Earth Watch Report – Monday May 21st, 2012

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC)	Magnitude	Area	Country	State/Prov./Gov.	Location	Risk			Source	Details
21.05.2012 09:30:26	2.9	Europe	Greece		Tyrgia				EMSC
21.05.2012 09:25:45	4.5	Asia	Japan	Miyagi-ken	Futawatashihama				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 09:30:52	4.6	Asia	Japan		Futawatashihama				EMSC
21.05.2012 08:31:33	3.4	North America	United States	California	Ribbonwood				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 08:25:44	3.5	North America	United States	California	Ribbonwood				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 09:31:13	2.3	Europe	Greece		Tyrgia				EMSC
21.05.2012 09:31:35	4.4	South-America	Argentina		La Laja				EMSC
21.05.2012 08:36:00	4.4	Atlantic Ocean	Argentina	Provincia de San Juan	La Laja				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 07:10:37	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Chelatna Lodge				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 07:25:29	3.0	Asia	Armenia		Saragyugh				EMSC
21.05.2012 07:25:47	3.1	Asia	Armenia		Saragyugh				EMSC
21.05.2012 06:05:31	2.8	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	San Salvador				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 07:26:09	4.7	Indian Ocean	Maldives		Thinadhoo				EMSC
21.05.2012 06:30:43	4.9	Indian Ocean	Maldives	Maale	Thinadhoo				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 07:00:50	4.7	Pacific Ocean	Samoa		Aganoa				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 07:26:35	4.8	Pacific Ocean – West	Samoa		Aganoa				EMSC
21.05.2012 05:41:05	5.3	Asia	Japan	Okinawa-ken	Nishibaru				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 06:20:25	5.3	Asia	Japan		Nishibaru				EMSC
21.05.2012 04:57:16	2.4	North America	United States	California	Valle Vista				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 05:20:26	3.0	Europe	Italy		Gavello				EMSC
21.05.2012 05:20:48	2.9	Asia	Turkey		Suzbeyli				EMSC
21.05.2012 03:30:29	2.3	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Canon de Guadalupe				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 03:30:50	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Ninilchik				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 04:40:28	4.5	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 05:23:09	4.5	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
21.05.2012 04:50:30	4.5	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 05:23:30	4.5	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
21.05.2012 03:15:57	3.4	Europe	Italy		Gavello				EMSC
21.05.2012 03:00:37	2.4	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Canon de Guadalupe				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 03:16:18	2.7	Europe	Italy		Ravalle				EMSC
21.05.2012 03:10:26	4.8	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 03:16:40	4.9	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
21.05.2012 06:20:44	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Kepir				EMSC
21.05.2012 02:15:35	2.7	Europe	Italy		San Martino in Spino				EMSC
21.05.2012 01:20:55	2.2	North America	United States	California	Solyo				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 01:20:57	2.2	North America	United States	California	Solyo				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 02:15:57	3.2	Asia	Armenia		Musayelyan				EMSC
21.05.2012 01:16:13	3.8	Europe	Italy		Cantaboa				EMSC
21.05.2012 01:00:36	2.5	North America	United States	California	Shamrock (historical)				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 01:16:41	2.8	Europe	Italy		Lillianes				EMSC
21.05.2012 01:06:21	4.4	Pacific Ocean	Fiji		Matokana				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 01:17:51	4.4	Pacific Ocean – East	Fiji		Matokana				EMSC
21.05.2012 01:18:14	3.6	Europe	Italy		Sant’Agostino				EMSC
21.05.2012 00:40:35	5.2	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 01:18:35	5.2	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
21.05.2012 01:20:13	5.1	Indonesian Archipelago	Papua New Guinea		Yavik				EMSC
21.05.2012 00:35:35	5.1	Indonesian archipelago	Papua New Guinea		Yavik				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 00:41:00	4.6	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 01:20:34	4.6	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
21.05.2012 00:15:23	2.8	Europe	Italy		Ghisellina				EMSC
21.05.2012 00:00:34	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Port Wakefield				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 23:35:32	2.3	North America	United States	Alaska	Port Graham				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 02:10:36	2.1	North America	Canada	British Columbia	Princeton				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 23:45:33	5.0	Pacific Ocean – West	Vanuatu	Tafea Province	Ifo				USGS-RSOE
21.05.2012 00:15:44	5.0	Pacific Ocean – West	Vanuatu		Ifo				EMSC
21.05.2012 04:15:29	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Cukurgol Yaylasi				EMSC
20.05.2012 23:00:35	4.3	South America	Chile	Region de Antofagasta	Topain				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 23:10:34	4.3	South-America	Chile		Topain				EMSC
20.05.2012 22:30:42	2.8	North America	United States	California	Centerville (historical)				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 22:10:44	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Anderson				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 22:05:37	3.0	Europe	Italy		Gavello				EMSC
20.05.2012 21:01:45	2.7	North America	United States	Texas	Timpson				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 21:00:47	3.5	Europe	Italy		Dosso				EMSC
20.05.2012 21:01:08	3.0	Europe	Italy		Vallacquosa				EMSC
20.05.2012 21:10:32	4.7	Europe	Italy		La Fruttarola				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 20:00:44	4.4	Europe	Italy		Villa Magri				EMSC
20.05.2012 20:01:02	3.2	Europe	Italy		Vigarano Mainarda				EMSC
20.05.2012 19:10:37	2.8	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Canon de Guadalupe				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 20:01:24	2.9	Europe	Italy		Ponte di San Pellegrino				EMSC
