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Global Disaster Watch Report – Sunday April 1st, 2012

Filed under: Asteroids, Earthquakes, Environmental, Flooding, Freak Natural and Not So Natural Phenomena, Global Disaster Watch, Global Disasters, Solar Activity, Solar System, Storms, Weather Phenomena — Leave a comment

April 1, 2012

Earthquakes

EMSC Crete, Greece
Mar 31 22:56 PM
3.0 15.0 MAP

USGS Hawaii Region, Hawaii
Mar 31 22:49 PM
3.0 37.1 MAP

EMSC Guam Region
Mar 31 22:36 PM
4.9 55.0 MAP

USGS Guam Region
Mar 31 22:36 PM
4.9 51.9 MAP

GEOFON Mindanao, Philippines
Mar 31 22:36 PM
4.6 10.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Honshu, Japan
Mar 31 22:30 PM
4.3 86.0 MAP

GEOFON South Of Mariana Islands
Mar 31 22:03 PM
4.9 10.0 MAP

USGS Guam Region
Mar 31 22:03 PM
4.9 8.8 MAP

EMSC Guam Region
Mar 31 22:03 PM
5.0 5.0 MAP

USGS Southern Alaska
Mar 31 22:00 PM
2.7 53.3 MAP

EMSC France
Mar 31 22:00 PM
3.2 5.0 MAP

EMSC Maule, Chile
Mar 31 21:52 PM
4.4 41.0 MAP

USGS Maule, Chile
Mar 31 21:52 PM
4.4 40.7 MAP

USGS Pakistan
Mar 31 21:42 PM
4.2 38.2 MAP

EMSC Pakistan
Mar 31 21:42 PM
4.2 38.0 MAP

EMSC Turkey-iran Border Region
Mar 31 21:38 PM
2.4 5.0 MAP

USGS Central Alaska
Mar 31 21:33 PM
3.2 7.3 MAP

EMSC Romania
Mar 31 21:29 PM
3.1 142.0 MAP

EMSC Vanuatu
Mar 31 19:59 PM
4.9 67.0 MAP

USGS Vanuatu
Mar 31 19:59 PM
4.8 71.8 MAP

GEOFON Vanuatu Islands
Mar 31 19:59 PM
4.8 10.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 18:55 PM
2.6 4.0 MAP

GEOFON Near Coast Of Chiapas, Mexico
Mar 31 18:55 PM
4.5 65.0 MAP

USGS Offshore Guatemala
Mar 31 18:55 PM
4.4 70.2 MAP

EMSC Offshore Guatemala
Mar 31 18:55 PM
4.5 53.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 18:36 PM
2.4 2.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 17:31 PM
3.3 16.0 MAP

USGS Puerto Rico Region
Mar 31 17:28 PM
2.5 23.1 MAP

EMSC Offshore El Salvador
Mar 31 17:13 PM
4.5 62.0 MAP

USGS Off The Coast Of El Salvador
Mar 31 17:13 PM
4.5 61.9 MAP

GEOFON Tonga Islands
Mar 31 17:06 PM
5.3 109.0 MAP

USGS Tonga
Mar 31 17:06 PM
5.4 122.8 MAP

EMSC Tonga
Mar 31 17:06 PM
5.5 60.0 MAP

EMSC Sea Of Japan
Mar 31 16:51 PM
4.1 393.0 MAP

USGS Sea Of Japan
Mar 31 16:51 PM
4.1 393.4 MAP

EMSC Caucasus Region, Russia
Mar 31 16:49 PM
3.7 5.0 MAP

EMSC Azerbaijan
Mar 31 16:39 PM
3.5 60.0 MAP

USGS Southern Alaska
Mar 31 15:27 PM
2.5 20.4 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 14:09 PM
2.9 7.0 MAP

USGS Baja California, Mexico
Mar 31 13:21 PM
2.7 16.0 MAP

EMSC Sicily, Italy
Mar 31 13:09 PM
2.4 8.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 12:54 PM
2.4 14.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 12:41 PM
3.6 2.0 MAP

EMSC Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 31 12:38 PM
4.9 52.0 MAP

USGS Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 31 12:38 PM
4.9 35.2 MAP

GEOFON Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 31 12:38 PM
4.9 10.0 MAP

USGS Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Mar 31 11:56 AM
3.9 20.1 MAP

USGS Oklahoma
Mar 31 11:54 AM
3.3 5.0 MAP

EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 31 10:42 AM
2.4 15.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 10:41 AM
3.3 2.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 10:38 AM
4.1 2.0 MAP

USGS Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 10:38 AM
4.1 5.0 MAP

USGS Channel Islands Region, California
Mar 31 09:53 AM
3.0 3.5 MAP

GEOFON Near Coast Of Venezuela
Mar 31 09:47 AM
4.8 10.0 MAP

EMSC Sucre, Venezuela
Mar 31 09:47 AM
4.9 10.0 MAP

USGS Sucre, Venezuela
Mar 31 09:47 AM
4.9 9.8 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 09:32 AM
2.5 5.0 MAP

EMSC Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Is.
Mar 31 09:19 AM
5.0 10.0 MAP

USGS South Of The Aleutian Islands
Mar 31 09:19 AM
4.6 35.0 MAP

GEOFON Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands
Mar 31 09:19 AM
5.0 10.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 09:17 AM
3.2 7.0 MAP

USGS Southern Alaska
Mar 31 07:02 AM
2.9 137.5 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 31 05:09 AM
2.9 7.0 MAP

USGS Puerto Rico Region
Mar 31 04:55 AM
2.8 58.2 MAP

EMSC Switzerland
Mar 31 04:24 AM
2.8 2.0 MAP

EMSC Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan
Mar 31 04:16 AM
4.9 231.0 MAP

GEOFON Afghanistan-tajikistan Border Region
Mar 31 04:16 AM
5.1 213.0 MAP

USGS Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan
Mar 31 04:16 AM
4.9 221.2 MAP

USGS Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 31 03:58 AM
4.6 35.0 MAP

EMSC Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 31 03:58 AM
4.8 10.0 MAP

GEOFON Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 31 03:58 AM
4.7 10.0 MAP

USGS Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Mar 31 03:46 AM
3.3 15.0 MAP

USGS Southern Alaska
Mar 31 02:56 AM
2.7 117.0 MAP

USGS Channel Islands Region, California
Mar 31 02:15 AM
3.1 0.1 MAP

EMSC Turkey-iran Border Region
Mar 31 00:54 AM
2.5 3.0 MAP

GEONET Fiordland
Mar 31 00:32 AM
4.1 12.0 MAP

GEOFON Jujuy Province, Argentina
Mar 31 00:05 AM
4.3 188.0 MAP

EMSC Jujuy, Argentina
Mar 31 00:05 AM
4.5 190.0 MAP

USGS Jujuy, Argentina
Mar 31 00:05 AM
4.6 200.1 MAP

USGS Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Mar 31 00:03 AM
2.9 44.0 MAP

5.2 magnitude quake rocks Kashmir

UNI Srinagar ,

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit Kashmir valley on Saturday, including its summer capital Srinagar, forcing people to rush out of their homes in panic. Kashmir disaster management head Aamir Ali said tremors were felt at 9.46am and the tremblor’s epicentre was in
Hindukush mountains in Afghanistan.
Ali said people rushed out of their homes in panic and took shelter in open spaces.

There was no immediate report of any loss of life or damage to property, he added.

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Extreme Winds/Windstorms

Strong winds in Urumqi city of China

Strong winds in Urumqi city of China killed three people and injured twenty one so far. Wall collapsed in West Karamay Road and killed two people.
The regional meteorological center issued an orange wind alert, with winds of at least 80 km/hr forecast for the suburbs of Urumqi. Forty-two flights in the Urumqi International Airport were delayed, re-routed or canceled by the winds.

http://disaster-report.blogspot.com/2012/03/natural-disasters-list-march-31-2012.html

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Fires

Forest fire near to Geraldine, Montana, USA burned 2,500 acres. There are no reports of any injuries or damaged structures.

http://disaster-report.blogspot.com/2012/03/natural-disasters-list-march-31-2012.html

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Storms, Flooding, Landslides

Landslide highlights Haiti woes

At least six people die in a landslide that destroyed one of the many homes built on a precarious sandy mountain in Port-au-Prince.

-Six killed by Landslide in Port Au Prince city of Haiti. Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean country of Haiti
-Torrential rainfall from two weeks caused the landslide
-Following UN, hundreds of thousand victims of Haiti quake are having miserable condition living in tents. Donor had provided half the aid requested by Haiti last year
-About 30 Haitians were killed during the last rain season
-Port-au-Prince has a tropical wet and dry climate and relatively constant temperatures throughout the year

http://video.news.com.au/embed/2217757843/Landslide-highlights-Haiti-woes?player=narrow

Severe Flooding in Fiji Islands

A 57 old woman died at evacuation center in Sabeto. She was patient of Daibetes.
-Navo Bridge washed away by flood water. It was only the way from Nadi town or the Nadi International Airport from Queens Highway going towards Nadi from Suva.
-Recent heavy rainfall is caused by a shallow tropical depression located west-southwest of Nadi

Get Updates Here

Tropical storm Pakhar

Earlier it was forecast that tropical storm Pakhar will continue as Cat 1 (Hurricane) till April 1st BUT by late today (March 31st), it is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm (one step below).
It will make landfall (TS) first in Phan Thiet city of Vietnam by late today.

http://disaster-report.blogspot.com/2012/03/natural-disasters-list-march-31-2012.html

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Solar Activity

Total Gas Leak/Solar Update

Uploaded by MrCometwatch

The Leak is 150 miles off the Scottish coast with high winds blowing the gas into Germany. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/slideshow/ALeqM5gL5N8hbBirfZTEwz8rQbsudP…

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Solar System

April Fools’ Day Asteroid to Buzz Earth Sunday: No Joke!

