Volcanic activity prompts officials to partially restrict access in the national park.
Authorities declared a green (preventive) alert on Rincón de la Vieja volcano in May. Courtesy of National Seismological Network
Following an increase in its volcanic activity, visits to the crater of Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, are prohibited until further notice.
Volcanologist Raúl Mora, from the National Seismological Network, explained that the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, “while not the most active in the country, is a volcano in full activity, which prompted authorities to take preventive measures.”
Mora said restricted access to the crater does not affect public access to the national park of the same name, one of northwestern Costa Rica’s main attractions.
Rincón de la Vieja and Turrialba are the country’s only two volcanoes with restricted access for tourists.
ST LOUIS MO
BISMARCK ND
TULSA OK
NORTH PLATTE NE
SPRINGFIELD MO
LITTLE ROCK AR
TOPEKA KS
SIOUX FALLS SD
HASTINGS NE
WICHITA KS
MEMPHIS TN
LINCOLN IL
WILMINGTON OH
LOUISVILLE KY
INDIANAPOLIS IN
PADUCAH KY
RAPID CITY SD
ABERDEEN SD
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
Temperatures in Des Moines reached triple digits Tuesday for the fifth time this summer, extending a month-long heat wave that will likely continue for at least another week. Des Moines peaked at 100 degrees. While temperatures will fall slightly toward the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service, highs will remain in the 90s and lows won’t drop below the low 70s. Large parts of eastern and southern Iowa, including Polk County, are under a heat advisory. Wednesday’s high should reach 98 degrees and Thursday may top out at 96. Friday likely will be the coolest day this week with a high of 92, meteorologists said. There is a small chance of thunderstorms Wednesday night and rain could continue overnight, but no other precipitation is expected this week. “Tomorrow evening and overnight is the best shot at any rain,” National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Skow said. “And that’s less than a 30 percent chance.” The rest of the state may see some rain but, “as far as a good soaking, we’re not seeing it,” Skow said. The number of counties under a burn ban grew to 32 on Tuesday and firefighters, farmers and officials continued to voice concern about the dry conditions.
Spanish authorities evacuated a town of 1,800 residents on the Canary Islands on Tuesday, after three days of firefighting efforts failed to prevent a raging wildfire from reaching it.
Residents were evacuating from the town of Vilaflor, south of the Teide national park that spans the centre of the Spanish island of Tenerife, as flames reached parts of the town.
Emergency services “are evacuating residents from Vilaflor due to the advance of the fire from the east,” the regional government said in a statement Tuesday evening.
It said the 1,800 people of the village were leaving by road. Authorities provided buses for some 200 people who did not have their own vehicles.
Authorities had prepared a shelter for the evacuees in the nearby town of Granadilla, the statement added.
Authorities earlier said the fire had crept a few metres into the Teide park, a major tourist attraction on the archipelago off northwest Africa, as firefighters battled to keep the flames away from populated areas.
Some 800 firefighters were battling the blaze, which broke out Sunday and has spread with strong winds and high temperatures, regional authorities said.
More than 90 people were evacuated from other parts of the island on Monday, of whom 60 remained away from their homes before the latest evacuations.
The fire had affected an area of about 3,000 hectares, of which half had been burnt, a spokeswoman for the regional emergency services said.
Firefighters said they were using five helicopters and three water-bombing planes that arrived Tuesday from mainland Spain, but authorities later said the thick smoke at Vilaflor was hampering efforts.
Another four helicopters and 300 firefighters were working to put out a blaze on one of the neighbouring islands, La Palma, that has engulfed around 500 hectares and forced more than 150 evacuations.
The spokeswoman said this fire had been “stabilised” on Tuesday afternoon after 160 people were evacuated.
Spain has been hit particularly hard by forest fires this year after experiencing its driest winter in 70 years.
The worst fire ravaged 50,000 hectares in the eastern Spanish region of Valencia in July.
Authorities issued evacuation orders for villages in southwestern Greece on Wednesday where wildfires, aided by strong winds and soaring temperatures, have ravaged large areas. The blaze, burning mostly pine forest, sent smoke over the city of Patras, a port with some 220,000 inhabitants, where regional authorities have declared an emergency. Nine planes and one helicopter were involved in the firefighting effort at Argyra, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) east of Patras. Apostolos Katsifaras, regional governor for western Greece, said evacuation orders had been issued for villages in the rugged fire stricken area — likely to involve several hundred residents. “The conditions are very tough. We are using everything we have against the fire,” Katsifaras said. The state of emergency allows authorities to use additional resources, including Greece’s military.
Today
Forest / Wild Fire
Portugal
Municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, [Povoa de Santa Iria]
In Portugal, five major fires were reported. The three largest of them, which were raging in the north and in Povoa de Santa Iria near Lisbon, were largely under control, authorities said.
Strong thunderstorms moved slowly across the Tennessee Valley and produced torrential rain and strong gusty winds. Rainfall totals exceeded three inches in some areas before 5 p.m. Flash Flood Warnings were issued for some counties in North Alabama. Some of the stronger storms produced significant lightning. In Athens, thousands of customers were without power and crews worked in the storms to restore it. Roads flooded in Limestone County and drivers were urged to stay off of them. Athens Bible School suffered roof damage during the storm, and firefighters were at a home on Pepper Road where the roof caught fire, possibly because of lightning.