20.05.2012 18:35:39	2.0	North America	United States	California	Dunmovin				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 19:15:44	4.8	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Ujungbungo				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 20:01:43	4.8	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Padangunoih				EMSC
20.05.2012 22:11:06	2.0	North America	United States	Alaska	Ferry				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 22:11:49	2.9	North America	United States	Alaska	Golden				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 17:55:30	3.0	Europe	Greece		Anthousa				EMSC
20.05.2012 22:12:10	2.2	North America	United States	Alaska	Valdez				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 17:55:56	3.4	Europe	Italy		La Fruttarola				EMSC
20.05.2012 17:41:04	4.1	Pacific Ocean – West	Wallis and Futuna	Wallis and Futuna	Mua				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 17:56:19	4.1	Pacific Ocean – West	Wallis and Futuna		Mua				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:36:34	2.1	North America	United States	California	Piru				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:26:40	2.1	North America	United States	Nevada	Argo				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:45:34	5.1	Europe	Italy		San Prospero				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:45:35	5.1	Europe	Italy		San Prospero				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:51:04	5.1	Europe	Italy		Possessionazza				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:51:23	3.4	Europe	Italy		Villa Magri				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:10:46	2.6	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	San Salvador				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:20:33	4.6	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:51:48	4.6	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:52:11	3.8	Europe	Italy		Scortichino				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:52:30	2.6	Europe	Albania		Kosovec				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:54:51	4.8	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Cipatujah				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:11:07	4.8	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Karanganyar				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:55:53	4.6	Pacific Ocean – West	Philippines		Camote				EMSC
20.05.2012 15:05:50	4.7	Pacific Ocean – West	Philippines	Province of Samar	Legaspi				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:06:12	2.9	Caribbean	Dominican Republic	Provincia de La Altagracia	Cabeza de Toro				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 14:21:27	3.2	Pacific Ocean	New Zealand		Sumner				GEONET
20.05.2012 13:51:59	2.0	North America	United States	Hawaii	‘Äpua (historical)				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 14:15:40	4.5	Pacific Ocean	Fiji		Nukunuku				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 14:50:37	4.5	Pacific Ocean – East	Fiji		Nukunuku				EMSC
20.05.2012 13:40:31	2.8	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Munoz				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 23:36:00	2.5	North America	United States	Alaska	Happy Valley				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 14:21:47	3.4	Pacific Ocean	New Zealand		Sumner				GEONET
20.05.2012 13:50:29	3.0	Europe	Italy		La Terzana				EMSC
20.05.2012 13:20:47	2.9	North America	United States	California	Honeydew				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 13:05:44	2.7	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Campo Buenos Tiempos				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 13:50:53	3.6	Europe	Italy		Le Cremosine				EMSC
20.05.2012 13:51:14	3.3	Europe	Italy		L’Orlanda				EMSC
20.05.2012 13:51:33	2.5	Europe	Romania		Poiana Trestiei				EMSC
20.05.2012 12:25:48	3.5	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	El Misterioso				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 12:50:30	3.9	Europe	Italy		Quarantoli				EMSC
20.05.2012 13:06:04	4.5	Europe	Italy		Ponte di San Pellegrino				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 15:57:38	3.8	Europe	Italy		Stiatico				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:45:37	3.7	Europe	Greece		Polion				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:46:01	3.6	Europe	Greece		Agioi Apostoloi				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:40:28	4.7	Europe	Italy		Dogaro				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 11:46:31	4.5	Europe	Italy		San Carlo				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:05:38	2.1	North America	United States	Alaska	Valdez				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 11:00:43	3.7	North America	United States	Alaska	Akhiok				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 11:46:52	3.7	Europe	Italy		Scortichino				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:01:58	3.3	Pacific Ocean	New Zealand		Kuratau				GEONET
20.05.2012 11:20:41	5.0	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 11:47:14	5.1	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:06:04	5.1	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 10:40:33	5.5	Asia	Japan		Aneyoshi				EMSC
20.05.2012 10:45:28	5.3	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Aneyoshi				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 10:40:55	3.7	Europe	Italy		Poggio Rusco				EMSC
20.05.2012 10:41:17	2.9	Europe	Italy		Casa Pezza				EMSC
20.05.2012 10:41:38	3.6	Europe	Italy		Monta				EMSC
20.05.2012 10:30:53	3.0	Caribbean	Dominican Republic	Provincia de La Altagracia	Cabo Engano				USGS-RSOE
20.05.2012 10:41:57	3.2	Europe	Italy		Portiolo				EMSC
20.05.2012 12:50:50	3.2	Europe	Italy		Redena				EMSC
20.05.2012 12:51:11	3.2	Europe	Italy		Possessionazza				EMSC
20.05.2012 11:47:34	2.7	Europe	Albania		Koxheraj				EMSC
20.05.2012 17:41:28	2.0	North America	United States	Missouri	Acorn Corner				USGS-RSOE