Tariq Malik
Space.com

An asteroid the size of a passenger jet will zoom close by Earth on Sunday (April 1) just in time for April Fools’ Day, but it has no chance of hitting the Earth, NASA says.

The asteroid 2012 EG5 will be closer than the moon when it passes Earth at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT). The space rock is about 150 feet wide (46 meters), according to a NASA update.

“Asteroid 2012 EG5 will safely pass Earth on April 1,” scientists with NASA’s Asteroid Watch program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., wrote in a Twitter statement.

The space rock may be visiting Earth on April Fools’ Day, but its flyby is no prank. The asteroid will creep within 143,000 miles (230,000 kilometers) of Earth during its closest approach, which is just over half the distance between Earth and the moon’s orbit. The moon typically circles the Earth at a distance of 238,000 miles (382,900 km).

Read Full Article Here

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Mysterious Booms / Rumblings

That noise was not thunder, Pocono residents say

Strong thunderstorms hit the Poconos Friday night, moving through shortly after 10 p.m. and continuing for at least a half hour, but the weather event that had folks talking was a loud sonic-like boom that shook houses at about 10:15 p.m.

Gilda Spiotta of Long Pond said, “The shaking last night lasted unusually long. Didn’t sound like thunder, didn’t feel like thunder, was wondering if something happened on 380/80; tanker accident.”

Another Long Pond resident, Lorene R. Allman-Mars: “My son was at the back door letting the dogs out and he reported that he saw a large flash of light fill the sky toward/above the FedEx distribution site on 940, then he heard a loud boom. It didn’t look like lightning, it looked like a bomb blew up in the air. I was on the second floor of the house; I didn’t see anything but I heard the boom and felt it shake the house. I actually felt it under my feet. The floors shook; I have never felt lightning shake the house like that before and we’ve been up here 20 years!”

Some readers suggested an earthquake or an explosion, but said that definitely was no routine thunder.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

FEMA chief says agency bracing for ‘maximum’ disaster

By Eric Berger

Recent hurricanes Ike and Katrina may rank among the three costliest storms in U.S. history, but in preparing for disasters the federal government must think bigger still, says America’s top emergency planner.

“As devastating as those two hurricanes were, they’re not as bad as it gets,” said Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Fugate told reporters Tuesday at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla., that his agency has been preparing for realistic worst-case scenarios – not just natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, but terrorist attacks, as well.

Read Full Article Here

Total: “may be months” to stop North Sea gas cloud

Oleg Vukmanovic Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – A cloud of explosive natural gas boiling up from the North Sea out of a leak at Total’s evacuated Elgin platform forced another shutdown off the Scottish coast on Tuesday as the French firm warned it could take six months to halt the flow.

Dubbed “the well from hell” by an environmentalist who said the unusually high pressure of the undersea reservoirs made it especially hard to shut off, the loss of oil and gas output from Elgin – as well as the prospect of a big repair bill – helped drive Total’s share price down six percent on the Paris bourse.

As Shell pulled its bigger Shearwater facility offline too and an air and sea exclusion zone was declared around the forlorn Elgin rig, 150 miles east of Aberdeen, green campaigners denounced dangers in the technically challenging deep drilling that energy companies have undertaken around the globe to exploit the high prices created by insatiable demand.

The Elgin well, pumping some three percent of Britain’s gas output from nearly four miles below the seabed, pushes the frontiers of technology and is one of the deepest, most highly pressurized, offshore natural gas fields in the world. It now sits empty following Sunday’s emergency evacuation of 238 crew.

Total, which said the rupture of an unused reservoir above the main production source seemed to have been caused by its own engineers, is now looking at two main options to cut off the shimmering plume of gas rising above the sea: either drilling a relief well nearby, which could take six months, or – faster but possibly riskier – sending in engineers to “kill” the leak.

Read Full Article Here

2MIN News March30: World News, Solar Update

Tags: "kill" the leak., Aegean Sea, Afghanistan Mar 31 04:16 AM, Afghanistan-tajikistan Border Region, Alaska, Argentina, Asteroid, Asteroid 2012 EG5, Azerbaijan, between Earth and the moon's orbit, California, Chile, China, earthquakes, Elgin platform, Elgin rig, Extreme Winds/Windstorms, Federal Emergency Management Agency., FEMA, Fiji, Fiordland, Fires, Flooding, FRANCE, Germany, Greece, Guam Region, Haiti, Hawaii, hurricanes, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kashmir, LANDSLIDES, Mexico, Montana, Mysterious Booms / Rumblings, NASA's Asteroid Watch program, National Hurricane Conference, natural disasters, Near Coast Of Venezuela, North Sea gas cloud, off the Scottish coast, Offshore El Salvador, Offshore Guatemala, oil and gas, Oklahoma, Pakhar, Pakistan, Philippines, Puerto Rico Region, Romania, Russia, Sea Of Japan, Shearwater facility, Shell p, solar activity, Solar System, South Of Mariana Islands, storms, terrorist attacks, the Poconos, the well from hell, Tonga, Tonga Islands, Total Gas Leak, Tropical Storm, Turkey, Turkey-iran Border Region, Vanuatu, Vanuatu Islands, Vietnam

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Global Disaster Watch – Sunday March 18th, 2012

Filed under: Earthquakes, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Freak Natural and Not So Natural Phenomena, Global Disasters, Solar Activity, Solar System, Storms, Sustainability2, Uncategorized, Volcanic Events — Leave a comment

March 18, 2012

Earthquakes

SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION

USGS Bangladesh Mar 18 02:56 AM 4.6 15.7 MAP

EMSC Bangladesh Mar 18 02:56 AM 4.6 16.0 MAP

EMSC Eastern Turkey Mar 18 02:46 AM 3.4 5.0 MAP

USGS Northern Iran Mar 18 02:38 AM 4.4 25.9 MAP

EMSC Northern Iran Mar 18 02:38 AM 4.6 5.0 MAP

EMSC Simeulue, Indonesia Mar 18 02:01 AM 4.6 35.0 MAP

USGS Simeulue, Indonesia Mar 18 02:01 AM 4.6 35.0 MAP

USGS Southern E Pacific Rise Mar 18 01:59 AM 4.7 10.1 MAP

EMSC Southern E Pacific Ris Mar 18 01:59 AM 4.7 10.0 MAP

EMSC Central Turkey Mar 18 01:32 AM 2.6 6.0 MAP

EMSC S.western Siberia, Russia Mar 18 01:29 AM 3.9 10.0 MAP

USGS S. Alaska Mar 18 00:53 AM 2.7 6.5 MAP

USGS Off E Coast Of Honshu, Japan Mar 18 00:36 AM 4.9 49.7 MAP

EMSC Off E Coast Of Honshu, Japan Mar 18 00:36 AM 5.0 40.0 MAP

GEOFON Off E Coast Of Honshu, Japan Mar 18 00:36 AM 5.0 10.0 MAP

Philippines –

The number of people who were injured in a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines rose to 45. Dozens of mall goers got injured when the strong quake caused a stampede at Gaisano Capital duriing its grand opening at around 4pm Friday afternoon. Some government buildings were damaged.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=788157&publicationSubCategoryId=200

New Zealand – Quake damage at Canterbury hospitals could see patient services disrupted for several years to come. The region’s hospitals have suffered considerable damage as a result of the ongoing quakes and many key facilities need extensive repair work.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/6593845/Canterbury-hospitals-set-back-years-by-quake

Storms and Flooding

Tropical Cyclone Lua (17S) Set to Make Landfall Over Australia – March 17th, 2012

approximately 150 nm north of Port Hedland, Australia, has tracked southeastward at 13 knots over the past six hours. Port Hedland radar imagery indicates the LLCC passed over Rowley Shoals at approximately 01:00am local time.

Animated infrared satellite imagery indicates that the system has increased its horizontal extent while maintaining tightly-curved bands wrapping into a well-defined low-level circulation center (LLCC). Recent microwave satellite imagery reveals the deepest convection is location along the western semi-circle of the LLCC, which is due to light to moderate (10-20 knots) easterly vertical wind shear. The current intensity is assessed at 90 knots. Maximum significant wave height is 32 feet. Sustained 10-minute winds were reported at 73 knots.

TC 17S is forecast to continue tracking southeastward, making landfall east of Port Hedland in approximately 12 hours. The system is forecast to reach a peak intensity of 95 knots prior to landfall and then rapidly weaken with dissipation over land forecast by TAU 36.

http://www.eosnap.com/image-of-the-day/tropical-cyclone-lua-17s-set-to-make-landfall-over-australia-march-17th-2012/

UPDATE –

There have been reports of extensive damage on the Pilbara coast but so far no casualties. Cyclone Lua crossed the coast as a category four storm but has weakened to category one as it moves inland. Australia’s meteorology bureau says gusts of up 100km/h (60mph) are still possible near the cyclone centre. It has issued warnings for the eastern Gascoyne, western Interior and northern Goldfields areas for today. Early on Saturday, Lua crossed the coast between Port Hedland and Broome and caused extensive damage to some remote Pilbara towns, uprooting trees and damaging buildings. Recovery teams were on their way to assess the damage.As the cyclone gathered intensity and swept in off the Indian Ocean, Australia’s main iron ore mines – which are some of the biggest in the world – shut down. (map)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-17405085

Stormy weather results in power outages, more fallen trees

KTVU.com

BAY AREA —

Friday night’s stormy weather resulted in power outages for hundreds of Walnut Creek residents and the closure of a state highway for hours.

