Nyasa Times accessed, is a contagious viral infection in which a person develops extremely itchy blisters all over the body. It used to be one of the classic childhood diseases before the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine. Mwanza district health office spokesperson Taonga Kasomekera told private owned radio Zodiak that the situation is serious as over 100 people have already been given treatment. The situation is under control and as we are speaking our medical team is on the ground administering medical treatment,” said Kasomekera. Meanwhile, the development according to Kasomekera has affected the official opening of some schools in the district. Malawi school calendar got underway on September 3. He added that this is the case because the disease is spread easily to others through coughing or sneezing as well as touching fluids from the blisters. Moses Jumbe a teachers at Matope primary school said that District Education Manager for Neno Reuben Menyere has since advised the Primary Education Advisors for the area not to open the schools for the new term for new term following the out break. “Chickenpox can be spread very easily to others. You may get chickenpox from touching the fluids from a chickenpox blister, or if someone with the disease coughs or sneezes near you. Even those with mild illness may be contagious,” said Kasomekera. Added he: “A person with chickenpox becomes contagious 1 to 2 days before their blisters appear. They remain contagious until all the blisters have crusted over. So I guess that is the reason why some schools especially in most affected areas have not commenced classes.” The disease, according to information Nyasa Times sourced on World Health Organization (WHO) website, mostly occurs in children younger than 10. However, it becomes more deadly when it attacks older children as they get sicker than kids.
Biohazard name: Chickenpox
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

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Solar Activity

2MIN News Sept 9. 2012

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by

TODAY’S LINKS
NYC Tornados: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/08/us/northeast-severe-weather/index.html
Nicaragua Volcano: http://youtu.be/xoIXBaevn8k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

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

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

 

 

 

 

2MIN News Sept 10. 2012: Global Update, Spaceweather

Published on Sep 10, 2012 by

US Wind Map: http://hint.fm/wind/

TODAY’S LINKS
Santorini Volcano: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-giant-balloon-magma-inflates-santorini.html
US Economy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-usa-fed-idUSBRE88807C20120910
EU Economy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-eurozone-idUSBRE88805520120910
China Economy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/09/us-china-economy-output-idUSBRE8880…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

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

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

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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
(2008 CO) 11th September 2012 0 day(s) 0.1847 71.9 74 m – 160 m 4.10 km/s 14760 km/h
(2007 PB8) 14th September 2012 3 day(s) 0.1682 65.5 150 m – 340 m 14.51 km/s 52236 km/h
226514 (2003 UX34) 14th September 2012 3 day(s) 0.1882 73.2 260 m – 590 m 25.74 km/s 92664 km/h
(1998 QC1) 14th September 2012 3 day(s) 0.1642 63.9 310 m – 700 m 17.11 km/s 61596 km/h
(2002 EM6) 15th September 2012 4 day(s) 0.1833 71.3 270 m – 590 m 18.56 km/s 66816 km/h
(2002 RP137) 16th September 2012 5 day(s) 0.1624 63.2 67 m – 150 m 7.31 km/s 26316 km/h
(2009 RX4) 16th September 2012 5 day(s) 0.1701 66.2 15 m – 35 m 8.35 km/s 30060 km/h
(2005 UC) 17th September 2012 6 day(s) 0.1992 77.5 280 m – 640 m 7.55 km/s 27180 km/h
(2012 FC71) 18th September 2012 7 day(s) 0.1074 41.8 24 m – 53 m 3.51 km/s 12636 km/h
(1998 FF14) 19th September 2012 8 day(s) 0.0928 36.1 210 m – 480 m 21.40 km/s 77040 km/h
331990 (2005 FD) 19th September 2012 8 day(s) 0.1914 74.5 320 m – 710 m 15.92 km/s 57312 km/h
(2009 SH2) 24th September 2012 13 day(s) 0.1462 56.9 28 m – 62 m 7.52 km/s 27072 km/h
333578 (2006 KM103) 25th September 2012 14 day(s) 0.0626 24.4 250 m – 560 m 8.54 km/s 30744 km/h
(2002 EZ2) 26th September 2012 15 day(s) 0.1922 74.8 270 m – 610 m 6.76 km/s 24336 km/h
(2009 SB170) 29th September 2012 18 day(s) 0.1789 69.6 200 m – 440 m 32.39 km/s 116604 km/h
(2011 OJ45) 29th September 2012 18 day(s) 0.1339 52.1 18 m – 39 m 4.24 km/s 15264 km/h
(2012 JS11) 30th September 2012 19 day(s) 0.0712 27.7 270 m – 600 m 12.60 km/s 45360 km/h
137032 (1998 UO1) 04th October 2012 23 day(s) 0.1545 60.1 1.3 km – 2.9 km 32.90 km/s 118440 km/h
(2012 GV11) 05th October 2012 24 day(s) 0.1830 71.2 100 m – 230 m 6.96 km/s 25056 km/h
(2009 XZ1) 05th October 2012 24 day(s) 0.1382 53.8 120 m – 280 m 16.87 km/s 60732 km/h
(2006 TD) 06th October 2012 25 day(s) 0.1746 68.0 88 m – 200 m 13.03 km/s 46908 km/h
(2009 TK) 06th October 2012 25 day(s) 0.0450 17.5 100 m – 230 m 11.10 km/s 39960 km/h
(2004 UB) 08th October 2012 27 day(s) 0.1995 77.6 240 m – 530 m 14.65 km/s 52740 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

 

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Mysterious  Rumblings / Noises

PTI
Thane,

Heavy rains washed away a culvert at Takav in Chelavali region of Palghar taluka as people residing near rivers and creeks here shifted to safer locations, the district control room said.

Meanwhile, geological experts visited Jawhar on Monday to study so called ‘tremors’ in the

area and submit their report to the collector directly.The Thane district additional collector Ashok Shingare told PTI that told this correspondent that the intensity of loud sounds were on the rise causing concern among citizens.

Seismologists from IMB Mumbai and Pune as well other experts will also be visiting Jawhar on Tuesday to study the situation, he said.

For the past ten days, Jawhar town’s residents have been running out of their houses after hearing mysterious loud sounds like ‘tremors’ throughout the day on Monday.

The Jawhar municipal council also announced that there was no cause for fear and people should not panic, after they complained of their cots, vessels and even the walls, windows, tables and chairs shaking badly due to ‘tremors’, though walls have not developed any cracks.

The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) state unit secretary Advocate Rajaram Mukne told PTI that there were at least seven ‘tremors’ accompanies by loud sounds.

Jawhar MLA Chintaman Wanga who represents the area also told PTI that locals are of the opinion that these were ‘tremors’.

related stories

6 killed in Maharashtra downpour; heavy rains likely for next 2 days

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Biological Hazards /Wildlife / Environmental Pollution / Hazmat

Today Biological Hazard Canada Province of Ontario, [Goose Islands, West Nipissing] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in Canada on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:18 (03:18 AM) UTC.

Description
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit is advising all cottagers and visitors at the Goose Islands in Lake Nipissing that a bloom of blue-green algae has been detected at latitude 46.1539 N, longitude 79.4350 W. Sample results indicate that this bloom is toxin producing, and the bacteria toxin concentration is above the limit for drinking water.
Biohazard name: Blue-Green (cyanobacteria) Algae bloom
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

………………………………..

Today Environment Pollution USA State of Washington, Richland [Hanford Nuclear Reservation] Damage level Details

Environment Pollution in USA on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:17 (03:17 AM) UTC.

Description
The Department of Energy has found evidence that a tank at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation maybe leaking radioactive material. More unknown material has been found in a third place between the two shells of Tank AY-102, which went into use in 1971. A photo taken of the same spot in 2006 shows that the area was clean then. The finding this week of a third spot increases concerns that the tank, one of Hanford’s 28 double shell tanks, has a leak from its inner shell. The tanks are needed to hold high level radioactive waste for up to 40 more years until the last of the waste can be treated for disposal. Tank AY-102 has a capacity of about 1 million gallons but currently stores about 707,000 gallons of liquid waste and 151,00 gallons of waste sludge.
Today HAZMAT India State of Karnataka, Belgaum Damage level Details

HAZMAT in India on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 02:56 (02:56 AM) UTC.

Description
As many as 42 persons, including 38 children of Government High School at Benkatti in Saundatti taluk of Belgaum district were hospitalized due to suspected water poisoning on Monday. The affected included a teacher, a peon and two workers. The condition of all the affected persons is stable and out of danger, Deputy Director of Public Instruction Diwakar Shetty said. Mr. Diwakar Shetty said that children and staff of the school complained of stomach ache and vomiting after consuming water. He suspected that someone had poured about 2 litres of endosulfan into the overhead water tank, thus poisoning the water. Of the victims, 14 were shifted to the government hospital in Saundatti town and 28 were shifted to the district government hospital in Belgaum city. Block Education Officer Srishail Karikatti rushed to the spot and collected water samples to send it for testing. He lodged a complaint with the local police station. The police are investigating. To a question, Mr. Shetty said there was no immediate history of the school staff or members of the School Development and Monitoring Committee having any dispute with anybody.

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Articles of Interest

10.09.2012 Power Outage Cuba Capital City, Havanna Damage level Details

Power Outage in Cuba on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 03:08 (03:08 AM) UTC.

Description
Power failed across a large swath of western Cuba on Sunday night, plunging millions of people into darkness including those in the capital of Havana and at the popular bearch resort of Varadero. The outage knocked out air-conditioning units and electric fans on a sweltering late-summer Caribbean night. Other cities in central and eastern Cuba also had outages, but for only brief spans. “We were on our balcony waiting for our TV program,” said Richard Laredo, a 47-year-old Havana resident who quickly transferred food from the refrigerator to the freezer. “Nobody knows what happened, but people are worried about what they have in their refrigerators.” There was no immediate word on what caused the blackout, which struck a little after 8 p.m. in the middle of the nightly news on state television and was still out more than two hours later. The lights were back on in at least one eastern Havana suburb after about 2 and half hours. State radio said power was gradually being restored but urged people not to use power-hungry appliances. Calls to the electrical system’s headquarters met busy signals.

Officials in the national government were not immediately able to offer an explanation. In the capital, home to about 2 million people, the lights went out in a 24-mile-wide (40-kilometer) stretch from Havana’s western residential neighborhoods across the city’s center and Old Havana district and on to suburbs on the other side of the bay. In the Vedado entertainment and business district, the only buildings with visible light were tourist hotels and upscale apartment towers, which have backup generators. Problems extended well beyond Havana’s city limits, including in the popular tourist resort of Varadero. “We are on our generators, but our guests are not having any problems,” said a receptionist who answered the phone at the Arenas Doradas hotel in Varadero but would not give her full name. Outages that began at the same time as Havana’s were reported as far away as Santiago, the nation’s second-largest metropolis about 475 miles (740 kilometers) away at the other end of the island. The power in Santiago returned after only a few minutes, however. Electricity was out for about 20 minutes in the central cities of Ciego de Avila and Santa Clara. The western city of Pinar del Rio was also without power.