About 3,000 people in a city of southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu were forced to evacuate their homes again on Thursday due to threats of landslide and flood caused by heavy rain. According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, the residents in Aso City where landslides hit houses last week were ordered to evacuate their houses on Thursday morning as heavy rain continued to fall on the area covered with volcanic ash soil which is very fragile. In Aso City and its surrounding region of Kumamoto Prefecture, at least 23 people were found dead and two went missing after landslides hit houses last week in more than 60 places. Heavy rain caused by Tropical Storm Khanun poured in several areas of northern Kyushu which saw hourly rainfall between 40 and 50 mm in the morning hours. The Japan Meteorological agency warned as the tropical storm moves north, heavy rainfall may trigger further floods and landslides in Kyushu till Friday.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it is closely monitoring events at the Limerick Generating Station after a manual scram around 8:15 a.m. shut down the reactor at the nuclear power plant. According to NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan, an electrical fault was reported in a transformer in a turbine building that spurred the scram and that the transformer is not a main transformer. The event was listed as an “unusual event” around 8:39 a.m., the lowest of the event ratings, Sheehan said. No one was injured in the incident and no outside help was requested, Sheehan said. Sheehan said the transformers have been known to fail from time to time and that the reactor was safely shut down. Sheehan said there are no complications at the power plant at this time and there is no danger to the public from the incident.
An outbreak of the deadly cholera disease in Bundibugyo district has killed four people leaving over 150 others hospitalized. The epidemic spread to the district from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. The four persons died before being taken to hospitals for medication according to Isaac Bisunga – the district disease surveillance officer. Bisunga says the epidemic broke out last month but only to realize it was cholera last week. The most affected areas include Bundibugyo town council, Nyahuka town council, Kasithu sub-county, Bukukwanga sub-county, Kisuba sub-county and Bubandi sub-county. Isolation centers have been established at Bundibugyo hospital and Nyahuka health center IV according to the disease surveillance officer.
Biohazard name:
Cholera
Biohazard level:
3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
An exceptional bright light phenomenon was observed in many parts of Ostobothnia, western Finland, just after 5pm on Tuesday. According to the Ursa astronomical association, this was a meteorite which had passed through the Earth’s upper atmosphere before hitting the ground. According to Esko Lyytinen of Ursa, the object definitely made it to the ground. He speculated it could be as heavy as dozens of kilograms. The object’s final explosion occurred probably between the towns of Kalajoki and Ylivieska. Several observations of the object were made by Ursa at locations across Ostrobothnia. The subsonic blast was heard over a wide area. Amateur astronomers are now eager to find the heavenly body which lies somewhere in the area of Ylivieska and Kalajoki. Meteorites are a rare occurrence whereas meteors, objects that fail to reach the Earth’s surface, are more common. For example, during the course of the year, the Earth passes through dust clouds which give rise to a phenomenon known as a “meteor shower.” During such an event, streaks of light caused by small rocky particles are visible at regular intervals in the night sky.
Dozens of pet birds smuggled from southern China into Taiwan tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus and were destroyed, Taiwanese authorities said Tuesday. The smuggler bought the 38 birds in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and was caught at the Taoyuan international airport in northern Taiwan when he returned via Macau earlier this month, said the Centers for Disease Control. The birds later tested positive for the H5N1 virus and were killed, it said, adding that nine people who had contact with the birds had not shown any flu symptoms during a ten-day screening. Taiwan has no recorded cases of the deadly H5N1 strain, although in 2005 health authorities said eight pet birds smuggled from China tested positive for the strain and destroyed. The island has reported several outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu, a less virulent strain of the virus, in recent years. China is considered one of the nations most at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world’s biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans.
Biohazard name:
H5N1 – Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
A large swarm of bees stung an employee of a tree removal business multiple times as he and three others began cutting down a large cottonwood near downtown Las Cruces. The 52-year-old man was stung possibly hundreds of times and was found, unconscious, by Las Cruces firefighters who arrived shortly before noon today at The Alameda House at 526 S. Alameda Boulevard. Firefighters used foam and water to scatter the bees that were covering the man who was found lying on a driveway. The man was treated at the scene and then rushed to Mountain View Regional Medical Center where he is in serious but stable condition. Two other employees of the tree-removal business were also stung by bees. One of the men, age 30, was transported to Memorial Medical Center but has since been released. A third victim was treated at the scene. Fire and police officials learned that employees with a tree removal business, Las Cruces Heights, were beginning to cut limbs off an old cottonwood on the southwest corner of The Alameda House property. The 52-year-old man was scaling the tree and was suspended by a belay line when the bees started swarming. His coworkers lowered the man to the ground and called for help. Entomologists from the city and county are assessing how best to eradicate the bee colony that is believed to be living inside the large cottonwood. Police and firefighters strongly suggest that residents avoid foot traffic in the area of Alameda Boulevard and Miranda Street, between Lohman Avenue and El Molino Boulevard. Residents of that area also are encouraged to bring pets indoors until at least sunset when the bees are expected to return to their hive.