On Highway 13 in Oakland, just south of the Park Ave. Exit, a large tree came down around 10 p.m. Friday night and blocked the southbound lanes of the highway.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/stormy-weather-results-power-outages-more-fallen-t/nLWmc/

Extreme Temperatures/Weather

Britain’s heritage buildings feel the extreme weather

: heat and cold. Experts fear they are fighting a losing battle as increasingly erratic conditions take their toll. The curators responsible for preserving Britain’s historic sites already have to cope with falling subsidies and the effect of the economic gloom on visitor numbers. Now they have another problem: our increasingly extreme and erratic weather. Freezing temperatures, drought and torrential rain are all proving increasingly damaging to sites that, in some cases, are almost 1,000 years old.
Earlier this month, parts of the roof of St John the Baptist Church in Woodhurst, Cambridgeshire, collapsed, with masonry falling from the chancel, causing damage that will cost up to £40,000 to repair. Experts said the problems were caused by the drought’s effect on soil that is found particularly in the east of England. The trees close to the walls of the building sucked up too much water from the ground after two years of low rainfall, causing the clay to contract. This moved the foundations, and the walls cracked. Finding funding for the necessary repairs is becoming increasingly difficult.
Other churches have been affected in similar fashion. St Mary’s, in the village of Mundon, Essex, had to undergo significant repairs as a result of clay shrinkage, which led the building’s foundations to start “falling apart”. In the Church of St Andrew, at Abbots Ripton, also in Cambridgeshire, the arcades were found to be moving on the foundations, causing cracks. Without repair work, it is likely that the whole building will collapse.
St Andrew’s Church at nearby Wood Walton, which was recorded in the Domesday Book, is also facing serious problems. “We think it is due to the climate. It may be just two or three years aberration, but the climate has definitely had an impact.”
The most recent Heritage At Risk register was published in August. There were 5,828 entries. Although the effect of increasingly extreme weather is difficult to quantify, many list erosion and weathering as a problem. The cold winters of 2009 and 2010 also caused serious problems at several sites, including Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, a monastic site dating back to 1090, and the 12th century Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. “The frost is a real issue. In the past two severe winters, hard frost caused huge damage to standing ruins in the east of England. The chalk in the stonework deteriorates. We understand the process and know we can’t stop it.”
In Norwich, the medieval city walls have suffered damage as a result of the salt used on the roads in cold weather. The National Trust has also pointed to a rise in threats from extreme weather – specifically torrential rainfall. “The weather is much more extreme in the UK than it used to be. Between 1985 and 2007 I have never had to turn out due to emergency flooding. It has been four times since then.” Severe flooding in Tewkesbury affected several National Trust properties, including Basildon Park. The 12th century Tewkesbury Abbey also had water come in through the doors. In 2009, the devastating floods in Cockermouth, in the Lake District, hit the birthplace of William Wordsworth. National Trust employees had to wade through waist deep water to salvage the collection of furniture, artworks and documents. “Our emphasis must now be on prevention. We are trying to put aside more [money] than we ever have before to deal with this issue.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/extreme-weather-warning-britains-heritage-buildings-feel-the-heat–and-cold-7575925.html

America’s weather is stuck on extreme. –

Nearly 11 feet of snow has fallen on Anchorage, Alaska, this winter. That’s almost a record, and it’s forcing the city to haul away at least 250,000 tons of snow. Not much snow has dropped on the Lower 48 states this year.
The first three months of 2012 have seen twice the normal number of tornadoes. And 36 states set DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS Thursday. So far this month, the U.S. has set 1,757 DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS. That’s similar to the number during last summer’s heat wave. Six RARE, but not unprecedented, March tornadoes struck Thursday in Michigan, which also set 26 HEAT RECORDS. Temperatures were in the 80s in some parts of the state. Nationwide, there have been 132 tornadoes confirmed in January and February, with preliminary reports of more than 150 already in March.

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/a96422cf19244af6ade0a56a2353994a/US-SCI–Extreme-Weather/

Climate Change

Europe’s chief scientist warns against climate delays

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union cannot use the economic slowdown as an excuse to delay action on fighting climate change, the bloc’s first-ever chief scientific adviser has warned.

Molecular biologist Anne Glover took on the newly created role reporting to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the start of this year, having previously served as chief scientific adviser to Scotland’s devolved government.

http://news.yahoo.com/europes-chief-scientist-warns-against-climate-delays-191308281.html

Solar Activity

Asteroid 2012 EG5 Close Call 04/02/2012 – Condition Code 9

Misc

Weird weather: heat, twisters, 250K tons of snow

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s weather is stuck on extreme.

Nearly 11 feet of snow has fallen on Anchorage, Alaska, this winter. That’s almost a record, and it’s forcing the city to haul away at least 250,000 tons of snow. Yet not much snow has dropped on the Lower 48 this year.

http://news.yahoo.com/weird-weather-heat-twisters-250k-tons-snow-205518988.html

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Family Survival Protocol Presents : Emergency Preparedness Evaluation-Urban Survival

Filed under: Disaster Preparation and Survival, Sustainability2 — 1 Comment

March 16, 2012

Uploaded by envirosponsible on Aug 6, 2009

Are you prepared for an emergency, such as a disruption in utilities or quarantine? How would you cook and wash yourself, what would you drink?

Watch as we evaluate our emergency preparedness, as we live in our house for five days without electricity and water from our taps.

Uploaded by envirosponsible on Apr 2, 2010

Most of the information out there about survivalism and preparedness is male centred. What do woman think about bug out bags, self-defense and preparedness? Watch this interview to see one woman’s perspective on survivalism and relationships.

Tags: disasters, Emergency Preparedness, long term food storage, natural disasters, preppers, shtf, stocking first aid, stocking food, stocking supplies, survival, survivalists, sustainability, Urban Survival

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Global Disaster Watch – Friday March 16th,2012

Filed under: Earthquakes, Environmental, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Freak Natural and Not So Natural Phenomena, Global Disasters, Global News, Solar Activity, Storms, Volcanic Events, Weather Phenomena — Leave a comment

Earthquakes

GEOFON Southeast Of Ryukyu Islands Mar 16 03:39 AM 5.3 10.0 MAP

EMSC Vanuatu Mar 16 03:32 AM 5.0 63.0 MAP

USGS Vanuatu Mar 16 03:32 AM 4.9 10.0 MAP

USGS Kuril Islands Mar 16 00:38 AM 5.4 28.4 MAP

GEOFON Kuril Islands Mar 16 00:38 AM 5.8 10.0 MAP

EMSC Kuril Islands Mar 16 00:38 AM 5.5 2.0 MAP

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake, ROTA REGION, N. MARIANA ISLANDS

UTC Date / Time Mar 15 21:37 PM

Depth 105 km GEO: Longitude 145.300 GEO: Latitude 14.080

Source
EMSC

Two Powerful Aftershocks Highlight Ongoing Reassessment of Japan Quake Risks

On Wednesday, a 6.8 magnitude quake hit Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island. It was followed hours later by a 6.1 magnitude tremor in the Chiba Prefecture, which is directly south of Tokyo and some 600 miles from the location of the earlier quake. Both are described as aftershocks from the March 11, 2011 Tohoku quake.

http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=334627

Volcanic Activity

Cleveland Volcano Explodes For Third Time

Cleveland Volcano has exploded for the third time in just over a week. The latest eruption of the Aleutian volcano Tuesday afternoon was relatively small, according to a release from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Scientists at the Observatory weren’t able detect an ash cloud associated with this event or either of the other two. There’s no real-time monitoring equipment on Cleveland.

None of the recent eruptions have interrupted air travel in the region.

Cleveland’s last major eruption in 2001 sent ash clouds as high as 39,000 feet. The volcano is on uninhabited Island, about 160 miles west of Unalaska.

Cleveland Volcano Explodes For Third Time

Lamongan volcano (East Java, Indonesia):

signs of unrest, alert raised to yellow due to increased seismic activity

A new volcano in Indonesia, Lamongan volcano in Eastern Java, is showing signs of unrest: weak steaming from its active crater and increasing earthquakes were reported by Indonesian scientists.

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/view_news/6551/Lamongan-volcano-East-Java-Indonesia-signs-of-unrest-alert-raised-to-yellow-due-to-increased-seismic.html

Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano unleashes 9 low-level emissions

by The Extinction Protocol

March 15, 2012 – MEXICO – The National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred) reported that in the last hours, the volcano Popocatepetl has expelled nine low-intensity exhalations accompanied by emissions of water vapor and gas, and sometimes small amounts of ash. The body of the Ministry of the Interior (Interior Ministry) reported that the monitoring parameters remain without important changes. He explained that at night, a glow was observed in the crater of the volcano and that for now; there has been a constant emission of steam and gas. He said the advisory code remains yellow in color phase 2 and the likelihood of prevailing moderate exhalations, some with ash emissions, and sporadic bursts of low to moderate probability of emission of incandescent fragments could be expected within walking distance of the crater. The Cenapred called for authorities to continue the safety radius of 12 kilometers around the volcano. Civil Protection has been urged to maintain preventive procedures in place, according to their operational plans and that people should keep advised to the latest news bulletins. –Cronica (translated)

Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano unleashes 9 low-level emissions

Storms and Flooding

In the Indian Ocean

Tropical cyclone 17s (Lua) was located approximately 375 nm northwest of Port Hedland, Australia.