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Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
07.08.2012 07:26:17 2.9 North America United States Montana West Yellowstone There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 07:25:20 4.9 Pacific Ocean – West Philippines Mimaropa Maliig There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 07:26:38 4.9 Pacific Ocean – West Philippines Mimaropa Maliig There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 07:25:51 4.6 Asia Japan Fukushima Namie VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. EMSC Details
07.08.2012 06:35:25 4.6 Asia Japan Fukushima Namie VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 06:25:30 2.6 Europe Poland Silesian Voivodeship Bazanowice VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 06:25:55 3.0 South-America Chile Antofagasta Calama VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 06:26:22 2.2 Europe Italy Calabria Salerni VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 05:20:20 2.2 Europe Italy Calabria Salerni VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 05:21:05 3.1 Europe Greece Epirus Kranea VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 05:21:30 3.3 South-America Chile Antofagasta Calama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 06:26:45 2.5 Asia Turkey ??rnak Birlikkoy VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 04:21:44 4.8 South America Peru Huanuco Tingo Maria VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 04:20:19 4.7 South-America Peru Huanuco Tingo Maria VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 06:27:31 2.7 Caribbean Puerto Rico Vieques Esperanza VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 06:27:07 2.1 Asia Turkey Manisa Golmarmara There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 04:20:45 3.0 South-America Chile Valparaíso San Antonio VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 03:30:31 2.3 North America United States California Greenfield VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 05:21:57 2.5 Asia Turkey Eski?ehir Alpu VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 06:27:54 2.8 Caribbean Puerto Rico Aguadilla San Antonio VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 03:05:21 5.2 South America Chile Atacama Vallenar VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 03:20:19 5.2 South-America Chile Atacama Vallenar VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 02:40:26 4.9 Asia India Arun?chal Pradesh Along VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 03:20:45 5.0 Asia India Arun?chal Pradesh Along VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 02:20:21 4.7 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia Maluku Utara Tobelo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 01:40:24 4.7 Indonesian archipelago Indonesia Maluku Utara Tobelo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 00:40:29 2.3 North America United States Alaska Beluga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 04:21:05 2.0 Europe Greece North Aegean Agia Paraskevi VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 00:15:25 2.3 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
07.08.2012 00:15:48 2.3 Europe Greece North Aegean Kedron VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 23:35:28 2.1 North America United States Hawaii Volcano There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 23:35:50 2.4 North America United States Hawaii Volcano There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 23:45:28 2.0 North America United States Arizona Cibola There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 23:10:29 3.0 North America United States Alaska Ugashik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
07.08.2012 00:16:10 2.1 Asia Turkey Manisa Golmarmara There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 23:00:27 2.2 North America Canada British Columbia Princeton VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 22:35:28 2.6 North America United States Alaska Port Alsworth There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 22:05:24 3.3 South-America Chile Valparaíso San Antonio VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 22:05:46 2.5 Europe Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Peclaw VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 22:06:05 3.3 South-America Bolivia Potosí Villa Alota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 21:10:52 5.4 Indonesian archipelago Indonesia Maluku Utara Tobelo VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 22:06:25 5.5 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia Maluku Utara Tobelo VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 21:15:27 3.9 North America United States Alaska Adak There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 21:00:27 2.8 Europe Italy Emilia-Romagna San Prospero VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 21:11:11 3.8 Caribbean Dominican Republic La Altagracia San Rafael del Yuma VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 21:00:49 3.0 Asia Turkey Antalya Beykonak VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 19:35:33 2.2 North America United States California La Jolla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 18:55:33 2.1 North America United States Alaska Silver Springs There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 19:00:26 2.7 Asia Turkey ??rnak Bisbin VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 17:55:34 2.6 North America United States Alaska Petersville VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details

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4.4-Magnitude Quake Rattles Scandinavian Sea

COPENHAGEN, Denmark August 6, 2012 (AP)

Danish geologists say a 4.4-magnitude quake has rattled the seabed between Denmark and Sweden, causing no damage or casualties.

Trine Dahl-Jensen of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) said Monday’s quake was “pretty strong” by Danish standards.

Dahl-Jensen says such quakes happen once or twice a decade.

The epicenter was 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) southeast of the Danish island of Anholt in the Kattegat Sea.

Media in Denmark and Sweden reported that residents in the two Scandinavian countries woke up when they felt the earth shake at 0257 GMT (10:57 p.m. EDT Sunday).

Quake felt in rural Central Calif. community

The Associated Press

COALINGA, Calif. — A magnitude-4.5 earthquake has shaken a rural area of Central California.

A U.S. Geological Survey computer-generated report says Monday’s 12:36 a.m. quake was centered 16 miles south-southwest of Coalinga in the San Joaquin Valley and 123 miles southeast of San Jose.

A Coalinga police officer says several people have reported feeling the quake but there are no reports of damage.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/06/4697133/quake-felt-in-rural-central-calif.html#storylink=cpy

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Volcanic Activity

Visitors warned off erupting volcano

PALOMA MIGONE

White Island

STEAMING: GNS confirms that ‘volcanic eruption is underway’, although there is little or no ash being emitted.

White Island volcano has erupted, prompting GNS Science to advise visitors to take extra care.

The island, located about 50 kilometres off the coast of Whakatane, is an active volcano and a popular tourist spot.

Its web camera captured the small eruption from Crater Lake, GNS Science volcanologist Michael Ronsenberg said.

“These phenomena are not unknown for While Island, but this is the first substantial confirmation that small scale eruptions are now occurring on the island and confirms the risk to visitors has increased,” he said.

“Eruptions can occur at any time with little or no warning. We advise extra caution should be taken, if visiting the island.”

GNS has changed the volcano’s code from “experiencing signs of elevated unrest above known background levels” to “volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emissions”.

The alert level has also changed from one to two due to “minor eruptive activity”.

It follows a code change last week when scientists discovered water levels in Crater Lake rose by about 3m to 5m overnight and the number of tremors had increased.

There was a particularly stronger seismic episode recorded Sunday morning, ending in a volcanic earthquake at 4.54am that day.

Rosenberg said: “[The earthquake] had a sound signal, which meant something happened on the surface. So we went back and looked at the camera images.”

“Obviously being at night time, there was no visual observations and initially we weren’t able to determine what that small event was.

“But we’ve narrowed it down and recognise that there has been full hydrothermal eruption.”

Rosenberg said there had not been any further eruptions, and the number of tremors had decreased.

“It’s now at similar levels to before the weekend.”

GNS Science was “paying close attention” to the volcano as the last “gentle eruption” had been in early 2001.

White Island also experienced a “moderate-sized explosion” in July 2000, when fresh lava was pushed out.

“In the past this kind of activity has increased to small eruptions that produce ash, and that ash could drift as far as the mainland,” Rosenberg said.

“We can’t predict what the volcano is going to do and we are not making any forecasts, but yes, it’s certainly possible that the activity could ramp up again.”

Underwater Volcano Found off West Iceland?

A mountain which the Icelandic Marine Research Institute (Hafró) discovered on the ocean floor west off the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland during an expedition earlier this summer may turn out to be a previously unknown volcano.

fishingship_ipa

A fishing ship with Snæfellsjökull, the glacier-covered volcano on the tip of Snæfellsnes in the background. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.

“Multi-laser measurements […] revealed a large underwater mountain deep off the foot of the continental shelf approximately 120 nautical miles west of Snæfellsnes,” a statement from Hafró reads, according to Fréttablaðið.

The mountain, which is at a depth of 950 to 1,400 meters is around 450 meters high, similar to Ingólfsfjall in south Iceland. However, it extends over 300 square kilometers, which is ten times the square measure of Ingólfsfjall.

The shape of the mountain is very similar to that of table mountains and it appears to be geologically young.

“The analysis of a rock sample from the mountain will determine whether this is the case or whether it is a volcano connected with an old drift belt, which might mean that it is 20 million years old,” the statement continues.

During the expedition multi-laser measurements were made between West Iceland and Greenland to map the shape of the ocean floor in these commonly-used fishing grounds and explore the environment of powerful ocean currents.

A total of 9,000 square kilometers were covered during the 11-day expedition.

ESA

Mt Tongariro eruption: Code red

Can you help? If you have tips, photos or video of the eruption, please email us.

An aerial from a Mountain Air flight over the Tongariro National Park. Photo / Greg Bowker

Expand

An aerial from a Mountain Air flight over the Tongariro National Park. Photo / Greg Bowker

A thick ash cloud is covering much of the central North Island after Mt Tongariro erupted for the first time in more than a century late last night.

The volcanic alert level for Mt Tongariro has risen from 1 to 2, while the aviation colour code has been raised to red.

Roads are closed, flights are likely to be disrupted and nearby residents are advised to stay indoors as ash and rock spews from the mountain.

Turoa Ski Area manager Chris Thrupp told Firstline the ski field remains open and has not been advised to close. He said the ash has not drifted to Ruapehu, south of Tongariro.

“The ash is the concern – if the wind changes, which we don’t believe it will.”

GNS science is reporting that about 11.50pm on Monday night ash fall began to be reported in the volcano’s vicinity – it has since been reported as far east as SH5 near Te Haroto and in Napier.


Mt Tongariro eruption: Where will the ash go?

It is the first time the mountain has erupted since 1897.

GNS duty volcanologist Michael Rosenberg told Radio New Zealand that some people are reported to have left their houses on the southern shores of Lake Rotoaira, though no formal notices of evacuation have been issued so far by Civil Defence.

He said residents in the area have told GNS of hearing several loud explosions, lightning and plumes of smoke and police have been told by an onlooker that “a new hole in the side of the mountain” had formed.

They have also reported bright red rocks flying out of the mountain.

The eruption reportedly happened at the Te Mari Craters, which are close to the Ketetahi Hot Springs on the northern side of the mountain.

There have been no further eruptions since midnight, according to GNS seismic records.

Mr Rosenberg said while volcanologists have been monitoring small earthquakes under the mountain in the past few weeks, the eruption was “quite unexpected”.

Activity at the mountain is expected continue for some time, bit it was “anyone’s guess” whether there would be larger eruptions.

AREAS AFFECTED

Civil defence spokesman Vince Cholewa told Newstalk ZB ash could reach those living in Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Manawatu-Wanganui, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

“The advice to people is to stay indoors, because volcanic ash can obviously be a health hazard, if they’re indoors please close windows and doors to try and limit the entry of ash.”

Mr Cholewa says at this stage not all areas alerted are affected by ash, but that situation could change.

“We’re working actively with GNS Science who operate the monitoring equipment on the mountains, and with police so all the information from the ground is being gathered, and decisions will be based on that information.

“Evacuations have not been ordered, please listen to the radio for advice from local authorities and police, any evacuations would be issued at that level, and based on the evidence from GNS Science.”

Police are sending search and rescue teams up Mt Tongariro at first light to check no one is stranded in huts. However, they say there have been no reports of injuries or damage.

ROADS

The police have closed State Highway 1 between Rangipo and Waiouru (Desert Road) and SH46 west of Rangipo. SH47 and 4 remain open at this stage as does SH5.

Motorists are being advised to avoid travel in the area and these closures will be re-assessed once daylight reveals the extent of the ash cloud.

Truck driver Bryn Rodda told Radio New Zealand thick dust meant there was poor visibility on the Desert Road when he passed through last night.

“I could see this big cloud – it looked like a fist, basically, at an angle across the sky – and about the wrist section of the fist there was an orange ball of flash that I saw.”
Clayton Bolt, a passing motorist told RadioLive that he saw a massive white cloud coming from the side of Mt Tongariro.

“I put my foot down. I said, I’m going.”

AVIATION

Civil Aviation Authority manager of meteorology Peter Lechner said the plume is leading off to the east and south east. affecting a zone of airspace stretching as far as from Tongariro to north of Gisborne then south to Hawkes Bay and possibly northern Wairarapa.

The CAA alerted all aircraft using a volcanic ash advisory system, working with MetService.

Mr Lechner said that ash can build up in the turbines of aeroplanes and helicopters, causing engines to stall.

“It can result in significant flight risk.”

WEATHER

WeatherWatch chief analyst Philip Duncan said westerlies will continue to blow the ash east to south east of the mountain.

“The winds don’t look especially strong over the next few days as the centre of a low crosses the North Island – the lighter the winds are the more ash will fall locally around the mountain and less likely to cause widespread disruptions further afield.”

The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM) is currently assessing information with the assistance of GNS scientific advisors.

It has not yet activated the National Crisis Management Centre which is called upon in times of emergency like the Christchurch earthquake.