……….

Strong Italy quake kills at least six

by Staff Writers
Ferrara, Italy (AFP)

Strong Italy quake kills at least six
by Staff Writers
Ferrara, Italy (AFP) May 20, 2012

Dazed and angry residents count losses of Italy quake San Carlo, Italy (AFP) May 20, 2012 – Thousands of residents in towns around the northeast Italian city of Ferrara wandered in a daze Sunday amid the stench of gas leaks as aftershocks hit the region after a deadly quake.”I felt the house dancing around. It was chaos. We ran in all directions,” said Claudio Bignami, 68, a retired electrician in the town of San Carlo.”The furniture all fell over. There was broken glass everywhere,” said Bignami, as he stared out of his store at a collapsing restaurant in front.”We’re all trying to help each other out now,” he said.Small aftershocks continued to sow panic in the sparsely populated farmlands, industrial parks and small towns around the historic city of Ferrara even after the main 6.0-magnitude shock in the early hours of the morning that left at least six dead. Cracks were visible in the roads and chimneys and roof tiles littered the streets. At a nearby ceramic factory where two employees died, the crashing sounds of falling crates of tiles could still be heard long after the quake. Alda Bregoli, 73, was still in her nightshirt with a woollen jumper thrown on top standing under an umbrella in the rain. “I had to run out as quickly as possible. I didn’t have time to put anything on. The firemen told me I can’t go back in. I’m scared,” she said. Out of habit, many residents crowded around shuttered bars where they would usually go on a Sunday and looked for emergency workers, asking them to inspect the damage in their homes and worried about where they could stay the night. Local business owners began calculating the extent of the damage. One angry man in a baseball cap living in an isolated home in the countryside, still under shock, shouted: “Why are there no emergency workers here helping me? The roof of my house has fallen in! Why are they ignoring me?” The earthquake left many of the region’s modern two-storey homes intact but older buildings, ancient churches and belltowers which dot the flatlands were badly hit — some collapsed, others had gaping cracks. The centre of Ferrara is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. A local chapel in San Carlo, the 16th-century Ghisilieri Oratorium, which had just been re-opened after an eight-year restoration, lay in ruins. “We’ll never be able to rebuild it,” sighed Claudio Fabbri, 37, an architect from Modena who has been working on the project and who rushed to the scene in the early hours after a local resident told him what had happened. Statues of angels in the chapel’s apse stared into the open sky after the roof and most of the walls caved in. Fabbri said his only hope was to save a precious painting above the altar now exposed to the elements. “We even had an Internet campaign to raise funds to restore the terracotta flooring. A lot of local residents contributed,” said Fabbri, shaking his head. “It was a very rich church. During the restoration we uncovered a 16th-century fresco in the ceiling. It even has the relics of a pope.”

A powerful earthquake shook Italy’s densely populated industrial northeast early Sunday, killing at least six people and reducing homes, factories and historic buildings to rubble.

Emergency services said dozens had been injured in the magnitude 6.0 quake, which struck in the middle of the night, sending thousands of people running into the streets in towns and cities across the Emilia Romagna region.