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua to Hit Australia Coast tomorrow –

Lua has intensified to a powerful Category Three storm and is expected to lash the Pilbara coast with destructive winds in excess of 200km/h when it hits land tomorrow. Communities on the Pilbara and Kimberley coasts are on alert as the cyclone Lua, which currently has 185km/h gales at its centre, intensifies and moves towards land. Heavy rain and destructive winds are expected to hit the region and surrounding areas by late Friday or early Saturday. Lua was upgraded from a category 2 to a category 3 system early today. It is expected to cross the east Pilbara coast late Saturday morning or early afternoon. “Gales are currently being experienced in offshore Pilbara waters and are expected to develop in coastal areas between Whim Creek and Bidyadanga late Friday night. Very destructive winds with wind gusts in excess of 200km/h are likely to develop in coastal areas near the centre of the cyclone during Saturday…Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide mark with damaging waves and very dangerous flooding.”
Remote Pardoo and Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park is in the path of the cyclone. There are fears the park will be damaged again, three years after it received a battering from Cyclone Laurence in 2009. “There’s all new trees, everything’s beautiful and green, and to see that destroyed again would be heartbreaking. We’ve prepared ourselves and we’ve got new buildings, which is the top rating you can get, but it’s all the work that’s gone into it to rebuild.” The iron-ore export port of Port Hedland is being evacuated and residents in the cyclone’s expected path have been urged to prepare their properties for dangerous weather and organise their emergency kits. Western Australia’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority has warned there may be significant flooding in the north Kimberley region and minor flooding in the east Kimberley area today. (map)

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/cyclone-brewing-off-far-north-of-wa-and-northern-territory/story-e6frg13u-1226301180399

U.S.

A tornado touched down in southern Michigan Thursday, and there were reports of significant property damage, with the tornado damaging or demolishing more than 100 homes, downing trees and power lines, sparking fires and flooding neighborhood roads. Local news station footage showed flattened homes but there were no immediate reports of injuries. There was a lot of damage reported just outside the village of Dexter. March and April typically produce the most tornados in the US but this season has already been especially active. Two massive weather systems beginning late last month have spawned a spate of tornados that have ripped through the South and Midwest, flattening towns and killing dozens of people.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tornado-flattens-homes-as-storms-pound-michigan/story-e6frf7jx-1226301364762

Australia

More NSW residents told to evacuate as waters rise. The Murrumbidgee River is expected to flood yet another Riverina town over the weekend with about 1000 people preparing to flee the deluge.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/more-riverina-residents-told-to-evacuate-as-flood-waters-rise/story-e6frf7jx-1226301691419

Record Breaking Temperatures

U.S. RECORD-BREAKING WARM WEATHERadvances beginning of growing season

Recent ABNORMALLY WARM weather has resulted in a very early start to the growing season across the Great Lakes Region and much of the central and eastern USA. The prolonged warm spell is the result of a very persistent jet stream configuration across North America that generally prevented cold, arctic-origin air masses from moving out of their high-latitude source regions southward into the central and eastern USA. This left the area under the influence of relatively mild Pacific-origin air masses. The current jet stream pattern, with deep troughing across the western USA and ridging across the east has accentuated the pattern. The result is record-breaking warmth brought northward from the Gulf States on southerly winds.
Characterizing the current warm spell as HIGHLY UNUSUAL IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT, both due to the magnitude of the warmth and due to its length. Recent temperatures have been running in the range of 20 to 30°F or more above normal. The warm weather has caused an earlier peak time for cherry blossoms as Washington, D.C. hit a RECORD-BREAKING 82 degrees on a late winter’s day Thursday. (map depicting forecast conditions across North America early next week)

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/e-newsletters/drovers-daily/Record-breaking-warm-weather-advances-beginning-of-growing-season-142831885.html?ref=885

Colorado

More RECORD-BREAKING WARMTH ahead for Denver. Colorado’s warm spell has a solid chance to leave its mark on the record book three times this week. The National Weather Service is predicting a high of 76 degrees today, which would eclipse the record high of 74 degrees for March.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20186133/more-record-breaking-warmth-ahead-denver-snow-creeps

Solar Activity

‘Deathstar’ like object spotted near sun

A NASA video of a dark, disc shaped object hovering near the sun has set off a wave of speculation online as amateur astronomers try to figure out what the object could be.

The video, taken from a NASA satellite and uploaded to Youtube by a man calling himself SunsFlare, shows a huge round object floating near the sun, with a large ‘twister tail’ extending from it.

The video shows the sun’s rays bursting out from the surface, but a large circular object remains black, with a dark ‘twister tail’ remaining connected to the sun.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/13175019/deathstar-like-object-spotted-near-sun/

http://d.yimg.com/nl/australia/site/player.html#browseCarouselUI=hide&repeat=0&vid=28614339

Misc

Ice Age, Supervolcano Could Topple US Government

CONTRIBUTOR: TERRENCE AYM.

As more evidence mounts that the world is slipping faster into the next Ice Age, Washington insiders are scurrying to solidify their new power base for centralized government operations. Fears that the US…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1894/477/NL/

White cliffs of Dover suffer large collapse

A large section of the white cliffs of Dover has collapsed into the English Channel between Langdon Cliffs and South Foreland Lighthouse.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17389616

Savanah Georgia region shaken by mystery ‘boom’ noise

“Earthquake “booms” have been reported for a long time, and they tend to occur more in the Northeastern US and along the East Coast. Of course, most “booms” that people hear or experience are actually some type of cultural noise, such as some type of explosion, a large vehicle going by, or sometimes a sonic boom, but there have been many reports of “booms” that cannot be explained by man-made sources. No one knows for sure, but scientists speculate that these “booms” are probably small shallow earthquakes that are too small to be recorded, but large enough to be felt by people nearby.

http://www2.wsav.com/news/2012/mar/15/mystery-boom-heard-felt-across-region-ar-3418171/

Rising Sea Levels Seen as Threat to Coastal U.S.

About 3.7 million Americans live within a few feet of high tide and risk being hit by more frequent coastal flooding in coming decades because of the sea level rise caused by global warming, according to new research.

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Global Disaster Watch – Tuesday March 13th, 2012

Filed under: Earthquakes, Environmental, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Freak Natural and Not So Natural Phenomena, Global Disasters, Solar Activity, Solar System, Weather Phenomena, Wildlife, World News — Leave a comment

March 13, 2012

Earthquake

Magnitude 6 earthquake, Northwestern Kashmir

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 06:06 AM

Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude 73.280 GEO: Latitude 36.720

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake, Near Coast of Peru

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 06:34 AM

Depth 10 km GEO:Longitude -75.770 GEO: Latitude -14.120

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake, northwestern Kashmir

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 08:26 AM

Depth 66.2 km GEO: Longitude 73.083 GEO: Latitude 36.857

Source
USGS

Magnitude 5.8 earthquake, Kuril Islands

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 12:32 PM

Depth 115 GEO: Longitude 147.750 GEO: Latitude 45.240

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake, NORTHWESTERN KASHMIR

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 12:59 PM

Depth 80 km GEO: Longitude 73.710 GEO: Latitude 36.900

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 5 earthquake, Kepulauan Talaud, Indonesia

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 17:55 PM

Depth 35 km GEO: Longitude 127.005 GEO: Latitude 3.022

Source
USGS

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake, MAULE, CHILE

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 19:37 PM

Depth 65 km GEO: Longitude -71.560 GEO: Latitude
-34.930

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake, VANUATU

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 22:38 PM

Depth 261 km GEO: Longitude 169.240 GEO: Latitude -18.890

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake, Bay of Plenty

UTC Date / Time Mar 13 02:11 AM

Depth 100 km GEO: Longitude 176.475 GEO: Latitude -38.600

Source
GEONET

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake, Dominican Republic region

UTC Date / Time Mar 13 04:15 AM

Depth 19.2 km GEO: Longitude -68.064 GEO: Latitude 19.364

Source
USGS

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake, South Sandwich Islands region

UTC Date / Time Mar 13 04:49 AM

Depth 35 km GEO: Longitude -27.788 GEO: Latitude -55.403

Source
USGS

Kashmir Valley rocked twice, no casualties

SRINAGAR: Two earthquakes of moderate intensity shook Kashmir Valley within three hours today but there were no reports of any casualty or damage.

“An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale rocked Northwest Kashmir at 1136 hrs,” an official of the Disaster Management Cell said.

He said the epicentre of the quake was in Gilgit area in Pakistan.

Another tremor measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale was experienced at 0156 hrs, the official said.

The two quakes caused panic but there were no reports of any casualty or damage to property, he

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/kashmir-valley-rocked-twice-no-casualties/articleshow/12234526.cms

Tremor rocks Snowy Mountains

People in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains are reporting what they say is an earth tremor.

Residents at Jindabyne say the earth was shaking around the Kalkite area, on the shores of Lake Jindabyne early this morning.

Jim Crocker from the Jindabyne township says the tremor took him by surprise.

But he says earth movements are not uncommon when the lake is full.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-12/tremor-rocks-snowy-mountains/3884292

Volcanic Activity

Ijen volcano (East Java, Indonesia): eruption warning due to increased seismic and degassing activity

BY: TOMPFEIFFER

The official alert level for Ijen volcano in East Java, Indonesia, has been raised again to 3 (“alert”) due to an increase in activity, our Indonesian correspondant Andi reports.
A new 10 m wide gas vent, which erupted buring gasses, was observed on 10 March at 17 m distance from the shore. Thick steaming, larger than usual, forming a thick white column of sulfur steam 200 m high was already noted since 3 March. Measurements of the lake water temperature at 5 m depth had also shown increased values of 42.70 deg C.
On 10 March, the lake surface was 2 meters higher than normal, although this could be attributed to heavy recent rain fall.

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/ijen/news/6388/Ijen-volcano-East-Java-Indonesia-eruption-warning-due-to-increased-seismic-and-degassing-activity.html

Frightening Volcanic Venting Signals Coming

CONTRIBUTOR: TERRENCE AYM.

A U.S. Midwest Megaquake:

many say ‘It can’t happen here.’ But it can, and it will. It’s happened many times in the past and the odds are increasing that it’s about to happen again soon—much sooner than most…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1878/606/NL/

Tropical Storms

In the Indian Ocean

Tropical cyclone 16s (Koji) was located approximately 1200 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia.