WHITE ISLAND

New Zealand’s other high profile active volcano, White Island, also had its alert level raised from 1 to 2 on Monday after a small eruption was recorded in its crater lake.

– Herald Online

07.08.2012 Volcano Activity New Zealand Northland, [Tongariro Volcano] Damage level Details

Volcano Activity in New Zealand on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 17:51 (05:51 PM) UTC.

Description
The volcanic alert level for Mt Tongariro has risen from 1 to 2 after the central North Island volcano erupted for the first time in more than a century late last night. GNS science is reporting that at approximately 11:50pm on Monday night ash fall began to be reported in the volcano’s vicinity – it has since been reported as far east as SH5 near Te Haroto and in Napier. GNS duty volcanologist Michael Rosenberg told Radio New Zealand that some people are reported to have left their houses on the southern shores of Lake Rotoaira, though no formal notices of evacuation have been issued so far by Civil Defense. He said residents in the area have told GNS of hearing several loud explosions, lightning and plumes of smoke and police have been told by an onlooker that “a new hole in the side of the mountain” had formed. They have also reported bright red rocks flying out of the mountain. The eruption reportedly happened at the Te Mari Craters, which are close to the Ketetahi Hot Springs on the northern side of the mountain. Civil defence spokesman Vince Cholewa told NewstalkZb ash could reach those living in Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Manawatu-Wanganui, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki. “The advice to people is to stay indoors, because volcanic ash can obviously be a health hazard, if they’re indoors please close windows and doors to try and limit the entry of ash.” Mr Cholewa says at this stage not all areas alerted are affected by ash, but that situation could change. “We’re working actively with GNS Science who operate the monitoring equipment on the mountains, and with police so all the information from the ground is being gathered, and decisions will be based on that information. “Evacuations have not been ordered, please listen to the radio for advice from local authorities and police, any evacuations would be issued at that level, and based on the evidence from GNS Science.”

Due to possible danger to the public the police have closed SH1 between Rangipo and Waiouru (Desert Road) and SH46 west of Rangipo. SH47 and 4 remain open at this stage as does SH5. Motorists are being advised to avoid travel in the area and these closures will be re-assessed once daylight reveals the extent of the ash cloud. A truck driver has told Radio New Zealand that the ash cloud has caused thick dust and reduced visibility on the Desert Road. Bryn Rodda said he saw a large cloud rising from the mountain with orange flashes. Civil Aviation Authority manager of meteorology Peter Lechner told NewstalkZb the plume is leading off to the east and south east. “Flight operations to the west of the plume should remain unaffected, however operations to the eastern half of the North Island will have some difficulty at this stage.” Mr Lechner says a frontal system is on its way which should disperse the cloud, but that depends on whether there are further eruptions. Police are sending search and rescue teams up Mt Tongariro at first light to check no one is stranded in huts. However, they say there have been no reports of injuries or damage. The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM) is currently assessing information with the assistance of GNS scientific advisors. It has not yet activated the National Crisis Management Centre which is called upon in times of emergency like the Christchurch earthquake. New Zealand’s other high profile active volcano, White Island, also had its alert level raised from 1 to 2 on Monday after a small eruption was recorded in its crater lake.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Excessive Heat Warning

PHOENIX AZ

Excessive Heat Watch

LAS VEGAS NV
PHOENIX AZ

Heat Advisory

TULSA OK
PENDLETON OR
NORMAN OK
Today Heat Wave Bulgaria [Statewide] Damage level Details

Heat Wave in Bulgaria on Tuesday, 07 August, 2012 at 05:29 (05:29 AM) UTC.

Description
Historically high temperatures were recorded in 28 locations throughout Bulgaria on Monday, the country’s National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) said. At 3 p.m. local time (0200 GMT), the temperature in Ruse by the Danube River was 41 degrees Celsius. Pleven in northern Bulgaria recorded 40 degrees Celsius, followed by Sandanski in the southwest of the country at 39.6 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, temperatures in the capital Sofia also hit 34.6 degrees Celsius. Temperatures were unusually high even in the mountains, NIMH said. At Botev peak, temperatures reached 17.5 degrees Celsius, 25.2 degrees Celsius at Murgash peak, and 26.5 degrees Celsius at Rozhen peak. Record-high temperatures were reported also on the Black Sea coast in the towns of Ahtopol and Varna at 35 degree Celsius, and cape of Kaliakra at 32.8 degree Celsius. Temperatures will remain high on Tuesday, after which they should return to what is considered normal for the season, NIMH said.
06.08.2012 Extreme Weather USA State of Pennsylvania, Tunkhannock Township [Pocono Raceway] Damage level Details

Extreme Weather in USA on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 14:51 (02:51 PM) UTC.

Description
NASCAR fans at Pocono Raceway were advised over public address systems and through social media to take cover when lightning and heavy rain hit the track near the end of the race. The warnings weren’t enough to avoid tragedy at the track on Sunday. Lightning strikes at Pocono after a rain-shortened NASCAR race killed one fan and injured nine others, one critically, racetrack officials said. Multiple lightning strikes occurred behind the racetrack’s grandstands and outside one of the gates as fans were leaving, Pocono spokesman Bob Pleban said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the fans were actually struck by the lightning itself or were injured by related jolts. “Unfortunately, a member of our raceway family here, a fan, has passed away,” Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky said in announcing the death. He provided no details about the victim but expressed condolences to his family. Igdalsky later posted on Twitter, “My family and I are praying for all those that were involved in the lightning strikes. … Difficult evening for all.” The victim was in or near his car in a parking lot after the race had ended when lightning struck the car, Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen said. Bystanders performed CPR on the man, who had gone into cardiac arrest, until paramedics arrived, Allen said. They took him to the track’s medical facility, where efforts to revive him failed. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Pennsylvania 400 was called because of storms, with 98 of the 160 scheduled laps completed. As the storm approached, the track posted messages on its Twitter page to more than 22,000 followers near the end of the race encouraging fans to “seek shelter as severe lightning and heavy winds are in our area.” The attendance was estimated by the track at 85,000. Public address announcements were made before the storm and the end of the race for fans to take shelter and evacuate the grandstands, Pleban said. Racetrack officials were reviewing the logs of when the announcements were made, he said. There was no order to evacuate the track premises. Jeff Gordon, who won the race, said at a post-race news conference that he could hear a huge crack as he walked down the pit road during the storm. “You could tell it was very close,” he said. “I mean, that’s the thing that’s going to take away from the victory, is the fact that somebody was affected by that.” Kyle Manger, a spectator from New Jersey, told The Sporting News that he saw people hit by lightning near the Turn 3 grandstands. He said when the severe weather began, he and some friends ran to their truck. “The visibility was very poor and all of a sudden (I) saw a bolt of lightning right in front of our windshield,” he said. “When it became a little more visible, we saw two bodies next to a destroyed tent with people scrambling.” One person remained hospitalized in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center, Pleban said. Three people were taken to hospitals with minor to moderate injuries, and five others were treated on the scene, he said. “We are deeply saddened that a fan has died and others were injured by lightning strikes following today’s race at Pocono,” NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said. “Our thoughts are with them as well as those affected by this unfortunate accident.” Gordon’s team, Hendrick Motorsports, also offered sympathies on Twitter, writing, “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the lightning” at Pocono Raceway.

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

GLASGOW MT
BILLINGS MT

Fire Weather Watch

POCATELLO ID
BOISE ID

Extreme Fire Danger

RAPID CITY SD
06.08.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Italy Sicily, [Zingaro National Park] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Italy on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 20:15 (08:15 PM) UTC.

Description
Around 900 holidaymakers from Italy and abroad were moved from hotels and camping areas as the fire hit the Zingaro National Park on the island’s northwest tip overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. “The Zingaro reserve went up in flames,” said Matteo Rizzo, Mayor of San Vito Lo Capo, just north of the park. Firefighters, forest patrols and volunteers worked for 12 hours to bring the fire under control and a school was opened in San Vito Lo Capo to house evacuees while others slept outdoors in the stifling heat. Mr Rizzo said the damage from the Zingaro blaze could have been reduced if firefighters had received air support. “I realise that there were a number of fires in Sicily and the situation was rather serious, but it is inconceivable that one of the most beautiful and oldest reserves in Sicily went up in smoke because no one lifted a finger.” Park officials said on Monday the reserve would remain closed to the public while they assessed the full extent of the park’s vegetation and wildlife which includes 40 different birds, rabbits, snakes and weasels. The reserve covers 4,000 acres and beneath its dramatic cliffs there are coves and grottoes stretching for four miles of the coast. One hotel owner said electricity and water supplies had been cut off and telephone lines were down while emergency workers continued to secure the area as temperatures soared close to 95F (35C).
06.08.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Washington, [Near to Chelan ] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 13:52 (01:52 PM) UTC.

Description
A wildfire that has burned about 1,000 acres of grass and brush near Chelan also threatens 14 homes or outbuildings. Chelan County sheriff’s Cpl. Jason Reinfeld told The Wenatchee World the owners were advised of the danger. The fire broke out about noon Sunday off Highway 97. State, federal and Chelan County crews are attacking the fire from the ground and air using two air tankers and three helicopters, which are dipping from the Columbia River.

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Storms, Flooding

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Ernesto (AL05) Atlantic Ocean 02.08.2012 07.08.2012 Hurricane I 300 ° 102 km/h 120 km/h 5.49 m NOAA NHC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Ernesto (AL05)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 12° 36.000, W 50° 36.000
Start up: 02nd August 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 2,163.67 km
Top category.:
Report by: NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
02nd Aug 2012 04:08:45 N 12° 36.000, W 50° 36.000 30 56 74 Tropical Depression 285 16 1008 MB NHC
03rd Aug 2012 04:49:11 N 13° 24.000, W 58° 18.000 35 83 102 Tropical Storm 275 20 1005 MB NHC
04th Aug 2012 05:16:42 N 13° 54.000, W 65° 36.000 30 83 102 Tropical Storm 275 16 1003 MB NHC
05th Aug 2012 05:35:24 N 15° 24.000, W 72° 42.000 35 93 111 Tropical Storm 285 16 1007 MB NHC
06th Aug 2012 05:25:12 N 15° 0.000, W 79° 42.000 24 83 102 Tropical Storm 270 15 1003 MB NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
07th Aug 2012 05:16:51 N 17° 0.000, W 82° 42.000 20 102 120 Hurricane I 300 ° 18 994 MB NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
08th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 18° 54.000, W 89° 0.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 NHC
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 18° 18.000, W 86° 48.000 Hurricane II 130 157 NHC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 19° 18.000, W 91° 6.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 NHC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 19° 30.000, W 94° 48.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NHC
11th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 19° 24.000, W 97° 24.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NHC
12th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 19° 12.000, W 99° 24.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NHC
Haikui (12W) Pacific Ocean 03.08.2012 07.08.2012 Typhoon I 280 ° 120 km/h 148 km/h 4.57 m JTWC Details

Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Haikui (12W)
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 24° 24.000, E 139° 48.000
Start up: 03rd August 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 1,009.14 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
03rd Aug 2012 09:08:44 N 24° 24.000, E 139° 48.000 24 56 74 Tropical Depression 295 20 JTWC
04th Aug 2012 05:17:37 N 24° 54.000, E 134° 12.000 35 65 83 Tropical Storm 275 20 JTWC
04th Aug 2012 10:54:52 N 25° 30.000, E 132° 48.000 30 65 83 Tropical Storm 295 16 JTWC
05th Aug 2012 05:42:49 N 26° 48.000, E 129° 12.000 17 83 102 Tropical Storm 290 16 JTWC
06th Aug 2012 05:33:59 N 27° 12.000, E 126° 0.000 7 102 130 Tropical Storm 270 12 JTWC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
07th Aug 2012 05:22:17 N 27° 24.000, E 123° 54.000 9 120 148 Typhoon I 280 ° 15 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 28° 48.000, E 121° 42.000 Typhoon I 111 139 JTWC
08th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 29° 30.000, E 120° 30.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 30° 12.000, E 119° 42.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 JTWC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 31° 6.000, E 120° 36.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 JTWC
13W Pacific Ocean 05.08.2012 07.08.2012 Tropical Depression 330 ° 83 km/h 102 km/h 4.57 m JTWC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: 13W
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 23° 6.000, E 161° 36.000
Start up: 05th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 408.00 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
05th Aug 2012 05:44:20 N 23° 6.000, E 161° 36.000 13 46 65 Tropical Depression 195 10 JTWC
06th Aug 2012 05:31:12 N 25° 48.000, E 162° 12.000 9 65 83 Tropical Storm 240 10 JTWC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
07th Aug 2012 05:20:10 N 29° 0.000, E 161° 54.000 13 83 102 Tropical Depression 330 ° 15 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 31° 36.000, E 159° 18.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC
08th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 32° 54.000, E 157° 42.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 JTWC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 34° 48.000, E 155° 36.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 JTWC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 39° 42.000, E 151° 36.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 JTWC

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Above 45 Killed by Typhoon in the Philippines

Imagen activa

Manila, Aug 6 (Prensa Latina) More than 45 people died and six others missing due to Typhoon Saola in the northern region of Philippines, reported on Monday the National Center for Disaster Prevention.