Prime Minister Mario Monti was to return early from the United States, where he was attending a NATO summit, as Italy reeled from the double shock of the quake and a deadly school attack that took place on Saturday.

Emergency workers were sifting through the rubble of collapsed buildings for victims hours after the quake and several aftershocks struck at 0200 GMT.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso expressed his “profound sadness” and said Brussels was “ready to provide swiftly any assistance that may be requested.”

Four of the dead were night-shift workers in factories which collapsed, including two who were crushed when the roof of a ceramics factory caved in in the town of Sant’Agostino.

A 37-year-old German woman and another woman aged over 100 reportedly died from shock.

The quake caused “significant” damage to historic buildings as it rattled the cities of Bologna, Ferrara, Verona and Mantua, Italy’s culture ministry said.

“According to first reports, damage to the cultural heritage is significant,” the ministry said, adding that it was carrying out “more detailed verifications with firemen and the civil defence service.”

Italian television showed many historic buildings, including churches, reduced to rubble. Cars were crushed under falling masonry, and the Civil Protection Agency evacuated hundreds of elderly and vulnerable people to makeshift communal shelters in Finale Emilia and towns near the epicentre.

Hospitals were evacuated as a precautionary measure and about 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Warehouses storing more than 300,000 wheels of Parmesan and Grana Padano, a similar cheese, with an estimated value of more than 250 million euros ($320 million), also collapsed, an industry official said.

The roof of a recently renovated sixth-century chapel in San Carlo, near Ferrara, caved in, exposing statues of angels to the elements.

Claudio Fabbri, a 37-year-old architect, told AFP the restoration had taken eight years. “Now there’s nothing left to do,” he said despondently.

People were out in the street, fearful of going indoors, as the odour of gas hung in the air.

Retired electrician Claudio Bignami, 68, said: “I went out because I felt the house moving. Furniture was falling over. It was chaos. Everyone was running in every direction.”

Aldra Bregoli, 73, who had pulled on a sweater over her nightgown, said: “I had to get out quickly. I can’t go back home. I’m afraid.”

Authorities said the quake’s epicentre was the commune of Finale Emilia, 36 kilometres (22 miles) north of Bologna, at a depth of only 5.1 kilometres.

One of the men killed in the ceramics factory collapse, Nicola Cavicchi, 35, “wanted to go to the seaside but because of the bad weather forecast he decided to go to work to replace a colleague who was sick,” a family member told local media.

A 29-year-old Moroccan man was killed by a falling girder when a factory building collapsed in the small town of Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno.

The body of a fourth night-shift worker was found in the early afternoon under fallen masonry at a factory in a nearby village.

In Finale Emilia, firefighters rescued a five-year-old girl who was trapped in the rubble of her house after a rapid series of phone calls between a local woman, a family friend who was in New York and emergency services.

The region shaken by the quake is Italy’s industrial heartland but also home to priceless architectural and art treasures. The historic centre of Ferrara is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A 5.1 magnitude aftershock struck Sunday afternoon, forcing the collapse of several structures already weakened, with a firefighter left seriously injured after falling from a wall.

Yet in a show of calm nerves, officials opened polls as planned for the second round of local elections in the cities of Piacenza, Parma, Budrio and Comacchio.

“Italy is a very quake-prone country,” said seismologist Enzo Boschi.

In March 2009, a 6.3 magnitude quake devastated the central city of l’Aquila, killing some 300 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Related Links
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Deadly & Destructive: More video of quake-hit Italy

Published on May 20, 2012 by RussiaToday

A strong earthquake shook northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least four people, toppling buildings and sending residents running into the streets, emergency services and news reports said. The magnitude-6.0 temblor struck at 4:04 a.m. (2:04 GMT) on Sunday between Modena and Mantova, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers (3.2 miles), the US Geological Survey said. It was one of the strongest quakes to shake the region.

2

21.05.2012

Earthquake

Italy

[Modena and Mantova]

Earthquake in Italy on Sunday, 20 May, 2012 at 08:13 (08:13 AM) UTC.