Australia – A cyclone watch has been issued for parts of the Top End, with the Bureau of Meteorology saying a cyclone may develop on Wednesday. Areas from Cape Hotham and stretching west to Kalumburu in Western Australia are on cyclone watch, including Darwin and the Tiwi Islands.

Severe Rain

China – High speed train track collapses in China. a section of a high-speed railway line that had already undergone test runs has collapsed in central China following heavy rain. The official Xinhua News Agency did not mention casualties in its report on the collapse of a 300-metre section of the railway line. It said hundreds of workers were rushing to repair the line between the Yangtze River cities of Wuhan and Yichang. The railway line is due to open in May. China has reaffirmed its intention to push ahead with the fast-paced build-up of the high-speed rail system, despite financial difficulties and worries safety may have been compromised in the rush to open new lines.

Record Temperatures

Northeast, Midwest see record high temperatures

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – Temperatures soared to record highs in the Northeast on Monday after a weekend of record-setting warmth across the Upper Plains and forecasts for an unprecedented extended warm front this week, the National Weather Service said.

In Boston, temperatures reached a record 71 degrees Monday afternoon, eclipsing the former high of 69 degrees for this date set 110 years ago, the weather service said.

The unseasonably warm weather was expected to continue in Boston throughout the week, but likely not with record setting temperatures, said Bill Simpson, a weather service meteorologist based in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Temperatures also soared Monday afternoon in New York City to near the record 71 degrees in Central Park.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/northeast-midwest-see-record-high-temperatures-214614107.html

Solar System

Vast Increase In ‘Star Bubbles’ Proof Of Energetic Change?

CONTRIBUTOR: ZEN GARDNER.

Is this recent discovery by citizen scientists evidence of the energetic shift we’re experiencing? Is our sun just one of many in our galaxy that is experiencing this re-charging effect that is apparently…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1874/779/NL/

Villain in disguise: Jupiter’s role in impacts on Earth

Whilst most famous for his catalog of 110 galaxies, nebulae, clusters and double stars, Charles Messier was a comet-hunter at heart. His catalog was simply a list of nuisances, faint fuzzies that looked like comets but were not. The Frenchman found 13 comets in all between 1760 and 1785, but perhaps the most important of them was the streaking comet that he spotted in June 1770. Fast moving on the sky, it was bright enough at magnitude +2 that it could be clearly seen from well-lit towns and cities. A brief spectacle of wonder for eighteenth century astronomers to enjoy, its ramifications could have been much greater.

http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/4620/villain-in-disguise-jupiter%27s-role-in-impacts-on-earth

Wildlife

Thousands of Snowy Owls Migrate South in Unbelievable Wildlife Event

By Dr. Becker

In a true mystery of nature, thousands of snowy owls are migrating into and across the U.S from their Arctic home this winter.

The snow-white owls have been spotted from the east coast to the west, in states as far flung as Idaho, Massachusetts, Montana and Missouri, and as far south as Oklahoma.

A certain number of owls always fly south from their Arctic home during winter months, but for so many to travel so far is extraordinary.

According to Denver Holt of Montana’s Owl Research Institute, who has studied snowy owls in the Arctic for 20 years, “What we’re seeing now — it’s unbelievable. This is the most significant wildlife event in decades.”

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/03/12/arctic-snowy-owls-migrate-south.aspx

Misc

Potential For 100ft. Waves On NW Coast Now Seems A Possibility

CURATOR: BARRACUDA. A computer simulation shows how a tsunami generated by a magnitude 9 earthquake off the Northwest Coast would spread across the Pacific. Scientists are asking whether the massive waves triggered by last year’s…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1876/759/NL/

2MIN News Mar12: CME Impacting Now

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 5 earthquake, Southern Mid Atlantic Ridge

UTC Date / Time Mar 11 22:30 PM

Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude -16.740 GEO: Latitude -41.090

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, SOUTH OF PANAMA

UTC Date / Time Mar 12 05:03 AM

Depth 40 km GEO: Longitude -82.550 GEO: Latitude 5.450

Source
EMSC

Solar Activity

GIANT MASSIVE WEIRD BLACK SUN PLASMA FILAMENT OR TORNADO ANOMILIE MARCH 11TH 2012

The Oceans

Ocean life on the brink of mass extinctions: study

(Reuters) – Life in the oceans is at imminent risk of the worst spate of extinctions in millions of years due to threats such as climate change and over-fishing, a study showed on Tuesday.

Time was running short to counter hazards such as a collapse of coral reefs or a spread of low-oxygen “dead zones,” according to the study led by the International Program on the State of the Ocean (IPSO).

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/21/us-oceans-idUSTRE75K1IY20110621

Oceans Acidifying Faster Today than in the Past
Source: NSF press release

The oceans may be acidifying faster today than they did in the last 300 million years, according to scientists publishing a paper this week in the journal Science.

“What we’re doing today really stands out in the geologic record,” says lead author Bärbel Hönisch, a paleoceanographer at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

“We know that life during past ocean acidification events was not wiped out–new species evolved to replace those that died off. But if industrial carbon emissions continue at the current pace, we may lose organisms we care about–coral reefs, oysters, salmon.”

http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/4619/oceans-acidifying-faster-today-than-in-the-past

Comment

Family Survival Protocol Presents : “Concept U.S.K.” Surviving Urban Disaster

Filed under: Disaster Preparation and Survival, Uncategorized — Leave a comment

March 11, 2012

Uploaded by nutnfancy on Jan 10, 2010

Part 1: Sometimes the city is a bad place to be. But millions find themselves linked to the city, living, working, or recreating. Cessation of services, terrorists attacks, economic or governmental collapse, rioting (for a variety of reasons), and devastating NATURAL disasters can transform a usually-bustling and mostly safe urbanscape into a wasteland where emergency services are either overwhelmed or just unavailable. You may quickly find your survival (and those around you) will be up to you. Go prepared, both with a calm, can-do mindset that will allow you to overcome, adapt, and survive bad situations (and help others to do the same). In this series of vids, I introduce my “Concept USK” or Urban Survival Kit and its philosophy as requested by many TNPrs. A possible motto as you work your way through urban chaos: “Prepare, Survive, Render Aid, Lead.” Some Nutnfancy foundations of the review: most kits will evolve according to need and technology, a kit will have to be personalized for your situation, adherence to legalities of some contents is your responsibility, it’s impossible to prepare for every contingency and SAWC (Space/Size And Weight Constraints) will dictate your level of preparation and kit “depth,” preparations for self-defense are wise, the necessity to blend in and not draw attention to yourself, the concepts of “write-off,” re-stocking, pre-postioning, and redundancy in kit preparation, and guidelines for use. In Part 1 these foundations are discussed and then the item by item review commences starting with carry case considerations and water considerations. Use of defensive and non-lethal OC or pepper spray is shown and discussed (other defensive options shown later) in realistic terms (larger container preferred in urban settings). In a confusing urban survival situation, information could be critical and several items are carried to help improve your “intelligence” gathering including optics (binos, monocular; optional) and a transistor radio for news reports (several models shown). Kit sub-containers and organization discussed too as we approach the review of the Comms Kit. Execution for the USK will take planning, work, and some money (especially applying the “write-off” principle). Currently it is impossible to purchase a serious USK with these capabilities so you will have to make it. But it will give a sense of capability and hope to its user and just may carry him through the day. Sobering possibilities are discussed by necessity but the “USK Concept” is a message of hope and self-reliance./////////////////// See other parts for DETAILED KIT CONTENTS ///////////////////////// Music by Derek R. Audette – (Socan), CC 2.5 ///////////////// Some images from PhotoBucket.com whose posters have agreed to royalty-free worldwide distribution through unqualified agreement to Photobucket.com Terms of Use.