The rains and flooding caused further serious damage to 74 roads, 7, 000 homes and the evacuation of about 200, 000 people still housed in improvised centers, according to the press.

Landslides and overflowing dam flooded much of Manila, the capital, especially in the areas near the sea, other media reported as Rappler website.

Between May and November, during rainy season in the Philippines, the archipelago is hit by an average of 15 to 20 typhoons that affect the entire region of Southeast Asia.

sus/cmf/lac/pgh

Modificado el ( lunes, 06 de agosto de 2012 )

Flash Flood Watch

TALLAHASSEE FL

Flood Advisory

TIYAN GU
TALLAHASSEE FL
07.08.2012 Flash Flood India MultiStates, [States of Uttarakhand, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in India on Saturday, 04 August, 2012 at 04:06 (04:06 AM) UTC.

Description
Hundreds of people residing near Beas river have been evacuated to safe places after flash flood caused by torrential rain over Dhundi peaks at south portal of Rohtang tunnel flooded the Seri rivulet, a tributary to Beas river, on Friday at 8pm. People living close to river between Palchan and Kullu are being evacuated and traffic on national highway has been stopped. Till last report received from Palchan (near Dhundi) at 10.30pm, level of the river was rising continuously and police were evacuating the people from Bahang village, 6km from Manali. According to police, there is no report of any casualty. Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Bahang village, said people are trying to save the household accessories amid chaotic atmosphere and conditions have become even worse after power failure. “Everything was normal till late evening but the situation changed suddenly after 8pm when river water, mixed with sludge, started engulfing its banks. People are risking their lives to remove the household stuffs,” he said. An engineer working with a hydel project near Palchan said over phone that roaring sound of river is shaking the foundation of the houses. “Nobody is going to sleep tonight. Villagers have gathered at many places and are guarding the river banks with floodlights,” he said. According to villagers it is a cloudburst which might have caused devastation at its source on mountains. Kullu deputy commissioner Amitabh Awasthi said , police are patrolling the river banks and have directed people to move to safe places. “We have closed the traffic on national highway. We shall keep an eye on the situation throughout the night,” he said.
Today Flash Flood Philippines National Capital Region, Quezon City Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Philippines on Tuesday, 07 August, 2012 at 05:30 (05:30 AM) UTC.

Description
Torrential rains pounding the Philippine capital on Tuesday paralyzed traffic as waist-deep floods triggered evacuations of tens of thousands of residents and the government suspended work in offices and schools. Incessant downpours set off by the seasonal monsoon overflowed major dams and rivers in Manila and nine surrounding provinces and put authorities on alert. The death toll from last week’s Typhoon Saola, which battered Manila and the northern Philippines for several days, has climbed steadily to 51. The head of the government’s rescue agency, Benito Ramos, said there were no immediate reports of new casualties early Tuesday after the rains pounded already saturated Manila for more than 24 hours. Vehicles and even heavy trucks struggled to navigate water-clogged roads, where hundreds of thousands of commuters were stranded overnight. Many cars were stuck in the muddy waters. The La Mesa dam, which supplies water to the capital of 12 million people, spilled excess water for a second time early Tuesday into the rivers flowing into Quezon city, a middle-class Manila suburb, as well as the neighborhoods of Malabon, Valenzuela and Caloocan, where several villages were submerged. Along the swollen Marikina River, police were deployed to move more than 5,000 residents away from the riverbanks in what Vice Mayor Jose Cadiz said was an enforced evacuation. The operation started after the City Hall sounded the alarm bell. The Philippine Stock Exchange in the financial district of Makati, which was also flooded, was closed Tuesday. Also closed was the U.S. Embassy along Manila Bay in the historic old city, which was drenched out last week when a storm surge pushed the water over the seawall. “The embassy is closed today due to excessive flooding in the streets and concern for the safety of our employees and consular applicants,” Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said in an announcement.
06.08.2012 Flash Flood USA State of Tennessee, Johnson City Damage level Details

Flash Flood in USA on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 12:18 (12:18 PM) UTC.

Description
Heavy rains pounded northeast Tennessee Sunday, including downtown Johnson City, where emergency crews in inflatable boats rescued people trapped in their homes and in their cars on flooded streets. Johnson City Schools announced their start on Monday is postponed because of the storm damage. The city’s garage complex flooded and several were buses under water, leading the city to cancel transit service for Monday. WTFM radio reported shelters were still open at schools in Unicoi and Jonesborough early Monday. Streams throughout the region overflowed across roads and into homes. Houses and apartments in several areas are surrounded by water at the Mall at Johnson City’s parking lot was covered by high water, stranding numerous vehicles. Sections of Washington, Carter and Unicoi counties also were flooded. The National Weather Service said three to four inches of rain fell within an hour’s time across upper northeast Tennessee during the height of the storm. And more rain was expected through the night. At least 10 people were rescued from their homes in Washington County, and in Unicoi County, officers and volunteer firefighters were evacuating other areas as well. In down downtown Johnson City, a portion of one street washed away into a creek, officials said. “Occasionally, we’ve been up to our gun belt in water, but it’s starting to subside,” said city police Lt. Gerald Harrell. “We are actively answering every call for service that we have. It may be taking us just a tad bit longer, but we’re getting to each and every one and we will get to each and every one,” Harrell said.Police urged people to stay home and avoid any local travel if possible and emergency shelters were open. Elizabethton also was hit hard, officials there said. “We’ve got flooding all over,” Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said. Unicoi County Sheriff Mike Hensley said when he first was called at 7 p.m. or so, it was just drizzling. “When I came in, it was just unreal. The water was coming up and I saw we were going to have serious, serious problems,” he said. About 4,000 customers, most in Johnson City, had no power but officials expected it to be restored quickly.

 

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

05.08.2012 Epidemic Hazard Tanzania Kagera Region, [Nyakahanga area] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in Tanzania on Sunday, 05 August, 2012 at 17:33 (05:33 PM) UTC.

Description
A team of medical experts from Dar es Salaam was yesterday dispatched to Kagera region to further examine the two patients believed to be suffering from the Ebola hemorrhagic fever. But as the team of medical experts was sent to Kagera region, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare subsequently confirmed the outbreak of the deadly fever in the western part of the country. Confirming the reports, the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Seif Seleman Rashid, also said that a team of medical experts was still diagnosing a patient in efforts to establish the symptoms. In the meantime, reports from Nyakahanga designated hospital in Karagwe district, Kagera region indicate that there were two patients including a child, suspected to be suffering from the deadly fever that has rocked neighbouring Uganda. According to one of the doctors who diagnosed the patient at Karagwe’s Nyakahanga hospital, preliminary findings show that the victim might have contacted the Ebola virus. However, the doctor who requested anonymity told the Guardian on Sunday that ‘further medical examination’ would be conducted to gather more evidence about the possible outbreak of Ebola, adding that the patient had since been quarantined pending final results. According to the doctor, the ‘Ebola patient’ was brought to the hospital on Friday morning and, upon diagnosis, it was established that the patient had suffered from Ebola. The patient who is a six-year-old child was brought to the Mulongo hospital by his mother from a village close to the Uganda-Tanzania boarder after the child developed severe symptoms.

“We are doing further medical examination on a patient … we will tell the general public once it is confirmed that we are dealing with Ebola virus infections,” the doctor said, adding that currently the patient alleged to have been infected was admitted in a separate room and now lives in isolation from other patients at the hospital. He said preliminary check-ups found out that the diagnosis had all signs showed clear symptoms of Ebola – after which he ordered the patient to be admitted for closer monitoring locally, and further medical examination by medical experts from the ministry headquarters. He added that the patient had since been placed in a special intensive care room which is out of bounds for all other people — apart from his mother who is taking care of the patient. However, he said, this was a medical rule aimed at avoiding quick spread of the deadly disease Another patient also believed to have crossed the boarder from Uganda was admitted at the hospital as well, but medical investigations of his deteriorating health conditions were still not completed by Saturday evening. As a precaution, the doctor said his hospital team and the district health workers had since started warning people in surrounding villages to take immediate measures whenever they come across such patients. He has also warned the people living closer to the border with Uganda to be careful not to come into contact with any person whom they see vomiting or bleeding – clear signs of someone suffering from Ebola.

On Wednesday this week, Dr. Mwinyi told visibly alarmed legislators in Dodoma that a team of medical experts had been dispatched to the border with Uganda, fully equipped with protective gear and medical supplies. The minister advised the general public especially those living in the northern regions of Kagera, Mara, Mwanza and Kigoma — some of which share the border crossings with Uganda — to take precautions because the disease was highly contagious. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) had alerted Tanzania on the Ebola threat, prompting the ministry to issue a press statement elaborating that Ebola (Ebola HF) was a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976. The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), where it was first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae; there are five identified subtypes of the Ebola virus — four of which have been known to cause disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.

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

05.08.2012 Epidemic Hazard Nepal Capital City, Kathmandu Damage level Details

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

Description
At least 10 people admitted to the Sukraraj Tropical and Disease Control Hospital in Nepali capital Kathmandu have tested positive for cholera. The hospital laboratory said Vibrio Cholera belonging to 01 Ogawa stereotype was detected in all the patients. Doctors at hospital attributed the spread of cholera and diarrhea infection in Kathmandu to contaminated water, according to Saturday’s Republica daily. “Most of the patients who came to the hospital said that they had drunk water supplied by Kathmandu Upatyaka Kahanepani Limited without boiling or treatment,” Tulsha Adhikari, a nursing staff said. She said whole families had been infected and some were brought to the hospital by their neighbors as all family members were sick.
Biohazard name: Cholera
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

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Solar Activity

 

 

2MIN News August 6, 2012

Published on Aug 6, 2012 by

TODAY’S LINKS
Climate: http://www.weather.com/news/new-climate-change-study-20120805
Active region Map: http://solen.info/solar/images/charmap.jpg
China Images: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-08/06/c_131763467_5.htm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!]

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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
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 0 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 1 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 2 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 2 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 2 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 3 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 5 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 7 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 11 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 13 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 13 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70) 21st August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1503 58.5 640 m – 1.4 km 12.92 km/s 46512 km/h
(2007 WU3) 21st August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1954 76.0 56 m – 120 m 5.25 km/s 18900 km/h
(2012 BB14) 24th August 2012 17 day(s) 0.1234 48.0 27 m – 60 m 2.58 km/s 9288 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife /  Hazmat

Today HAZMAT USA State of Kentucky, [Blue Grass Army Depot] Damage level Details

HAZMAT in USA on Tuesday, 07 August, 2012 at 03:40 (03:40 AM) UTC.