Description

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake shook northern Italy early Sunday, killing at least three people and toppling some buildings, emergency services and news reports said.The quake struck at 4:04 a.m. Sunday between Modena and Mantova, about 22 miles north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 6 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.It was one of the strongest quakes to shake the region, seismologists said, and initial television footage indicated that older buildings had suffered damage: roofs collapsed, church towers showed cracks and the bricks of some stone walls tumbled into the street. As dawn broke over the region, residents milled about the streets inspecting the damage.Italian news agency ANSA, citing emergency services, said two people were killed in Sant’Agostino di Ferrara when a ceramics factory collapsed. Another person was killed in Ponte Rodoni do Bondeno, ANSA said.The epicenter was between the towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro and Sermide but was felt as far away as Tuscany and northern Alto Adige.The initial quake was followed about an hour later by a 5.1-magnitude temblor, USGS said.IItaly’s Sky TG24 showed images of the collapsed ceramics factory where the two workers were reportedly killed; the structure, which appeared to be a hangar of sorts, had twisted metal supports jutting out at odd angles amid the mangled collapsed roof.In late January, a 5.4-magnitude quake shook northern Italy. Some office buildings in Milan were evacuated as a precaution and there were scattered reports of falling masonry and cracks in buildings.In 2009, a devastating temblor killed more than 300 people in the central city of L’Aquila.

…..

Twin quakes rock Japan

• AFP
• Tokyo

Japan was hit by two shallow earthquakes in the space of just eight minutes on Sunday, one of them measuring a strong 6.2-magnitude, but there were no reports of damage and no tsunami alert.

The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 4:20pm (0720 GMT) off Japan’s northeast Pacific coast, the national meteorological agency said, followed by a tremor with a reading of 5.7 at 4:28pm.

The US Geological Survey estimated the magnitude of the first quake at 6.0.

The depth of both quakes was about 10 kilometres, the agency said.

“Sea levels may change slightly due to the (first) earthquake but there is no fear of damage resulting from it,” the agency said in a statement.

A 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake off the same coast triggered a monster tsunami on March 11 last year, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and crippling the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Magnitude 4.8 quake hits Christchurch

Christchurch has been rocked by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on Sunday evening.

It follows a 4.1 magnitude quake four point one quake at 9.35am on Sunday.

The 4.8 quake was centred 20 kilometres east of Christchurch at a depth of eight kilometres and struck at 5.06pm.

The shaking lasted several seconds but so far there have been no reports of damage or injuries.

The chief executive of the electricity lines company, Orion, says there have been no reports of power outages.

Sunday morning’s quake measured 4.1 and was centred 20 kilometres west of Christchurch at a depth of 10km.

The regularity and strength of earthquakes has continued to subside since the quakes felt just before Christmas which produced power outages and fresh liquefaction.

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Volcanic Activity

Minor Glacial Burst in South Iceland Volcano Katla

A small glacial burst occurred in the volcano Katla, which lies underneath the Mýrdalsjökull icecap in south Iceland, on April 28 and lasted a few days. The activity was registered by seismic monitors and increased conduction was measured in the river Múlakvísl until May 7.

Mýrdalsjökull. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

Last summer a large glacial burst, probably caused by a minor eruption in Katla, caused the river to swell and tear a hole in the Ring Road, right at the height of the tourism season in early July.

Oddur Sigurðsson, a geologist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told visir.is that the glacial burst in late April was so insignificant that it couldn’t be detected by the naked eye.

Oddur explained that it was caused by geothermal activity in one of Katla’s craters.

Volcano enthusiast and blogger Jón Frímann Jónsson reported on two events in Katla, on April 28 and May 6 or 7, and considers them to be warning signals: something is happening in the volcano, he predicts.

He also commented on the recent series of earthquakes which hit Herðubreið in the northeastern highlands early this week.

Is an eruption at Costa Rica’s Turrialba Volcano imminent?

   By Clayton R. Norman

Significant activity at the volcano east of San José has caught the attention of local volcanologists.

National Seismological Network volcanologists are keeping an eye on Turruialba Volcano, which they say could erupt soon. Courtesy of RSN

Costa Rica’s National Seismological Network has upgraded the color threat level to yellow of Turrialba Volcano, in the province of Cartago east of the capital.

A statement issued by Raúl Mora-Amador, coordinator of Seismology, Volcanology and Geophysical Exploration at the University of Costa Rica, indicates a threat level of yellow means that the National Seismological Network believes an eruption is “probable” in a matter of days, weeks or a few months.

The upgrade in the threat level is due to “important changes in seismic activity of Volcano Turrialba associated with the movement of fluids, gas and magma beneath the surface, different from that observed in past years,” Mora-Amador’s statement says.