Uploaded by nutnfancy on Jan 11, 2010

See Part 1 for USK Series intro. Part 2 and 3: DETAILED KIT CONTENTS, Of course all items are subject to improvement, change, or discontinuance by the manufacturer: CARRY CASES: Small day pack (Kelty “Cadence” model used here, 1700 cubes. 2 main compartments), zipped organization pouches, Columbia® Toiletry Valet. COMMS: Survival crank radio or small transistor radio (AA variety like Sony Panasonic RF-P50, Sony ICF-S10MK2, Grundig Mini-300 or similar are good options), 2-way AA cell-capable radios (Motorola #MR351R shown) with 550 cord lanyards, mini polycarbonate signal mirror (Gerber shown, “Ultimate Survival” brand good too), flare pen or gyro jet with extra flares (optional; also hand held compact signal flares), 2 loud whistles (options: Fox, WindStorm, NRS Storm Safety-brand whistles, ‘Ray Gonia’ dog training whistle), 2 fine tip black Sharpie® markers, Post Its®, index cards, waterproof paper (Write in the Rain), Fenix L1D and LD20 AA multi-mode flashlights with light cones (red, white), Fenix light headband, Streamlight Stylus Pro penlight, 8 (min) lithium AA and 4 (min) AAA batteries (Energizer Ultimate Lithium shown). PROTECTIVE GEAR: heavy leather gloves (Petzl rapelling gloves shown, any high quality can work), 4 pair disposable Nitrile exam gloves, safety glasses, sun glasses, dust masks (2 min), foam ear plugs (3 pair), respirator if SAWC permits (AO Safety® model shown), sunscreen, chapstick, disposable plastic poncho or rain suit, skull cap, sweat band, Adventure Medical Kits Thermo-Lite 2 Bivy bags (1 small, 1 large). TOOLS: Leatherman Super Tool 300 (or equivalent), pry bar (options: Stanley “Wonder Bar II,” 10’/25cm “Claw Bar”), multi-bit drivers (like Stanley #68-107 Fiberglass Screwdriver), gas shutoff wrech (not shown), heavy wire, heavy duty aluminum foil, Gorilla® brand duct tape, 3M® electrical tape, mini hacksaw (like Stanley MiniHack #20-807 shown), spring loaded punch, 100 ft 550 nylon cord wrapped on tempered hardboad winder, 25 ft heavy duty nylon cord (on exterior to case belay and lashing), portable saw if SAWC permit, dedicated wire snips, 1 small can WD-40, Stanley Stanley #10-16 Utility knife with extra blades (or Gerber EAB model, reviewed), dedicated mini-scissors (Gerber shown), flint and steel (like “Light My Fire” brand shown, “Ultimate Survival” brand Sparkie also excellent), 2 to 4 packs Trioxane fuel bars, adjustable flame lighter, REI “Lifeboat” matches. SELF DEFENSE: large OC pepper spray container (as big as SAWC allow; UDAP® brand 8 oz bear spray excellent), pry bar, folding tactical/utility blade (Buck Vantage Select shown, many other great options reviewed), Kel-Tec P3-AT .380 auto pistol with extra mag, 50 rds minimum 90 gr Federal HydraShok® ammo, Uncle Mikes Size 10 ankle holster & belt holster (Fobus also good), spare mag case (“RIPOFF” brand shown), mid-size survival knife (options: Ontario SP-17, CS SRK, KaBar Combat, Fallkniven A1, Randall RC-5,etc). MEDICAL: Level 1 Nutnfancy First Aid Kit (see review). WATER: Katadyn Hiker water filter, Nalgene folding Wide-Mouth Cantene 96 oz #2595-0096, coffee or paint screen pre-filters, collapsible backpacking bucket. FOOD: As many energy/candy bars (solid chocolate store best) that SAWC allow, 2 freeze-dried meals, MSR “Pocket Rocket” stove, propane fuel cartridge, tin can/canteen cup/titanium cup with lid, salt packets in plastic baggy. MISC: miniature playing cards, thermo compass, alcohol swabs, Scott-brand blue shop towels, Kleenex®, Kirtland-brand Household anti-bacterial wipes in baggy. PREPOSITIONALBES: Xootr scooter in travel bag (compact, fast, maneuverable escape vehicle, 5 times faster than walking), Rapelling gear (Blue Water brand 150′ kernmantle rope preferred, US Army 120′ surplus rope ok too; good for 9 or so story escape only though), Rescue 8, carabiners, Rapelling seat, Sport Parachute, strap adjusted, ready ///////////////////////// Music by Derek R. Audette – (Socan), CC 2.5 and original music by TNPr Dudio (youtube.com/user/eldudio) /////////////////////////////// Some images from PhotoBucket.com whose posters have agreed to royalty-free worldwide distribution through unqualified agreement to Photobucket.com Terms of Use.

Uploaded by nutnfancy on Jan 14, 2010

Tags: China, conservation, disasters, disclosure, freak weather, government, long term food storage, natural disasters, preppers, shtf, stocking first aid, stocking food, stocking supplies, storms, survival, survivalists, sustainability

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Global Disaster Watch – Sunday March 11th, 2012

This is the second earthquake felt in Jamaica in consecutive days following the 3.4 magnitude quake recorded near Yallahs, St Thomas, yesterday.

A release from the unit says this morning’s earthquake occurred at 3:34 and was felt in Clarendon, St Catherine, St Mary and Kingston and St Andrew.

There are no reports of any damage or injuries.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Santiago de Cuba province.

http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=35809

5.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Alaskan peninsula

March 10, 2012 – ALASKA – A 5.6 magnitude earthquake was reported just off the coastline of the Alaskan peninsula at 5:10 am. The earthquake registered at a depth of 17.7 km or 11.0 miles below the surface and struck the ocean floor. The epicenter of the earthquake was 819 km (508 miles) SW of Anchorage, Alaska and 1455 km (904 miles) W of JUNEAU, Alaska. Both seismicity and volcanic activity has been steadily increasing along the Alaskan region over the last several weeks. People in high-risk areas should stay alert for the potential occurrence of seismic episodes.

5.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Alaskan peninsula

Storms

Global Weirding Hits Hawaii — with Hail Stones

Deadly, devastating tornadoes in the northeastern U.S. are again setting records this year, and arriving earlier than ever. Meanwhile, frigid conditions have killed hundreds across Europe, while spring-like conditions exist in vast areas of North America. Now folks in Hawaii are seeing something previously unheard of: golf ball sized hail stones on the North Shore of Oahu and in some other areas across the state.

http://www.newser.com/story/141480/global-weirding-hits-hawaii-with-hail-stones.html

Hawaii Pummeled By ‘Severe Weather’ As La Nina Turns To El Nino

Meteorologists are taking note of the extreme weather conditions that continue to cloud Hawaii’s normally sunny climatic disposition. “Feet of rain” has fallen in some areas. Hanalei, Hawaii, received 35.97 inches of rain in just over two days. Multiple landslides have blocked highways throughout the state. Violent thunderstorms produced hail with diameters up to 2 inches in Kailua and Kaneohe. Not only is it HIGHLY UNUSUAL for hail to fall over Hawaii, but some stones that measured as large as three inches are likely record-breaking. “What is going on in Hawaii is a symptom of the change from La Niña to El Niño coming on.”

Tornado

A rare tornado touches down on Oahu

msnbc.com staff reports: A rare tornado blew roofs off homes and left other damage in its path through the Hawaiian communities of Lanikai and Enchanted Lake on Oahu, weather officials confirmed Friday.

A National Weather Service team surveying damage and talking to witnesses determined a waterspout came ashore and was reclassified as a tornado in Lanikai about 7:30 a.m. The 20-yard-wide tornado traveled about 1.5 miles in 15 minutes to Enchanted Lake with wind speeds reaching 60 to 70 mph before dissipating, officials said.

Hawaii, known for its famous sunshine, has been hit with unusually harsh weather for about a week.

A 30-minute hail storm on Friday in Oahu was “unprecedented ,” Tom Birchard, senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu, told the Associated Press. Some of the hail stones have been unusually large for the islands — the size of marbles and discs more than a half inch long, weather.com reported.

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10628559-a-rare-tornado-touches-down-on-oahu

EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT /CLIMATE CHANGE –

Great Lakes winter ice cover has decreased 71 percent since 1973

The average amount of ice covering the Great Lakes declined 71 percent over the past 40 winters, with Lake Superior ice down 79 percent. “There was a significant downward trend in ice coverage from 1973 to the present for all of the lakes.” Researchers used Coast Guard reports and satellite photographs taken from 1973 to 2010 to determine the ice coverage of all the lakes, with Lake Ontario ice dropping 88 percent while ice in Lake St. Clair (between Lake Huron and Lake Erie) diminished just 37 percent.
The findings don’t include the current winter, but 2011-12 will only speed up the decline. Only about 5 percent of the Great Lakes surface froze over this winter, the least since satellite photos first were taken from space. That compares to winters that saw as much as 94 percent ice coverage, such as in 1979. It’s also way down from the average winter of about 40 percent coverage. The results won’t be a surprise to Northlanders who have gazed out all winter over open water on the western tip of Lake Superior, where almost no ice has formed. Even in protected Chequamegon Bay, which usually freezes enough for trucks to drive on, strong ice never formed this winter, forcing the Madeline Island ferry to operate all season. That’s only the second time that’s ever happened. The results echo other studies that show much higher surface water temperatures on Lake Superior in recent years and far fewer days of ice cover.
Diminished ice can speed up wintertime evaporation, reducing water levels. It also may lead to increased and earlier algae blooms, which can damage water quality, and may accelerate erosion by exposing more shoreline to waves. The decline in ice cover probably is due to several factors, including cyclical climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña (unusually high temperatures and unusually low temperatures, respectively, in the Pacific), changes in the Arctic Oscillation and broader climate change.

HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD –

Afghanistan

At least 145 people are missing and “presumed dead” after an avalanche hit a village in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province last week. Afghan officials had earlier Saturday put the death toll from the March 4 series of avalanches in Badakhshan’s Shekay district at 56. The UN said an avalanche in the area claimed 50 lives and warned of severe flooding over coming weeks due to melting snow. Afghanistan’s harshest winter in 15 years has claimed scores of lives, with the avalanches taking the toll to more than 90 in Badakhsh alone. “Access to Dispay village is possible only by road from neighboring Tajikistan but has been severely hampered by snow-blocked roads. Helicopter access is not possible as there is a high risk of triggering further avalanches.”

Volcanic Activity

MEXICO – The drills continue in all the communities surrounding the volcano Popocatepetl, said the director of Civil Protection, Jesus Morales Rodriguez, who said that the drills will be permanent in the area. The state official said they have instituted the Special Plan Popocatepetl, where they indicated that the performance of the drills need to be performed at least once every 15 days, at random to participatants in all communities. These actions were recommended to keep the community aware of the dangers and the need of evacuations should threatening conditions arise. According to the website of the National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) the current alert status is in phase two, in yellow, so that the conditions of the volcano are normal. The agency also disclosed that in the last 24 hours, 11:00 hours, Popocatepetl has registered 12 exhalations of low intensity, accompanied by water and gas emissions, without major changes. Because the probability remains moderate exhalations emission of ash and a slight glow seen at night, it is recommended the Civil Protection Directorate maintain a safety radius up to 12 km from the volcano, to keep traffic controlled between Santiago and San Pedro Nexapa Xalitzintla via Paso de Cortes. The public is also asked to continue to tune in for the latest status updates concerning the volcano’s activity. –Sexenio (translated)

12 emissions reported at Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano in the last 24 hours

Solar Activity

M8.4 SOLAR FLARE + CME RECORDED ON 10th March 2012. IT’S EARTH DIRECTED.wmv

Misc

NASA to launch 5 rockets quickly to track winds

NORFOLK, Virginia: Skywatchers along the East Coast may be able to see a NASA experiment meant to learn more about the little-understood jet stream current at the edge of space.