Description
Low levels of a deadly nerve agent have been detected in a chemical weapons igloo containing M55 GB, or sarin, rockets at Blue Grass Army Depot in central Kentucky. The Army Chemical Materials Agency says there’s no danger to people in Madison or surrounding counties and that state and local emergency officials have been notified of the leak. Toxic chemical workers have connected a 1,000 cubic feet-per-minute filter to the igloo’s rear vent. The agency says the leak was discovered during weekly monitoring.

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Articles of Interest

06.08.2012 Power Outage South Korea [Statewide] Damage level Details

Power Outage in South Korea on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 13:50 (01:50 PM) UTC.

Description
South Korea’s state power company issued a shortage warning on Monday, meaning that reserves are dangerously low, as electricity consumption rose sharply due to an unusual heatwave. The warning from the Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) was aimed at averting power cuts, the knowledge economy ministry said, urging households, factories and other users to cut consumption voluntarily. Temperatures have stayed above 35 degrees Celsius (95 F) for 10 consecutive days across the country, driving up air-conditioning use. It was the first such warning since last September, when more than 2.1 million households and other premises were hit with rolling power cuts lasting up to one hour. The ministry also resumed operations of the country’s oldest nuclear power plant at Gori. It had been closed for months due to scrutiny over its safety and protests by civic groups. “We are relieved to resume operations of the Gori reactor at a time when power consumption is expected to reach its peak,” Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-Woo said in a statement. In February the Gori plant, built in 1978 near the southern city of Busan, briefly lost mains power and the emergency generator failed to kick in. The incident did not result in any radioactive leaks but it sparked an extensive probe amid concerns over nuclear safety following last year’s atomic crisis in Japan. South Korea operates 23 nuclear power plants which meet more than 35 percent of its electricity needs. Analysts say successive governments have failed to authorise major increases in the relatively low cost of electricity, encouraging wasteful consumption. KEPCO last Friday decided to raise rates by 4.9 percent, yielding to government pressure to limit the increase to less than five percent.

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

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
06.08.2012 09:45:24 4.4 North America United States California Coalinga VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 09:40:34 4.2 Middle East Iran M?zandar?n Neka’ VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 09:35:24 4.1 Middle-East Iran M?zandar?n Neka’ VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 09:35:43 3.1 Asia Azerbaijan Hac?qabul Mughan VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 08:30:26 2.5 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 08:30:48 4.6 Asia Japan Kagoshima Nishinoomote There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 08:25:26 4.6 Asia Japan Kagoshima Nishinoomote There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 08:31:07 4.9 Asia Japan Kagoshima Nishinoomote There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:55:27 5.0 Asia Japan Kagoshima Nishinoomote VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 08:31:27 2.8 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:45:27 2.9 North America United States Oklahoma Boley VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 09:36:38 2.8 Caribbean U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas Island Charlotte Amalie VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 07:30:25 2.1 Asia Turkey Manisa Soma VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:20:34 4.5 Asia Afghanistan Badakhshan Ashkasham VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 07:30:46 4.5 Asia Afghanistan Badakhshan Ashkasham VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:10:26 4.9 Pacific Ocean – West New Caledonia Tadine There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 07:31:07 5.1 Pacific Ocean – West New Caledonia Tadine There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:31:27 2.5 Asia Turkey ??rnak Uzungecit VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 09:37:03 2.4 Caribbean Puerto Rico Rincon Stella VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 06:40:34 2.9 North America United States Alaska Ugashik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 07:31:48 2.4 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Ilias VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:32:10 2.3 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Dimitrios VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 07:00:33 2.7 North America United States Nebraska Seneca VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 06:25:32 2.1 Europe Italy Abruzzo Fagnano Alto VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 09:36:04 4.4 Asia Japan Kagoshima Naze VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:25:51 2.5 Europe Greece Peloponnese Skala VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:26:11 5.2 Asia Japan Kagoshima Nishinoomote There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 05:40:49 5.3 Asia Japan Kagoshima Nishinoomote VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 05:16:34 4.4 Europe Sweden Skåne Torekov VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 05:20:27 4.4 Europe Sweden Skĺne Torekov VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. EMSC Details
06.08.2012 05:21:02 3.0 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Ilias VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:26:58 2.5 Asia Turkey Karabük Gozyeri VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:27:18 4.7 Asia Japan Chiba Ohara VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 05:22:31 4.7 Asia Japan Chiba Ohara VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 04:10:26 2.4 North America United States Alaska Petersville VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 06:27:37 2.0 Asia Turkey Erzurum Narman There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:27:54 2.7 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 05:21:23 3.1 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 05:21:44 3.1 Asia Turkey ??rnak Bogazoren VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 02:00:34 2.2 North America United States Alaska Trapper Creek VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 02:00:57 2.7 North America United States Alaska Pope-Vannoy Landing There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 06:28:12 2.5 Asia Turkey ??rnak Uzungecit VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 05:22:06 3.1 Asia Turkey ??rnak Uzungecit VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:28:32 2.7 Asia Turkey Kütahya Pazarlar There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 01:30:31 3.3 North America United States Hawaii Puako There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 06:28:50 2.0 Asia Turkey Van Toyga VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:29:10 2.4 Asia Turkey Mu?la Datca There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 01:05:52 4.8 Pacific Ocean Tonga Vava`u Hihifo There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
06.08.2012 01:15:19 4.8 Pacific Ocean – East Tonga Vava`u Hihifo There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
06.08.2012 06:29:30 2.4 Asia Turkey Kütahya Saphane VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details

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

Volcanic Activity

Steam plume visible at White Island crater

Source: ONE News

  • Steam plume visible at White Island crater  (Source: GeoNet)
    White Island crater, 5 August 2012 – Source: GeoNet

    Steam plume visible at White Island crater  (Source: Supplied by Rebecca Cowley)

    View of White Island from Papamoa Beach – Source: Supplied by Rebecca Cowley

A steam plume has been visible at the White Island crater today.

Earlier this week GNS Science issued a volcanic alert for White Island, which is off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, due to signs of increased activity.

According to GNS, although more volcanic activity has been recorded, “everything seems to be relatively stable”.

Volcanologists have recorded a rapid rise in White Island’s crater lake, a pulse of volcanic tremor and slightly higher gas levels in the plume.

“Although the volcanic tremor increased substantially during Saturday it has returned to levels similar to those during the early part of last week,” GNS said.

The white steam plume can sometimes be seen from areas of the Bay of Plenty coast.

On Thursday, GNS Science duty volcanologist Michael Rosenberg said its crater lake has started to re-fill and gases were now “vigorously streaming through it”.

“Airborne gas measurements show that the discharge of some sulphur gases has increased,” he said.

GNS volcanologists plan to visit White Island early next week to collect water and gas samples and make a ground level survey of the crater floor.

These measurements will help understand what changes are taking place beneath the volcano and whether these might lead to increased surface activity.

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GNS advises people to take extra caution, especially if approaching the crater lake and other active thermal features.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Excessive Heat Warning

PHOENIX AZ

Heat Advisory

FORT WORTH TX

Blame blistering heat waves on global warming, study says

Sue Ogrocki / AP

In this Sept. 30, 2011, file photo, sailboats and a floating dock lie on the dry, cracked dirt in a harbor at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City as drought continues to be a problem across the state. The relentless type of heat that has blistered the U.S. and other parts of the world in recent years is due to man-made global warming, a new study from a top government scientist says.

By The Associated Press and NBC News staff

The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can’t be anything but man-made global warming, says a new statistical analysis from a top government scientist.

The research by a man often called the “godfather of global warming” says that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was rarer than 1 in 300. Now, the odds are closer to 1 in 10, according to the study by NASA scientist James Hansen. He says that statistically what’s happening is not random or normal, but pure and simple climate change.

“This is not some scientific theory. We are now experiencing scientific fact,” Hansen told The Associated Press in an interview.

Hansen is a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and a professor at Columbia University. He has called for government action to curb greenhouse gases for years. While his study was published online Saturday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, it is unlikely to sway opinion among the remaining climate change skeptics.

However, several climate scientists praised the new work.

In a departure from most climate research, Hansen’s study — based on statistics, not the more typical climate modeling — blames these three heat waves purely on global warming:

—Last year’s devastating Texas-Oklahoma drought.

—The 2010 heat waves in Russia and the Middle East, which led to thousands of deaths.

—The 2003 European heat wave blamed for tens of thousands of deaths, especially among the elderly in France.

The analysis was written before the current drought and record-breaking temperatures that have seared much of the United States this year. But Hansen believes this too is another prime example of global warming at its worst.

In an opinion column published Saturday in The Washington Post, Hansen said his predictions in the late 1980s of the dire consequences of steadily increasing temperatures have proven to be worse than he thought.

“Our analysis shows that it is no longer enough to say that global warming will increase the likelihood of extreme weather and to repeat the caveat that no individual weather event can be directly linked to climate change. To the contrary, our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.

The deadly European heat wave of 2003, the fiery Russian heat wave of 2010 and catastrophic droughts in Texas and Oklahoma last year can each be attributed to climate change. And once the data are gathered in a few weeks’ time, it’s likely that the same will be true for the extremely hot summer the United States is suffering through right now.

These weather events are not simply an example of what climate change could bring. They are caused by climate change. The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills.”

The new research makes the case for the severity of global warming in a different way than most scientific studies and uses simple math instead of relying on complex climate models or an understanding of atmospheric physics. It also doesn’t bother with the usual caveats about individual weather events having numerous causes.

The increase in the chance of extreme heat, drought and heavy downpours in certain regions is so huge that scientists should stop hemming and hawing, Hansen said. “This is happening often enough, over a big enough area that people can see it happening,” he said.

Scientists have generally responded that it’s impossible to say whether single events are caused by global warming, because of the influence of natural weather variability.

Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

However, that position has been shifting in recent months, as other studies too have concluded climate change is happening right before our eyes.

Hansen hopes his new study will shift people’s thinking about climate change and goad governments into action. He wrote an op-ed piece that appeared online Friday in the Washington Post.

“There is still time to act and avoid a worsening climate, but we are wasting precious time,” he wrote.

The science in Hansen’s study is excellent “and reframes the question,” said Andrew Weaver, a climate scientist at the University of Victoria in British Columbia who was a member of the Nobel Prize-winning international panel of climate scientists that issued a series of reports on global warming.

“Rather than say, ‘Is this because of climate change?’ That’s the wrong question. What you can say is, ‘How likely is this to have occurred with the absence of global warming?’ It’s so extraordinarily unlikely that it has to be due to global warming,” Weaver said.

For years scientists have run complex computer models using combinations of various factors to see how likely a weather event would happen without global warming and with it. About 25 different aspects of climate change have been formally attributed to man-made greenhouse gases in dozens of formal studies. But these are generally broad and non-specific, such as more heat waves in some regions and heavy rainfall in others.

Another upcoming study by Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, links the 2010 Russian heat wave to global warming by looking at the underlying weather that caused the heat wave. He called Hansen’s paper an important one that helps communicate the problem.

But there is bound to be continued disagreement. Previous studies had been unable to link the two, and one by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that the Russian drought, which also led to devastating wildfires, was not related to global warming.

White House science adviser John Holdren praised the paper’s findings in a statement. But he also said it is true that scientists can’t blame single events on global warming: “This work, which finds that extremely hot summers are over 10 times more common than they used to be, reinforces many other lines of evidence showing that climate change is occurring and that it is harmful.”

Skeptical scientist John Christy of the University of Alabama at Huntsville said Hansen shouldn’t have compared recent years to the 1950s-1980s time period because he said that was a quiet time for extremes.