Temperatures around some fumaroles on the volcano have risen to as much as 800° Celsius, accompanied by eruptions of ash. High-temperature emissions of volcanic gases including sulfur dioxide have increased, causing incandescence in some of the fumaroles, Mora-Amador said, adding that the internal wall of the active crater is very weak due to hydrothermal changes in the volcano. Mora-Amador indicated this could mean a major eruption could jettison material into the atmosphere.

Turrialba is the only volcano in the country currently with a yellow threat-level indicator. An upgrade to red would mean an eruptions is imminent.

Spectacular eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano

Published on May 20, 2012 by itnnews

Guatemala’s Fuego volcano has begun belching lava and ash into the sky in a spectacular eruption. Report by Sam Datta-Paulin

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Excessive Heat Warning

PHOENIX AZ

Heat Advisory

TUCSON AZ

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

ELKO NV
TALLAHASSEE FL
FAIRBANKS AK
SALT LAKE CITY UT
RENO NV

Fire Weather Watch

CHEYENNE WY
GRAND JUNCTION CO
FLAGSTAFF AZ
EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
RENO NV

Extreme Fire Danger

RAPID CITY SD

Gale Warning

MEDFORD, OR
LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
PORTLAND OR

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Storms, Flooding

Name of storm system	Location	Formed	Last update	Last category	Course	Wind Speed	Gust	Wave	Source	Details
Alberto	Atlantic Ocean	20.05.2012	21.05.2012	Tropical Storm	180 °	65 km/h	78 km/h	3.66 m	NHC

 Tropical Storm data

Storm name: Alberto Area: Atlantic Ocean Start up location: N 32° 10.537, W 79° 11.367 Start up: 20th May 2012 Status: Active Track long: 374.77 km Top category.: Report by: NHC Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center
Past track Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave Pressure Source Current position Date Time Position Speed km/h Wind km/h Gust km/h Category Course Wave feet Pressure Source 21st May 2012 08:05:05 N 30° 30.000, W 80° 6.000 7 65 78 Tropical Storm 180 ° 12 1007 MB NHC

Name of storm system

Location

Formed

Last update

Last category

Course

Wind Speed

Gust

Wave

Source

Details

TWO-E

Pacific Ocean – East

21.05.2012

01.01.1970

ER

°

0 km/h

0 km/h

0.00 m

Tropical Storm data

Storm name: TWO-E Area: Pacific Ocean – East Start up location: N 9° 18.000, W 99° 36.000 Start up: 21st May 2012 Status: Active Track long: 0.00 km Top category.: Report by: NHC

Useful links: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale FEMA – How To Prepare for a Hurricane Effects of a Hurricane USA – National Hurricane Center

……….

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

ALBUQUERQUE NM

Tropical Storm Warning

CAPE FEAR TO 31N OUT TO 32N 73W TO 31N 74W
CHARLESTON SC
ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N W OF 77W-

20.05.2012

Flood

Afghanistan

[Sar-e-Pul]

Flood in Afghanistan on Sunday, 20 May, 2012 at 11:20 (11:20 AM) UTC.

Description

Flood waters ravaged a provincial capital in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 19 people and destroying hundreds of homes, officials said Sunday.About 60 other people were missing and rescuers were looking for them across Sar-e-Pul, the capital of a province with the same name, said Sayed Faizullah Sadat, the national disaster director in the area.Northern Afghanistan gets hit nearly every spring by flash flooding from heavy rains and snow melting off the mountains. Sadat said 1,000 houses were destroyed and 10,000 people were forced to find shelter in mosques, schools and a teacher-training center.”Most of these families have lost their houses — all their property, their livelihoods,” he said. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, the water rose to 1.5 meters on Saturday during the peak of the flooding.The office said four humanitarian assessment teams tried to get to the city on Saturday, but could not access the area.”Most of the roads are blocked by the flooding,” said Sayed Jahangir, deputy provincial police chief. “Hundreds of houses have been destroyed. We were able to move people to different places that we think will be safe.”The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority reported that several hundred people were rescued from rooftops.Flash flooding also has been reported in northern Takhar province.Mustafa Rasouli, a spokesman for the province, said heavy rains continued Sunday in the area where flash flooding killed two people. He said 3,000 animals, including sheep and cows also were killed, and about 1,000 hectares of farm land had been destroyed in the provincial capital of Taloqan and six other districts.”Two thousand houses have been partially or completely destroyed,” he said.