NASA plans to launch five rockets in five minutes from coastal Virginia on a clear night between March 14 and April 4.

They will release a chemical trail to track winds that circle the planet at up to 300 miles per hour (482 kph) in the thermosphere about 65 miles (105 kilometers) up.

A series of moderate to strong earthquakes has rattled several parts of the globe including Iran, China, the Philippines and parts of the South Pacific in the past 12-24 hours.

There have been no reports of serious damage or fatalities from these quakes thus far and no tsunami warnings were issued for areas that could be impacted.

A similar earthquake earlier this week did injure 10 people in the Philippines.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/series-of-earthquakes-rumble-a/62578

Quake Hits West China; No Injuries Reported

An earthquake has struck the far west of China but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday that the 5.8 quake struck about 7 a.m. (2300 GMT) in the southern part of Xinjiang region.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/quake-hits-west-china-injuries-reported-15882190#.T1qpz7QycdQ

Quake researchers warn of Tokyo’s ‘Big One’

A year on from one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history, Japanese scientists are warning anew that Tokyo could soon be hit by a quake that will kill thousands and cause untold damage.

Greater Tokyo, home to 35 million tightly packed people, has seen a three-fold increase in tectonic activity since the magnitude 9.0 undersea quake that unleashed a killer tsunami last March.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Quake_researchers_warn_of_Tokyos_Big_One_999.html

Japan earthquakes over time

Figures compiled by the ABC reveal that since the massive earthquake in Japan a year ago the country has been rattled by more than five times as many tremors as usual. That includes 10 aftershocks of magnitude seven or greater. Using figures provided by Japan’s meteorological agency, the ABC found that there have been more than 9,000 significant tremors under and around Japan since last year’s March 11 earthquake. That compares with 1,300 for all of 2010. As well as 10 quakes of magnitude seven or greater in the past year, there were more than 100 that were more violent than magnitude six. Recent media reports suggest Tokyo has a 70 per cent chance of being hit with a major earthquake in the next four years.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-09/japan-earthquakes-over-time/3879910

Iliamna sees earthquake activity

Iliamna volcano experienced several episodes of increased earthquake activity over the last three months, according to a news release issued Wednesday by Alaska Volcano Observatory officials. One of the episodes is currently ongoing and is characterized by numerous small earthquakes.

The increase in activity may be related to movement of magma at depth and additional observations, including an airborne gas sampling and observation flight, are being planned to help constrain this interpretation, according to the release.

http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2012-03-07/iliamna-sees-earthquake-activity

Storm

Volcanic Activity

Bezymianny volcano erupts again

Friday saw a new eruption of the Bezymianny volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

Earlier in the day, the volcano spewed ash up to 8 kilometers high, seismologists said, adding that the eruption does not pose a threat to population centers in the area.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_03_09/67945279/

Colombian volcano waking up

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano, whose eruption 26 years ago killed around 25,000 people, is showing signs of activity after nearly 20 years laying dormant, said Colombian geological group Ingeominas Thursday.

Early Friday morning, geologists completed an observational fly-over with the assistance of the Colombian Air Force, during which they photographed the Nevado del Ruiz volcano and noted “ash on the glacier, near the crater rim and on the eastern flank,” as well as a 4,500 foot gas column at the mouth of the volcano. During the same day a seismic tremor was reported along with an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/22726-colombian-volcano-waking-up.html

Explosion detected at Alaska’s Cleveland volcano

Mount Cleveland, located about 45 miles from the community of Nikolski, is isolated on an uninhabited island and — despite the volcano’s regular eruption pattern — has no real-time monitoring equipment. Cloud cover prevented visual observation or satellite imagery of the eruption. Officials said this was similar to eruptions in December, when small ash clouds dissipated quickly and didn’t affect air traffic.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/explosion-detected-alaskas-cleveland-volcano

Tropical Storms

In the Indian Ocean –

-Tropical cyclone 14s (Irina) was located approximately 455 nm east-southeast of Maputo, Mozambique.

-Tropical cyclone 16s (Koji) was located approximately 1065 nm east-southeast of Diego Garcia.

SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES –

Australia

NSW floods: Worse to come, warns minister. The damage bill from NSW’s flood crisis is heading “way north” of $500 million and April is set to heap even worse misery on the sodden state. Communities remain on tenterhooks as a fresh wave of rain threatens homes and property in NSW’s southwest, central west and suburban Sydney. “Sadly we’re in a La Nina and the weather forecasters are telling me that April will be the worst that we’ve faced yet.”
The State Emergency Service (SES) issued evacuation warnings for people in Richmond Lowlands, Pitt Town and Gronos Point at 6.30am (AEDT). Several caravan parks on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, between Windsor and Sackville, were also put on high alert. “We are asking those people to start preparing themselves now for possible evacuations throughout the day.” Communities in southwest Sydney were also on high alert.
More than 1000 people remain in evacuation centres at Griffith, in southwest NSW, with the Murrumbidgee River due to peak again today. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of major flooding in Narrandera, southeast of Griffith, and the neighbouring communities of Darlington Point, Carathool and Hay. Flooding was also expected in Forbes and Bega today, with hundreds of residents in both communities already evacuated.

Residents in parts of Sydney’s northwest

have been told to prepare for evacuation as the Hawkesbury River floods. Parts of Australia are seeing some of THE WORST FLOODING IN 160 YEARS. Dozens of residents in New South Wales had to be rescued when they became stranded in their cars. Shops are short of supplies as locals buy up food and other essentials.

No ordinary downpour

wild weather swamped Sydney and the south coast in THE WETTEST WEEK IN NEW SOUTH WALES’ HISTORY. “It is VERY RARE to have such persistent, RECORD-BREAKING RAINFALL over such large areas of NSW and Victoria.”

EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT

Canada

Wednesday’s high was a RECORD-BREAKING 11.7 C.

Portland, Maine, hits RECORD-BREAKING 60 degrees

The calendar still says winter, but Maine is experiencing spring-like weather. The temperature climbed to 60 degrees Thursday afternoon in Portland. The previous high for the date was 56, set two years ago.

The UNUSUAL Weather is Creating Angst Among Maine Maple Syrup Producers

The RECORD-BREAKING temperatures and the possibility of more warm weather over the next two weeks is not a welcome prospect.

From Texas to India to the Horn of Africa, Concern about Weather, Water and Crops

Hardly a week goes by without new reasons to be concerned about the impact of changing precipitation patterns and mounting water stress on food production.
This past week, officials in Texas cut off irrigation water to rice farmers downstream of reservoirs depleted by the worst one-year drought in Texas history. Even with recent rains, lakes Buchanan and Travis remain at 42 percent of capacity. Farmers, who pay the least for water, will be denied their liquid lifeline in order to prevent curtailments to urban and industrial water users. It was the FIRST TIME IN ITS 78-YEAR HISTORY that the Austin-based Lower Colorado River Authority had cut off water to farmers.
On February 29, United Nations officials announced that the crucial March through May rainy season in the Horn of Africa would likely fall short again this year. The warning comes on the heels of last year’s drought, the worst in sixty years, and the devastating famine it triggered. Scientists analyzed data on rainfall, temperature, ocean currents and the strength of the La Niña before making their forecas. “This is not good news for farmers in areas which have been affected by agricultural drought in recent years. We must plan for the probability that rainfall will be erratic and there will be long dry spells which will impact on crop production and food security.” The forecast comes just weeks after the United Nations downgraded Somalia’s food crisis from a famine to a “humanitarian emergency.” Across the Horn of Africa, some 9.5 million people still require emergency assistance.
And then from India comes perhaps the most worrisome news of the week. Researchers there have found that India’s monsoonal rainfall, upon which much of the nation’s agriculture depends, is becoming less frequent and more intense. Scientists found that global climate change can cause departures from the historic monsoonal norm, which, on balance would lead to lower yields of rice, maize, cotton, soybeans, and other kharif (monsoonal) crops. During the rabi (dry) season, higher temperatures could cut yields of wheat, potatoes, and vegetables. The agriculture commissioner for Maharashtra, an important crop-producing state, says that farmers in his state already are seeing yield impacts that he attributes to climatic change.
Still another report from the last week casts a pall over California’s upcoming harvest. State officials found that the water content of California’s mountain snowpack is only 30 percent of normal historic levels for this point in the season. Officials estimate they will deliver only 50 percent of the water requested from the State Water Project, a system of reservoirs and canals that distributes water to 25 million Californians and nearly one million acres of irrigated farmland. “Absolutely, we should be concerned.”
These reports are snapshots of weather and climate-related warnings and in no way present a picture of the world’s food situation. But they are the kinds of warnings that now seem to routinely overlay already troubling global water trends – from widespread groundwater depletion to dried up rivers and lakes. What’s emerging is an interconnected web of risks, with the threads of water stress, food insecurity and rising population and consumption now magnified by extreme weather and climatic change.
The portrayal of water security in the U.S. intelligence community’s 2012 worldwide threat assessment clearly warns that “over the next 10 years, water problems will contribute to instability in states important to US interests.” It also underscores groundwater depletion as a risk to both national and global food markets.
But it fails to spotlight the potential for social and political instability stemming from the interplay of extreme weather, water shortage and food prices – even though we got a sneak preview of this destabilization in 2007-08 and again in 2011. The food riots that erupted in Haiti, Senegal, Mauritania and a half dozen other countries as grain prices climbed in 2007-08 are a harbinger of what is to come. Extreme weather in 2010 – including the off-the-charts heat wave in Russia that slashed the country’s wheat harvest by 40 percent, the epic flood in Pakistan, widespread drought in China, and the massive flooding following the decade of drought in Australia – caused an even higher spike in food prices in early 2011. Some analysts have linked the skyrocketing food prices with the violent protests that unleashed the Arab Spring. Climatic change and its impacts on the global water cycle guarantee that we’ll increasingly find ourselves outside the bounds of normal. The implications for food security, social cohesion and political stability are of the utmost concern both to our national security and our humanitarian impulse. It’s time to connect the dots – and to prepare, as best we can, for the new scenarios unfolding before our eyes.