But Derek Arndt, director of climate monitoring for the federal government’s National Climatic Data Center, said that range is a fair one and often used because it is the “golden era” for good statistics.

Granger Morgan, head of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, called Hansen’s study “an important next step in what I expect will be a growing set of statistically-based arguments.”

In a landmark 1988 study, Hansen predicted that if greenhouse gas emissions continue, which they have, Washington, D.C., would have about nine days each year of 95 degrees or warmer in the decade of the 2010s. So far this year, with about four more weeks of summer, the city has had 23 days with 95 degrees or hotter temperatures.

Hansen says now he underestimated how bad things would get.

And while he hopes this will spur action including a tax on the burning of fossil fuels, which emit carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, others doubt it.

Science policy expert Roger Pielke Jr. of the University of Colorado said Hansen clearly doesn’t understand social science, thinking a study like his could spur action. Just because people understand a fact that doesn’t mean people will act on it, he said.

In an email, he wrote: “Hansen is pursuing a deeply flawed model of policy change, one that will prove ineffectual and with its most lasting consequence a further politicization of climate science (if that is possible!).”

Tens of thousands evacuated as high winds threaten music Lollapalooza fest

Many of the fans were told to go to one of three underground parking garages designated as ’emergency evacuation shelters’

Image: Fans evacuate Lollapalooza

Daniel Boczarski  /  Getty Images Contributor

Fans evacuate Lollapalooza music festival after a severe storm warning on Saturday in Chicago.
NBC News and news services

The Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago was suspended and tens of thousands of fans were evacuated to shelters on Saturday as the city braced for dangerous storms with high winds, organizers said.

Organizers stopped at about 3:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET), and many of the fans were told to go to one of three underground parking garages designated as “emergency evacuation shelters,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Our first priority is always the safety of our fans, staff and artists,” said Shelby Meade, communications director for C3 Presents, the promoter behind Lollapalooza. “We regret having to suspend any show but safety always comes first.”

All told, the festival was closed for about three hours, according to a statement by the organizers.

The National Weather Service office in Romeoville, Illinois, which covers Chicago, recorded wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour on Saturday and had reports of gusts up to 70 mph, some measured, some estimated, said meteorologist Ben Deubelbeiss.

“Heavy rains, wind and lightning are the main threats from these storms,” he said.

The worst of the severe weather powered through Chicago late Saturday afternoon and headed over Lake Michigan and northern Indiana.

The unsettled weather was set to continue in the Midwest and beyond throughout the weekend and into Monday, Weather.com reported. A cold front was set to march across the eastern states on Sunday and Monday, the website said.

This cold weather mingled with a warm, humid air mass will help trigger severe thunderstorms from the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast into the Mid-South, weather.com said.

Downpours were expected ahead of the front and flash flooding was possible, it added.

Festival-goers evacuated
Festival-goers were evacuated from Grant Park in downtown Chicago and directed by police and staffers to three shelter sites along Michigan Avenue in underground garages.

The festival draws nearly 200,000 people to the park each year, and this year is headlined by music acts including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath and Jack White.

A year ago, seven people died and 40 were injured when a huge temporary stage at the Indiana State Fair came crashing down amid high winds just before the country duo Sugarland was to begin performing.

Poor communication about predictions of stormy weather approaching the area ahead of the Sugarland concert was among the factors cited in the stage collapse by consultant studies commissioned by the state.

This year, organizers thanked city officials and fans for their reaction to the inclement weather.

“We want to thank the tens of thousands of festival goers, staff, and artists who calmly and safely exited from Grant Park today,” Charlie Jones, partner of C3 Presents, which promotes the festival. “We also applaud and thank the City of Chicago for their cooperation and commitment to making Lolla a safe and enjoyable experience for all. Once again Chicago has come through and we’re proud to call the city our partner.”

Lollapalooza, initially organized in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell, began as a traveling music festival with several dates all summer. After a six-year hiatus starting in the late 90s, the popular alternative music festival began holding its annual concerts only in Chicago in 2005.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

MEDFORD OR
BOISE ID
PENDLETON OR
MISSOULA MT
SPOKANE WA

Fire Weather Watch

CHEYENNE WY
NORTH PLATTE NE
MISSOULA MT
BILLINGS MT
GREAT FALLS MT
RIVERTON WY
POCATELLO ID
05.08.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Utah, Layton Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Sunday, 05 August, 2012 at 09:57 (09:57 AM) UTC.

Description
About 30 homes in Layton were evacuated late Saturday after a brush fire broke out in the foothills. The residents in the Layton Ridge subdivision and along Hanney Canyon were ordered to evacuate as a precaution. Dubbed the Ridges Fire, firefighters were worried that if the winds shifted, the flames could threaten several homes in the area. Fire crews were prepared to spend the night defending those homes if necessary. “We have a hillside fire that’s actually involving a lot of federal and stand land property right now,” said Layton fire spokesman Doug Bitton. “We do have some concerns that we have downslope winds that have been projected.” The fire began about 6 p.m. east of Highway 89, burning brush and steep terrain. It had burned about 10 acres as of 11 p.m. How the blaze began, however, was unknown. The steep terrain made it difficult for firefighters to reach the area and fight it from the ground. Air attacks were stopped for the night, which contributed to the concerns. “This will be an overnight fire and will probably extend for many days to search for and seek containment,” Bitton said. Residents and drivers along Highway 89 flooded dispatchers with 911 calls. Smoke could be seen for miles. No homes were initially threatened, but dozens of families came to see where the smoke was coming from. “I drove home, got the wife and kids and came over to take a look. It’s probably tripled in size since I saw it first,” Layton resident Michael Ellgren said of the wildfire. “I see a helicopter going and trying to pour water onto the fire, which is spreading really fast,” said Scarlett Kluge, who also lives in Layton. More than 30 firefighters were battling the fire, which quickly became a danger to a nearby neighborhood. The Red Cross set up an evacuation shelter at Northridge High School, 2430 N. Hill Field Road. Fire officials also sent a Tweet warning commuters along Highway 89 to slow down because of the large amount of smoke in the area.

……………………………………………….

Towns’ residents flee Oklahoma wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes

Firefighters are struggling to control more than a dozen blazes that have scorched thousands of acres. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports.

By NBC News staff and wire services

Updated at 12:20 a.m ET: At least 121 structures, many of them homes, have been destroyed by wildfires in Oklahoma, officials said Saturday as temperatures topped 100 degrees for a 19th straight day.

New evacuations were under way Saturday as well: Authorities ordered evacuations in the towns of Glencoe, population of around 600, and Mannford, population about 3,000 in Creek County about 20 miles west of Tulsa.

Thousands were on the move as the fire in Creek County spread quickly, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

A Glencoe official said 15 to 20 homes had burned in that area on Saturday, KOCO of Oklahoma City reported.

A grass fire near Luther consumed 56 structures and hot spots there and at two other large fires kept crews busy Saturday. It has burned 2,600 acres by Saturday evening.

Gov. Mary Fallin toured the Luther area on Saturday, calling the devastation “heartbreaking.”

“A lot of people were at work and didn’t realize how quickly the fire was moving,” Fallin told Reuters in a telephone interview. “It’s emotional. For the children, it’s very emotional to lose their possessions.”

Authorities suspect that fire might be arson: The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department said it received a 911 call from a man who reported seeing another man toss a lighted newspaper from a pickup truck window on Friday afternoon.

Residents returning to their homes Saturday found charred timbers poking from the debris and the burned out shells of refrigerators, washers and dryers.

“It’s all gone. All of our family pictures, everything was there,” said Victoria Landavazo, clutching a young child in her arms.

Tracy Streeper was working in Oklahoma City, about 40 miles southwest, when she learned the fire was approaching. Caught in traffic, it took her a long time to reach home and then, “once we got here, we had maybe 30 minutes.”

A wildfire has consumed over 2,000 acres in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, burning buildings and forcing evacuations. NBCNews.com’s Al Stirrett reports.

She grabbed a few clothes, medicine and her three dogs and left quickly.

Reuters

Remains of a home burnned to the ground are seen in Luther, Okla., on Saturday.

“Your adrenaline is running. You’re pumped up,” Streeper said. “You could just see a wall of flames coming this way. Everything was on fire.”

Casey Strahan said he went outside after power went out in the home he rents about 4:30 p.m. He looked south and saw smoke rising in the distance. He thought it was moving away from him until police ordered him to leave. He rushed through the house, grabbing clothing, photos and a computer as he went. When he returned Saturday, he found the house burned to the ground.

“I just never thought it was really going to get us,” said Strahan, a softball and girls basketball coach at Luther High School.

Fires near Mannford and Noble claimed another 65 structures.

Two new fires broke out on Saturday, and Oklahoma now is fighting 13 across the state, said Forestry Services spokeswoman Michelle  Finch-Walker.

A state-wide burn ban was issued by Fallin on Friday.

Oklahoma has contacted neighboring states for help but, with the exception of Texas, neighbors have had to focus on their own fire threats, Fallin said on Friday.

“There’s fires in Arkansas. There’s fires in Kansas and Texas. Everybody else is on high heat alert,” she said.

Sarah Phipps / AP

A home burns during a large wildfire Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 in Luther, Okla.

Oklahoma joins several states that have been plagued by wildfires this summer, including Colorado, Arkansas and Nebraska. Fires are being fed by a widespread drought. Nearly two-thirds of the contiguous United States was under some level of drought as of July 31.

Low humidity, strong southerly winds and drought conditions enabled the wildfires to spread quickly across treetops, said Michelann Ooten, deputy director of the state’s Office of Emergency Management.

“It’s just a very difficult situation we’re facing that’s all weather related,” Ooten said.

The heat in Oklahoma City, the state capital, has reached historic levels.

On Friday, Oklahoma City tied its all-time record for the highest temperature ever recorded when the thermometer reached 113 Fahrenheit, a mark last recorded in the Dust Bowl days in 1936.

It’s so hot that some volunteer fire departments have made a public plea for Gatorade donations to keep their crews hydrated in the scalding conditions.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Storms, Flooding

 Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Ernesto (AL05) Atlantic Ocean 02.08.2012 06.08.2012 Tropical Depression 270 ° 83 km/h 102 km/h 4.57 m NOAA NHC Details

Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Ernesto (AL05)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 12° 36.000, W 50° 36.000
Start up: 02nd August 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 1,958.78 km
Top category.:
Report by: NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
02nd Aug 2012 04:08:45 N 12° 36.000, W 50° 36.000 30 56 74 Tropical Depression 285 16 1008 MB NHC
03rd Aug 2012 04:49:11 N 13° 24.000, W 58° 18.000 35 83 102 Tropical Storm 275 20 1005 MB NHC
04th Aug 2012 05:16:42 N 13° 54.000, W 65° 36.000 30 83 102 Tropical Storm 275 16 1003 MB NHC
05th Aug 2012 05:35:24 N 15° 24.000, W 72° 42.000 35 93 111 Tropical Storm 285 16 1007 MB NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
06th Aug 2012 05:25:12 N 15° 0.000, W 79° 42.000 24 83 102 Tropical Depression 270 ° 15 1003 MB NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
07th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 17° 6.000, W 85° 6.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NHC
07th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 16° 6.000, W 83° 18.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NHC
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 17° 54.000, W 87° 30.000 Hurricane I 120 148 NHC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 19° 0.000, W 91° 24.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 NHC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 20° 0.000, W 95° 12.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NHC
11th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 20° 30.000, W 98° 30.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NHC
Haikui (12W) Pacific Ocean 03.08.2012 06.08.2012 Typhoon I 270 ° 102 km/h 130 km/h 3.66 m JTWC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Haikui (12W)
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 24° 24.000, E 139° 48.000
Start up: 03rd August 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 879.50 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
03rd Aug 2012 09:08:44 N 24° 24.000, E 139° 48.000 24 56 74 Tropical Depression 295 20 JTWC
04th Aug 2012 05:17:37 N 24° 54.000, E 134° 12.000 35 65 83 Tropical Storm 275 20 JTWC
05th Aug 2012 05:42:49 N 26° 48.000, E 129° 12.000 17 83 102 Tropical Storm 290 16 JTWC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
06th Aug 2012 05:33:59 N 27° 12.000, E 126° 0.000 7 102 130 Typhoon I 270 ° 12 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
07th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 27° 42.000, E 123° 6.000 Typhoon I 120 148 JTWC
07th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 28° 24.000, E 121° 48.000 Typhoon II 130 157 JTWC
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 29° 0.000, E 120° 48.000 Typhoon I 102 130 JTWC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 29° 36.000, E 120° 12.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 30° 24.000, E 120° 0.000 Tropical Depression 46 65 JTWC
11th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 31° 24.000, E 120° 42.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 JTWC
Florence (AL06) Atlantic Ocean 04.08.2012 06.08.2012 Tropical Depression 270 ° 65 km/h 83 km/h 3.96 m NOAA NHC Details

  Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Florence (AL06)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 13° 48.000, W 27° 48.000
Start up: 04th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 693.88 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
04th Aug 2012 05:23:26 N 13° 48.000, W 27° 48.000 26 56 74 Tropical Depression 290 20 1009 MB NOAA NHC
05th Aug 2012 05:34:42 N 16° 6.000, W 33° 0.000 24 93 111 Tropical Storm 295 20 1000 MB NOAA NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
06th Aug 2012 05:28:10 N 16° 12.000, W 37° 54.000 20 65 83 Tropical Depression 270 ° 13 1008 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
07th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 17° 18.000, W 46° 24.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC
07th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 16° 42.000, W 43° 0.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 18° 6.000, W 50° 0.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 19° 54.000, W 57° 0.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 22° 0.000, W 62° 30.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 NOAA NHC
11th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 25° 0.000, W 67° 30.000 Tropical Depression 46 65 NOAA NHC
13W Pacific Ocean 05.08.2012 06.08.2012 Tropical Depression 240 ° 65 km/h 83 km/h 3.05 m JTWC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: 13W
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 23° 6.000, E 161° 36.000
Start up: 05th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 190.29 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
05th Aug 2012 05:44:20 N 23° 6.000, E 161° 36.000 13 46 65 Tropical Depression 195 10 JTWC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
06th Aug 2012 05:31:12 N 25° 48.000, E 162° 12.000 9 65 83 Tropical Depression 240 ° 10 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
07th Aug 2012 12:00:00 N 30° 0.000, E 160° 18.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC
07th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 28° 54.000, E 161° 12.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 JTWC
08th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 31° 0.000, E 159° 24.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC
09th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 32° 42.000, E 157° 18.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 JTWC
10th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 34° 30.000, E 155° 0.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 JTWC
11th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 38° 12.000, E 152° 30.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 JTWC

…………………………………………

06.08.2012 Flash Flood India MultiStates, [States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in India on Saturday, 04 August, 2012 at 04:06 (04:06 AM) UTC.

Description
Hundreds of people residing near Beas river have been evacuated to safe places after flash flood caused by torrential rain over Dhundi peaks at south portal of Rohtang tunnel flooded the Seri rivulet, a tributary to Beas river, on Friday at 8pm. People living close to river between Palchan and Kullu are being evacuated and traffic on national highway has been stopped. Till last report received from Palchan (near Dhundi) at 10.30pm, level of the river was rising continuously and police were evacuating the people from Bahang village, 6km from Manali. According to police, there is no report of any casualty. Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Bahang village, said people are trying to save the household accessories amid chaotic atmosphere and conditions have become even worse after power failure. “Everything was normal till late evening but the situation changed suddenly after 8pm when river water, mixed with sludge, started engulfing its banks. People are risking their lives to remove the household stuffs,” he said. An engineer working with a hydel project near Palchan said over phone that roaring sound of river is shaking the foundation of the houses. “Nobody is going to sleep tonight. Villagers have gathered at many places and are guarding the river banks with floodlights,” he said. According to villagers it is a cloudburst which might have caused devastation at its source on mountains. Kullu deputy commissioner Amitabh Awasthi said , police are patrolling the river banks and have directed people to move to safe places. “We have closed the traffic on national highway. We shall keep an eye on the situation throughout the night,” he said.
Today Flash Flood United Kingdom England and Wales, [Western, Southwestern and Northern region] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in United Kingdom on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 03:11 (03:11 AM) UTC.

Description
Heavy rain over the weekend caused a landslip, and left homes knee-deep in floodwater. Firefighters worked with rescue teams to ensure no one was trapped after serious landslide in Portbury, near Bristol, brought soil, rocks and debris down on to a country lane. In North Somerset, Devon, North Cornwall and North Yorkshire fire brigade teams were called out to pump water from homes and to rescue people from cars trapped on inundated roads. Flash flooding closed the A69 Newcastle to Carlisle Road in Northumberland for a time. Six people were evacuated from properties in Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, roads were closed due to flash flooding and the town centre had to be pumped out. In Wales, the Environment Agency put a flood warning in place on the River Hydfron at Llanddowror, Carmarthenshire, and an alert on rivers on the eastern Cleddau, Pembrokeshire. The Met Office issued amber “be prepared” warnings of slow-moving heavy showers through the day for the East Midlands, North-east England, North-west England, South-west Scotland, Lothian borders, South-west England, Strathclyde, Wales, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
05.08.2012 Flash Flood United Kingdom Scotland, [Scotland-England border region] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in United Kingdom on Sunday, 05 August, 2012 at 15:25 (03:25 PM) UTC.

Description
Overnight heavy rain has flooded scores of homes in the Scottish borders and the south-west of England. A flash flood ripped through the Scottish border town of Jedburgh on Saturday night. Around 30 homes had to be evacuated after they were submerged in 3ft of silted water when the river broke its banks. Displaced families are being put up in the local community hall. Flash flooding also hit towns in north Somerset, where the emergency services received around 80 calls for help. Firefighters spent the night pumping out homes in an operation that lasted for more than six hours. Crews also worked with specialist rescue teams at a landslip in Portbury, near Bristol, after the rain and run-off from surrounding fields brought down mud, rocks and trees. Fire brigades said no one had been trapped under the slip. A search and rescue 4×4 vehicle was used to clear debris to make the lane passable, with help from a local farmer and his tractor, and one family was helped to safety. An Avon Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “One family that were trapped in their property by the slides were able to get access to and from the lane. “Very fortunately, after extensive searching the area was declared clear.”David Westrup, 61, who runs the Elm Tree Cottage bed and breakfast in Nailsea, about eight miles from Bristol, said that his neighbours had been hit by the floods. “We’re on a hill above the river, so we’re absolutely fine … but there’s a cottage right on the roadside that was flooded out last night.” “I saw fire engines there that were pumping and there were houses that were in our view that were being pumped out by the fire brigade.” He said the home on the opposite side of the river which flows through Nailsea had been flooded a few times in recent years. “There were sandbags all over their drive and you could see water all over their driveway. But whether it got up to their front door I don’t know.” Westrup said the Environment Agency had shored up the river bank in the area in 2011, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. He added: “I can’t imagine the [extra defences] would have broken because they put extra shuttering which wasn’t there before. In other words, the agency had properly shored it up and raised the level of the bank, but it looks like it [the water] may have come over the top of it again.” Heavy showers have been forecast across much of the UK for the rest of Sunday, but Olympic events in London may escape the worst despite heavy downpours hitting the start of the women’s marathon race .

Flood Warning

MORRISTOWN TN

Flood Advisory

LOUISVILLE KY

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Epidemic  Hazards /  Diseases

05.08.2012 Epidemic Hazard Tanzania Kagera Region, [Nyakahanga area] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in Tanzania on Sunday, 05 August, 2012 at 17:33 (05:33 PM) UTC.

Description
A team of medical experts from Dar es Salaam was yesterday dispatched to Kagera region to further examine the two patients believed to be suffering from the Ebola hemorrhagic fever. But as the team of medical experts was sent to Kagera region, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare subsequently confirmed the outbreak of the deadly fever in the western part of the country. Confirming the reports, the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Seif Seleman Rashid, also said that a team of medical experts was still diagnosing a patient in efforts to establish the symptoms. In the meantime, reports from Nyakahanga designated hospital in Karagwe district, Kagera region indicate that there were two patients including a child, suspected to be suffering from the deadly fever that has rocked neighbouring Uganda. According to one of the doctors who diagnosed the patient at Karagwe’s Nyakahanga hospital, preliminary findings show that the victim might have contacted the Ebola virus. However, the doctor who requested anonymity told the Guardian on Sunday that ‘further medical examination’ would be conducted to gather more evidence about the possible outbreak of Ebola, adding that the patient had since been quarantined pending final results. According to the doctor, the ‘Ebola patient’ was brought to the hospital on Friday morning and, upon diagnosis, it was established that the patient had suffered from Ebola. The patient who is a six-year-old child was brought to the Mulongo hospital by his mother from a village close to the Uganda-Tanzania boarder after the child developed severe symptoms.“We are doing further medical examination on a patient … we will tell the general public once it is confirmed that we are dealing with Ebola virus infections,” the doctor said, adding that currently the patient alleged to have been infected was admitted in a separate room and now lives in isolation from other patients at the hospital. He said preliminary check-ups found out that the diagnosis had all signs showed clear symptoms of Ebola – after which he ordered the patient to be admitted for closer monitoring locally, and further medical examination by medical experts from the ministry headquarters. He added that the patient had since been placed in a special intensive care room which is out of bounds for all other people — apart from his mother who is taking care of the patient. However, he said, this was a medical rule aimed at avoiding quick spread of the deadly disease Another patient also believed to have crossed the boarder from Uganda was admitted at the hospital as well, but medical investigations of his deteriorating health conditions were still not completed by Saturday evening. As a precaution, the doctor said his hospital team and the district health workers had since started warning people in surrounding villages to take immediate measures whenever they come across such patients. He has also warned the people living closer to the border with Uganda to be careful not to come into contact with any person whom they see vomiting or bleeding – clear signs of someone suffering from Ebola.

On Wednesday this week, Dr. Mwinyi told visibly alarmed legislators in Dodoma that a team of medical experts had been dispatched to the border with Uganda, fully equipped with protective gear and medical supplies. The minister advised the general public especially those living in the northern regions of Kagera, Mara, Mwanza and Kigoma — some of which share the border crossings with Uganda — to take precautions because the disease was highly contagious. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) had alerted Tanzania on the Ebola threat, prompting the ministry to issue a press statement elaborating that Ebola (Ebola HF) was a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976. The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), where it was first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae; there are five identified subtypes of the Ebola virus — four of which have been known to cause disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.

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

05.08.2012 Epidemic Hazard Nepal Capital City, Kathmandu Damage level Details

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

Description
At least 10 people admitted to the Sukraraj Tropical and Disease Control Hospital in Nepali capital Kathmandu have tested positive for cholera. The hospital laboratory said Vibrio Cholera belonging to 01 Ogawa stereotype was detected in all the patients. Doctors at hospital attributed the spread of cholera and diarrhea infection in Kathmandu to contaminated water, according to Saturday’s Republica daily. “Most of the patients who came to the hospital said that they had drunk water supplied by Kathmandu Upatyaka Kahanepani Limited without boiling or treatment,” Tulsha Adhikari, a nursing staff said. She said whole families had been infected and some were brought to the hospital by their neighbors as all family members were sick.
Biohazard name: Cholera
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
Today Epidemic Hazard Democratic Republic of the Congo Province of Nord Kivu, [Goma Refugee Camp] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 03:45 (03:45 AM) UTC.