Flood Warning

AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
WILMINGTON NC

Flood Advisory/Flood Watch

FAIRBANKS AK

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Radiation

Extreme Radioactive Black Substance Discovered 5 Kilometers From Tokyo

By LBG1

Black substance five times more radioactive than Chernobyl-Belarus mandatory exculsion zone

[Photo-Image: Radioactive mystery black substance discovered in different locations in Tokyo, photo source, Fukushima Diary]

A mysterious black substance five times more radioactive than the Chernobyl-Belarus mandatory evacuation zone was discovered 4 kilometers from the center of Tokyo, the Hirai Station. The mystery radioactive black substance discovered close to Tokyo on the heels of the discovery of Cesium in Fukushima Prefecture 122 times higher than in Belarus evacuation zone.
[Image: Google Earth map location of Japan’s Hirai Station]

The Belarus exclusion zone, a 30-mile now wilderness area around the Chernobyl plant. Tokyo is located more than 241 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant with four nuclear reactors in “dire” condition according to physicist Dr. Michio Kaku.

Flashpoint interview with Dr. Kaku:

………“People don’t realize that the Fukushima reactor is on a knife’s edge; it’s near the tipping point. A small earthquake, another pipe break, another explosion could tip it over and we could have a disaster much worse, many times worse than Chernobyl. It’s like a sleeping dragon………

Read Full Article  And Listen to Interview  Here

Fukushima Radioactive Contamination Will Spread to Kamchatka, Hawaii, U.S. Soon

By LBG1

[Photo-Image: Kid’s radiation protective suits ad in Fukushima newspaper, Photo source, Fukushima-Diary.com]

Now that we know plutonium has been detected in the mysterious black dust discovered in different locations in Japan and the mists seen swirling around the damaged nuclear reactors is radioactive water vapor, the news TEPCO may be covering up the true amount of highly radioactive contamination leaking into the sea.

According to a new article posted by the Asia-Pacific Journal, Japan Focus, After The Media Has Gone: Fukushima, Suicide and the Legacy of 3.11, there has been a continuous leakage of radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean, radioactive waste water that includes strontium-90, and, the dire claim Fukushima’s radioactive waste water “contamination will spread all over the world, reaching to Kamchatka, Hawaii and the U.S. soon”.

Possibly angry at this situation, on April 21st a 62-year-old nuclear worker broke the silence on the continued leakage of contaminated water from Fukushima Daiichi. Speaking to me, he requested anonymity for fear of losing his job. He supervises a construction site aimed at building a new facility to extract radioactive materials such as cesium and strontium from the contaminated water used to cool the plant’s crippled reactors. He revealed that the current facility removes only cesium and that other radioactive materials such as strontium cannot be cleaned up.

He expressed astonishment at the scale of the cleanup operation. “You know how much contaminated water is stored at the Fukushima Daiichi site? It is 200,000 tons. It is an enormous amount!” “In reality,” he said, raising his voice, “it is impossible to store that much water on site. So, it is obvious that some of the contaminated water has been leaked into the ocean.”

TEPCO announced on March 26th, 2012 that approximately 120 tons of water had leaked from a treatment pipe, forcing them to halt operating the treatment facility. Thi was the second time in two weeks that contaminated water leaked from the nuclear power plant.3

Read Full Article Here

Radioactive Water Vapor at Fukushima Nuke Plant Video, Mysterious Black Dust Contains Plutonium

By LBG1

Concern mounts over Fukushima nuclear reactor number four

[Photo-Image: Water vapor containing radiation swirls around damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, May 2, 2012. Photo image source: Fukushima live stream web cam video]

“Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies at the Fukushima Daiichi plant sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl.”
-April 30, 2012, Urgent letter to UN General Secretary

In post-March 11, 2011 (311) Japan a small, makeshift wall constructed of ‘bags of rock’ is the sole protection from a future tsunami at the Fuksuhima Nuclear Power Plant Number One; bags of rock to protect four severely damaged nuclear reactors including reactor number four still in disrepair after the 311 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami. Located in nuclear reactor number four, spent nuclear fuel–Cesium-137 (Cs-137)–equivalent to 10 times the amount that was released at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Post 311, a surreal world of mysterious black ‘dust’ discovered in different locations in Japan and fog-like clouds swirling around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Number One. Detected in the mysterious black dust, plutonium. The fog-like clouds, radioactive water vapor. Hidden from eyesight in the radioactive water vapor fog, mixed Plutonium Uranium fuel scattered around Fukushima nuclear reactor number three.