Solar Activity

Exploding Sun To Fuel 1000s Of Super-Tornadoes

CONTRIBUTOR: TERRENCE AYM. When the sun becomes angry super space storms scour Earth. For the next 14 months the sun will be the angriest it’s been since 1859. The massive storms electrify the geomagnetic field, affects the Arctic vortex, and…

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1864/381/NL/

The space weather storm that was forecast to be the strongest in five years has fizzled out

and ended up causing no impact to power grids or modern navigation systems.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/space-weather-storm-fizzles-on-arrival/story-e6frf7jx-1226294341602

Scientists say that the storm could still have adverse effects as it passes

“The magnetic field in the solar wind is not facing in the direction of danger. But it could change, into the early evening.” Although space weather scientists have seen no more significant activity since the solar flares that launched the current storm, scientists around the globe are still keeping an a close watch on the Sun. “The part of the Sun where this came from is still active. It’s a 27-day cycle and we’re right in the middle of it, so it is coming straight at us and will be for a few days yet. We could see more material. ” But regardless of its eventual extent, this episode of solar activity is a preview of what is to come in the broader, 11-year solar cycle.
“The event is the largest for several years, but it is not in the most severe class. We may expect more storms of this kind and perhaps much more severe ones in the next year or so as we approach solar maximum. Such events act as a wake-up call as to how our modern western lifestyles are utterly dependent on space technology and national power grid infrastructure.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17295337

Diseases

New strain of flu found in bats

‘And even though they don’t have all the answers yet, infectious disease experts say just knowing this strain exists is giving them a head start at creating a vaccine.’ 06 Mar 2012 The blockbuster movie “Contagion” showed just how easy it is for an emerging disease to spread across the world. Now, some say the cause of that fictional flu is at least one step closer to reality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking creating something new. It’s not the bird flu. Not swine flu. But rather, the bat flu. Researchers in Guatemala ‘found’ a new strain of influenza in bats and are now watching to see how and if it can transmit to humans. Bats are known to carry emerging diseases.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/health/doctor_jo/new-strain-of-flu-found-in-bats-03062012

Mystery Illness Kills Three in Maryland Family

‘We have to wonder if it may be a mutant strain of flu virus.’ 06 Mar 2012 Three members of a Maryland family died after contracting severe respiratory illnesses and a third family member is hospitalized in critical condition, the Calvert County Health Department announced Tuesday. Officials are trying to identify the illness that killed an 81-year-old woman and two of her children, both in their 50s, who cared for her in her home in Lusby. Another of the woman’s children is seriously ill at Washington Medical Center. “The first thing that comes to mind is influenza,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. “But when they’re a cluster like this, we have to wonder if it may be a mutant strain of flu virus. There’s been some concern about a swine flu variant.”

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/03/06/mystery-illness-kills-three-in-maryland-family/

Misc

As sea levels rise, Kiribati eyes 6,000 acres in Fiji as new home for 103,000 islanders

By The Associated Press

Fearing that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago, the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan: moving the populace to Fiji.

Kiribati President Anote Tong told The Associated Press on Friday that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. He said the fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could provide an insurance policy for Kiribati’s entire population of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to leave.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10618829-as-sea-levels-rise-kiribati-eyes-6000-acres-in-fiji-as-new-home-for-103000-islanders

Tags: Alaska, Australia, Bats, Bezymianny volcano, Canada, Chile, China, Cleveland Volcano, Colombia, Crops, Diego Garcia., disasters, Diseases, drought, earthquakes, Environmental disasters, EXTREME HEAT, Fiji, Fiji Islands Region, Flooding, freak weather, Horn of Africa, Iliamna, Iliamna volcano, India, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, infrastructure, Iran, Irina, Japan, Kamchatka, Kills Three in Maryland Family, Kiribati, Koji, LANDSLIDES, Magnetic Field, Maine, Mozambique, Mystery Illness, N. MARIANA ISLANDS, national power grid, natural disasters, Nevado del Ruiz volcano, NEW SOUTH WALES', New strain of flu, Portland, sea levels rise, solar activity, South Pacific, storms, strange weather patterns, sun, Super-Tornadoes, survival, sustainability, Texas, the Philippines, Tropical Storms, Vanuatu, Vanuatu Islands, Victoria, Viti Levu, volcano, weather, weather phenomena

Comment

Global Disaster Watch – Wednesday , March 7th, 2012

Filed under: Earthquakes, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Freak Natural and Not So Natural Phenomena, Global Disasters, Mysterious Phenomena, Solar Activity, Solar System, Storms, Uncategorized, Volcanic Events, Weather Phenomena — Leave a comment

March 7, 2012

Global Disaster Watch – Tuesday , March 7th, 2012

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake, Luzon, Philippines

UTC Date / Time
Mar 05 23:06 PM

Depth
10 km

GEO: Longitude
123.780

GEO: Latitude
12.510

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake, SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 06:49 AM

Depth
50 km

GEO: Longitude
95.750

GEO: Latitude
51.570

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, near the east coast of Honshu, Japan

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 09:50 AM

Depth
46.1 km

GEO: Longitude
141.638

GEO: Latitude
37.761

Source
USGS

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake, Off East Coast of Honshu, Japan

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 11:17 AM

Depth
10 km

GEO: Longitude
142.040

GEO: Latitude
35.760

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake, off the east coast of Honshu, Japan

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 14:08 PM

Depth
30.8 km

GEO: Longitude
143.916

GEO: Latitude
39.545

Source
USGS

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake, Southern Sumatra, Indonesia

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 11:36 AM

Depth
85 km

GEO: Longitude
100.090

GEO: Latitude
-0.850

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, Banda Sea

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 15:48 PM

Depth
10 km

GEO: Longitude
129.530

GEO: Latitude
-7.250

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake, Ascension Island Region

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 16:05 PM

Depth
10 km

GEO: Longitude
-13.210

GEO: Latitude
-11.470

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake, Kuril Islands

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 22:33 PM

Depth
39.1 km

GEO: Longitude
154.330

GEO: Latitude
47.205

Source
USGS

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake, KYRGYZSTAN

UTC Date / Time
Mar 07 03:03 AM

Depth
1 km

GEO: Longitude
73.740

GEO: Latitude
39.570

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake, Panama

UTC Date / Time
Mar 07 04:39 AM

Depth
48.4 km

GEO: Longitude
-79.067

GEO: Latitude
9.546

Source
USGS

Magnitude 5.3 earthquake, Ryukyu Islands, Japan

UTC Date / Time
Mar 07 06:18 AM

Depth
61 km

GEO: Longitude
127.370

GEO: Latitude
25.680

Source
GEOFON

Magnitude 5 earthquake, KURIL ISLANDS

UTC Date / Time
Mar 06 22:33 PM

Depth
60 km

GEO: Longitude
154.150

GEO: Latitude
47.410

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake, CENTRAL IRAN

UTC Date / Time
Mar 07 06:57 AM

Depth
10 km

GEO: Longitude
56.760

GEO: Latitude
31.420

Source
EMSC

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake, Xizang

UTC Date / Time
Mar 07 07:23 AM

Depth
10 km

GEO: Longitude
82.000

GEO: Latitude
34.240

Source
GEOFON

Tremor near Mullaperiyar Dam

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tremor-near-mullaperiyar-dam/236615-60-122.html

Volcanic Activity

Owner : “It’s like a funeral” as Lava claims last home in Hawaii community.

http://www.videocounty.com/videos/owner–its-like-a-funeral-as-lava-claims-last-home-in-hawaii-community/

Drought

Spain wilts in driest winter for 70 years

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Spain_wilts_in_driest_winter_for_70_years_999.html

Storms

Snow, cold add to tornado survivors’ misery

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/05/10580677-snow-cold-add-to-tornado-survivors-misery

Solar Activity

Sun unleashes another dramatic solar flare

Geomagnetic storms expected to sweep past our planet, sparking auroras

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242530-Sun-unleashes-another-dramatic-solar-flare

Lights in the Sky

Mystery fireball lights up sky in Victoria and Tasmania

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/mystery-fireball-lights-up-sky-in-victoria-and-tasmania/story-e6frfku0-1226289312964#ixzz1oKRL5Vdb

Solar System

Asteroid 2012 DA14 on the mainstream

Uploaded by Envylife904 on Mar 6, 2012

As of today (3/6/12) asteroid 2012 DA14 impact probability look’s like this:

Impact Probability: 2.1e-04

0.021000000% chance of Earth impact
or
1 in 4,760 chance
or
99.97900000% chance the asteroid will miss the Earth

JPL Small-Body Database Browser
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2012DA14;cad=1#cad

Impact Probability
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ip?2.1e-04

Huge asteroid hurtling towards Earth will fly past our planet so close it will go UNDER many man-made satellites

NBC News – Recommends To Get Your Affairs In Order – March 6, 2012

Misc

What’s causing the mysterious sounds coming from the sky that are so loud they set off car alarms?

By Ted Thornhill

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2110523/Whats-causing-mysterious-sounds-coming-sky-loud-set-car-alarms.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Avalanche blankets Afghan village, kills at least 37

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/uk-afghanistan-avalanche-idUKTRE8250KL20120306

Tags: disasters, earthqiakes, Environmental disasters, freak weather, natural disasters, volcano, weather, weather phenomena

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