Description
Health workers in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo say an outbreak of cholera has claimed at least nine lives in a refugee camp. The first case of cholera – a contagious disease caused by filth and lack of hygiene – emerged three days ago among thousands of people in a makeshift refugee camp, Doctors Without Borders said. Thousands of people have fled fighting between M23 rebels and government forces backed by UN peacekeepers. Patrick Wieland, from Doctors Without Borders, said his organisation had set up an isolation clinic tent at Kanyaruchinya on the outskirts of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Wieland said humanitarian agencies were delivering water to the camp but people probably were collecting the water with dirty containers. He said there were not enough toilets for the people who fled fighting last week in Rutshuru and neighbouring Kiwanja, about 80km north of Goma. “We’re treating people with arms and legs blown-off by grenades and other heavy arms,” said Wieland. He also said that for the first time they treated many more civilians than combatants. In Goma, locals had told that 13,500 families had arrived in the past month, displaced by the fighting. “People have been forced to build their own makeshift shelters – shelters made of twigs, grass and so on and a few leaves,” he said.”Few people have been able to get hold of plastic sheeting from the United Nations refugee agency, but for the most part people are being forced to live out in the open. “They’re saying they have had no food for a month and have [had only] high-energy biscuits a week ago, but since then nothing.” M23 rebels, who take their name from a March 23 2009 agreement they signed with the Congolese government, last week attacked government troops and UN peacekeepers, firing mortars at the peacekeepers’ base at Kiwanja which was surrounded by more than 2,000 displaced people at the time. Wieland said the fighting was much heavier than any his team has seen in the three-month-old rebellion. He said that since April, Doctors Without Borders has treated more than 500 people hurt in the conflict. Congo’s army now controls only the city of Goma and the village of Kibumba, 10km outside Goma. Now the rebels hold all towns going north as far as Rutshuru and are threatening to besiege Goma. The UN Security Council demanded on Thursday that the M23 halt any advances towards Goma. In a statement delivered by council president Gerard Araud of France, the Security Council expressed deep concern at the worsening humanitarian situation, especially a surge in the number of refugees. Araud called on the international community to provide appropriate humanitarian support.
Biohazard name: Cholera Outbreak
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 Epidemic Hazard MultiCountries [Germany and Ireland] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in MultiCountries on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 03:04 (03:04 AM) UTC.

Description
A 30-year-old tourist from Germany presented in the Mid West Regional Hospital earlier this year with renal failure and respiratory symptoms. He was managed with supportive therapy and made a good recovery. He was discharged and returned to Germany. Subsequently, he was found to be IgM positive for [a] hantavirus [infection] and this diagnosis was confirmed by Porton Down in early June [2012]. A human hantavirus infection has not previously been diagnosed in Ireland. However, there were an exceptional number of cases reported in Germany and in other countries in Europe during the winter of 2011 and spring of 2012. Given the amount of travel between the continent and Ireland, it is not surprising that we would eventually see a case of this infection here. This is the 1st ever case confirmation that has been reported in this country [Ireland] and, as an unusual event, it merits further consideration.
Biohazard name: Hantavirus
Biohazard level: 4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.: Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

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Solar Activity

2MIN News August 5, 2012: Gulf Coast Beware, Undead Filament & CME on the Way

Published on Aug 5, 2012 by

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!]

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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
(2006 EC) 06th August 2012 0 day(s) 0.0932 36.3 13 m – 28 m 6.13 km/s 22068 km/h
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 1 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 2 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 3 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 3 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 3 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 4 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 6 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 8 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 10 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70) 21st August 2012 15 day(s) 0.1503 58.5 640 m – 1.4 km 12.92 km/s 46512 km/h
(2007 WU3) 21st August 2012 15 day(s) 0.1954 76.0 56 m – 120 m 5.25 km/s 18900 km/h
(2012 BB14) 24th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.1234 48.0 27 m – 60 m 2.58 km/s 9288 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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Sinkholes

For more than two months, officials from federal to local have been unable to pin down the source of a natural gas leak and tremors in assumption parish.

But on Thursday a 200 by 200 foot “slurry area” has appeared in bayou corne in northern assumption parish…

The formation of the slurry area was accompanied by a diesel-like odor that some residents said burned their eyes and noses but dissipated by midmorning Friday…

Assumption parish officials declared an emergency and called for an evacuation of residents living near the nearly 1-acre muddy site.

A potential failure of a cavern operated by Texas brine company may have caused the slurry area, or sinkhole, which swallowed full-grown trees and denuded a formerly forested patch of cypress swamp.

Final determination of a positive link between the failure of the cavern and either the natural gas bubbling or the slurry area has not been made.

In response, gov. bobby jindal declared an emergency Friday.

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Biological  Hazards / Wildlife

Today Biological Hazard USA State of Colorado, [Plaster Reservoir] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 03:57 (03:57 AM) UTC.

Description
Broomfield Public Health and Environment advises people to steer clear of wild rodents, squirrels and rabbits near the Plaster Reservoir after confirming cases of tularemia. The disease was found Thursday in specimens of wild rabbits collected south and west of the reservoir located northeast of W. 136th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard. Broomfield residents had noticed several dead rabbits in the vicinity. Broomfield Public Health and Environment said in a health alert released Friday that there have not been any confirmed cases or noticeable outbreaks in other areas. People can contract tularemia from tick and deer fly bites or skin contact with infected animals. Symptoms include sudden fever, chills, headache, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pain and dry cough. People can also develop pneumonia. Health officials said the threat to human health is minimal, so trails will remain opened and the area will be monitored over the next few weeks.
Biohazard name: Tularemia (rabbit)
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 Reunion [Saint Leu coastal region] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in Reunion on Monday, 06 August, 2012 at 03:10 (03:10 AM) UTC.

Description
A Surfer on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion has been seriously injured in a shark attack, the second in two weeks, as local authorities called for swift preventative action. Xavier Brunetiere, general secretary at the Reunion town hall, said the surfer’s right foot and his hand were seriously injured, in the attack at Saint Leu, located in a marine reserve on the western side of the island. The man, whose identity was not released, is aged about 40 and is an experienced surfer, Mr Brunetiere said. Witnesses said the shark had severed a hand and a foot from the victim, but he made it back to the beach by himself. His life was not in danger, Mr Brunetiere said. Shark attacks here have been increasing in the last two years, with three surfers killed in the last 13 months. Sunday’s attack, the third this year, comes just over a fortnight after 22-year-old local Alexandre Rassica was killed by a shark who bit off his leg. A number of worried local mayors want to allow fishermen to catch sharks in the marine reserve. Last week, the mayor of Saint Leu, Thierry Robert, authorised fishing for sharks in the waters around Saint Leu — which contain part of the marine reserve. He later withdrew the decision after French Overseas minister Victorin Lurel said France would deal with the problem.
Biohazard name: Shark attack (Non-Fatal)
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

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Thousands of fish die as US streams heat up

by GRANT SCHULTE (AP) — Thousands of fish are dying in the central U.S. as the hot, dry summer dries up rivers and causes water temperatures to climb in some spots to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius). Ads by Google Heating Contractor – Repair-Replacement-Maintenance Mention Ad 10% off Repair/ Install – http://www.g-smechanical.com/ About 40,000 shovelnose sturgeon were killed in Iowa last week as water temperatures reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 Celsius). Nebraska fishery officials said they’ve seen thousands of dead sturgeon, catfish, carp, and other species in the Lower Platte River, including the endangered pallid sturgeon. And biologists in Illinois said the hot weather has killed tens of thousands of large- and smallmouth bass and channel catfish and is threatening the population of the greater redhorse fish, a state-endangered species. So many fish died in one Illinois lake that the carcasses clogged an intake screen near a power plant, lowering water levels to the point that the station had to shut down one of its generators. “It’s something I’ve never seen in my career, and I’ve been here for more than 17 years,” said Mark Flammang, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “I think what we’re mainly dealing with here are the extremely low flows and this unparalleled heat.” The fish are victims of one of the driest and warmest summers in history. The federal U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states are experiencing some form of drought, and the Department of Agriculture has declared more than half of the nation’s counties — nearly 1,600 in 32 states — as natural disaster areas. More than 3,000 heat records were broken over the last month. Iowa DNR officials said the sturgeon found dead in the Des Moines River were worth nearly $10 million, a high value based in part on their highly sought eggs, which are used for caviar. The fish are valued at more than $110 a pound. Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, said the sturgeon kills don’t appear to have reduced the supply enough to hurt regional caviar suppliers. Flammang said weekend rain improved some of Iowa’s rivers and lakes, but temperatures were rising again and straining a sturgeon population that develops health problems when water temperatures climb into the 80s. “Those fish have been in these rivers for thousands of thousands of years, and they’re accustomed to all sorts of weather conditions,” he said. “But sometimes, you have conditions occur that are outside their realm of tolerance.” Ads by Google Fish & Wildlife Mgmt. – Online Environmental Science Degree at AMU. Flexible Courses. Enroll. – http://www.AMUOnline.com/Environment In Illinois, heat and lack of rain has dried up a large swath of Aux Sable Creek, the state’s largest habitat for the endangered greater redhorse, a large bottom-feeding fish, said Dan Stephenson, a biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “We’re talking hundreds of thousands (killed), maybe millions by now,” Stephenson said. “If you’re only talking about game fish, it’s probably in the thousands. But for all fish, it’s probably in the millions if you look statewide.” Stephenson said fish kills happen most summers in small private ponds and streams, but the hot weather this year has made the situation much worse. “This year has been really, really bad — disproportionately bad, compared to our other years,” he said. Stephenson said a large number of dead fish were sucked into an intake screen near Powerton Lake in central Illinois, lowering water levels and forcing a temporary shutdown at a nearby power plant. A spokesman for Edison International, which runs the coal-fired plant, said workers shut down one of its two generators for several hours two weeks ago because of extreme heat and low water levels at the lake, which is used for cooling. In Nebraska, a stretch of the Platte River from Kearney in the central part of the state to Columbus in the east has gone dry and killed a “significant number” of sturgeon, catfish and minnows, said fisheries program manager Daryl Bauer. Bauer said the warm, shallow water has also killed an unknown number of endangered pallid sturgeon. “It’s a lot of miles of river, and a lot of fish,” Bauer said. “Most of those fish are barely identifiable. In this heat, they decay really fast.” Bauer said a single dry year usually isn’t enough to hurt the fish population. But he worries dry conditions in Nebraska could continue, repeating a stretch in the mid-2000s that weakened fish populations. Kansas also has seen declining water levels that pulled younger, smaller game fish away from the vegetation-rich shore lines and forced them to cluster, making them easier targets for predators, said fisheries chief Doug Nygren of the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Nygren said he expects a drop in adult walleye populations in the state’s shallower, wind-swept lakes in southern Kansas. But he said other species, such as large-mouth bass, can tolerate the heat and may multiply faster without competition from walleye. “These last two years are the hottest we’ve ever seen,” Nygren said. “That really can play a role in changing populations, shifting it in favor of some species over others. The walleye won’t benefit from these high-water temperatures, but other species that are more tolerant may take advantage of their declining population.” Geno Adams, a fisheries program administrator in South Dakota, said there have been reports of isolated fish kills in its manmade lakes on the Missouri River and others in the eastern part of the state. But it’s unclear how much of a role the heat played in the deaths. One large batch of carp at Lewis and Clark Lake in the state’s southeast corner had lesions, a sign they were suffering from a bacterial infection. Adams said the fish are more prone to sickness with low water levels and extreme heat. But he added that other fish habitat have seen a record number this year thanks to the 2011 floods. “When we’re in a drought, there’s a struggle for water and it’s going in all different directions,” Adams said. “Keeping it in the reservoir for recreational fisheries is not at the top of the priority list.” Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

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