The report on the radioactive water vapor from the Japan website Fukushima Diary:

Oshidori Mako talked at Osaka Bar Association when she asked Tepco , “We see gas coming out from Fukushima plants at night. It looks like smoke. What is that ? ” Tepco replied it’s water vapor. She asked them again, if it’s radioactive. They answered it is radioactive, and it comes out in day time and night time.

2012.05.02 01:00-02:00 (Live Fukushima Nuclear Plant Cam) Video

Read Full Article Here

The Pacific Ocean Is Dying

  by cosmicconvergence2012

A Special Report On the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe

Radioactive Seawater Impact Map (March 2012), US Dept of State Geographer Image

The upshot of each of the preceding articles is that the Pacific Ocean is extremely vulnerable to the radioactive waste being dumped into her waters at Fukushima. Should another catastrophic earthquake occur, it could create a new and more complicated nuclear disaster scenario that is truly irreparable. Even without any seismic activity affecting the nuclear sites, the current state of affairs has taken for granted that the Pacific Ocean will become a nuclear dumping ground for decades to come. It has not been lost on us that such an inevitability appears to be the only practical expedient available.

We are truly saddened by the great loss of marine life and harm to myriad aquatic and shoreline ecosystems. As the nuclear radiation is exported around the Asian Ring of Fire, genetic mutation will begin to affect every form of life — from phytoplankton to whales, from seabirds to mangroves, from dolphins to krill. Everything that lives near the Pacific will be at risk to some degree. Anyone who lives, works or plays in or around the Pacific will be compelled to evaluate their relationship to this great ocean.

What have we done to Mother Earth by siting nuclear power plants in the most seismically active region of the world?!

What in God’s Creation can possibly be done to fix it?

Never in the history of humankind has the planet been confronted with such a grave set of circumstances. Fukushima represents all that can go wrong when scientific applications and technological advancement within a crude industrial context have gone awry. Unfortunately, given the many trajectories that numerous fields of technological innovation are currently on, Fukushima and the BP Gulf oil spill of 2012 may only be the beginning of a period of  accelerating technospheric breakdown which will sweep across the planet.
  Read Full Article Here

Related Article Here

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Solar Activity

2MIN News May20: ECLIPSE, NASA Spaceweather, Planetary Positions & News

Published on May 20, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

http://www.rt.com/news/big-brother-street-lamps-286/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/19/us-g8-summit-obama-iran-idUSBRE84I0…
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20120519-42629.html
http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/4767/jpl-wants-to-finesse-info-from-exop…
http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/4766/how-life-recovers-from-devastation
http://www.space.com/15614-sun-observing-safety-tips-infographic.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/20/us-quake-italy-idUSBRE84J01K20120520

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]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT]

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

NOAA: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [For more advanced solar watchers]

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

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

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]

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Space

New Planet Found in Our Solar System?

Odd orbits of remote objects hint at unseen world, new calculations suggest.

Artist’s conception of a small icy object beyond Pluto (file picture).

Illustration courtesy G. Bacon, STScI/NASA

Richard A. Lovett in Timberline Lodge, Oregon

for National Geographic News

Published May 11, 2012

An as yet undiscovered planet might be orbiting at the dark fringes of the solar system, according to new research.

Too far out to be easily spotted by telescopes, the potential unseen planet appears to be making its presence felt by disturbing the orbits of so-called Kuiper belt objects, said Rodney Gomes, an astronomer at the National Observatory of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

Kuiper belt objects are small icy bodies—including some dwarf planets—that lie beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Once considered the ninth planet in our system, the dwarf planet Pluto, for example, is one of the largest Kuiper belt objects, at about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) wide. Dozens of the other objects are hundreds of miles across, and more are being discovered every year.

(See “Three New ‘Plutos’? Possible Dwarf Planets Found.”)

What’s intriguing, Gomes said, is that, according to his new calculations, about a half dozen Kuiper belt objects—including the remote body known as Sedna—are in strange orbits compared to where they should be, based on existing solar system models. (Related: “Pluto Neighbor Gets Downsized.”)

The objects’ unexpected orbits have a few possible explanations, said Gomes, who presented his findings Tuesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Timberline Lodge, Oregon.

“But I think the easiest one is a planetary-mass solar companion”—a planet that orbits very far out from the sun but that’s massive enough to be having gravitational effects on Kuiper belt objects.

Read Full Article Here

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 KY67)	23rd May 2012	2 day(s)	0.1499	58.3	68 m – 150 m	13.88 km/s	49968 km/h
(2011 KG4)	24th May 2012	3 day(s)	0.1216	47.3	67 m – 150 m	11.50 km/s	41400 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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[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.]