Biohazard name:
Bees attack
Biohazard level:
0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:
This does not included biological hazard category.
Strong thunderstorms barreled across New Hampshire on Tuesday evening, knocking out power to more than 24,000 homes and businesses, including nearly 1,000 in Manchester. Manchester fire crews responded to “a bunch of trees around the city” that came down, especially in the Hackett Hill area, said District Fire Chief James Michael. “Some hit wires; some didn’t.” Hooksett firefighters responded to 15 Fieldstone Drive for a reported lightning strike. “It hit a tree out in the back yard and traveled into the house,” Deputy Fire Chief deputy Mike Hoisington said. An electrical outlet got scorched, and the homeowners were checking to see if any appliances were damaged, he said. Not everyone got the heavy storms. Bedford police reported wind but no rain. Londonderry police also had no rain outside their station. In Rochester, a live power line fell on the Spaulding Turnpike, closing a section of turnpike. Northbound traffic went through the toll booth and then was U-turned back through the tolls in the opposite direction safely because a different section of the southbound turnpike was shuttered, according to Rochester fire Lt. Eric Lenzi.
The turnpike was closed for just over an hour. “We were just trying to empty the highway from a dangerous situation,” a state police dispatcher said. She doesn’t believe people were charged to go through the toll again. Otherwise, the dispatcher said, “they’d be calling here screaming at me.” James Brown, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said winds topped 60 mph in some places, including Alton. “We’re looking mostly for wind damage,” he said. “We’ve all kinds of trees down” Blame the storms on a clash of air masses. “We’ve got a very warm, humid air mass in place and a colder air mass coming down from Canada,” Brown said. “The two are clashing and creating these thunderstorms.” By late last night, utilities had cut the number of outages in half to more than 11,000. Farmington, Hopkinton and Rochester each had more than 1,000 customers without power. PSNH spokesman Matthew Chagnon said the outages were spread over a wide section of the state. “From what I understand, there’s a lot of wires down,” he said. “There’s some poles down in some cases and those can take longer because it requires different crews to come in and set the poles.”
[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.]
May 30, 2012 – HAWAII – A swarm of 30 earthquakes rattled Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea volcano over a 48 period from Monday to Tuesday. The strongest of the tremors was a 3.3 magnitude earthquake which erupted on May 29, at a depth of 10 km. Most of the tremors have been very shallow, with most registering at depths of less than 8 km. Geologists have been warning for the last year that Hawaii’s seemingly placid volcano is capable of very violent large-scale outbursts so close monitoring of volcanic activity is crucial. –The Extinction Protocol
A shallow magnitude 4.1 earthquake was reported Tuesday evening 30 miles from Malibu , according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 10:14 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 0 miles.
According to the USGS, the epicenter was 35 miles from Port Hueneme , 35 miles from Channel Islands Beach, 37 miles from Oxnard and 53 miles from Los Angeles Civic Center.
In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.
Long Valley is the site of one of the world’s “supervolcanoes”
The largest volcanoes on our planet may take as little as a few hundred years to form and erupt.
These “supervolcanoes” were thought to exist for as much as 200,000 years before releasing their vast underground pools of molten rock.
Researchers reporting in Plos One have sampled the rock at the supervolcano site of Long Valley in California.
Their findings suggest that the magma pool beneath it erupted within as little as hundreds of years of forming.
That eruption is estimated to have happened about 760,000 years ago, and would have covered half of North America in its ash.
Such super-eruptions can release thousands of cubic kilometres of debris – hundreds of times larger than any eruption seen in the history of humanity.
Eruptions on this scale could release enough ash to influence the global weather for years, and one theory holds that the Lake Toba eruption in Indonesia about 70,000 years ago had long-term effects that nearly wiped out humans altogether.
What little is known about the formation of these supervolcanoes is largely based on the study of crystals of a material called zircon, which contains small amounts of radioactive elements whose age can be estimated using the same techniques used to date archaeological artefacts and dinosaur bones.
Zircon studies to date have suggested that the time between the formation of the enormous magma pools and the eventual super-eruptions can be measured in the hundreds of thousands of years.
Now, Guilherme Gualda of Vanderbilt University and his colleagues present several lines of evidence from the Bishop Tuff deposit at Long Valley, suggesting that the pools are “ephemeral” – lasting as little as 500 years before eruption.
Enormous eruptions such as that at Yellowstone result in “calderas”, which can become huge lakes
Initially, the magma pools are nearly purely liquid rock, with few bubbles or re-crystallised minerals.
Over time, crystals develop, but the process stops at the point of the eruption. As a result, the characteristic development time of these crystals can also give an estimate of how long a magma pool existed before erupting.
Rather than zircon, the team’s target was crystals of the common mineral quartz.
Because the processes and timescales of quartz formation in the extraordinary underground conditions of a magma pool are well-known, the team was able to determine how long the crystals were forming within Long Valley’s supervolcano before being spewed out in the eruption.
Their estimates suggest the quartz formed over a range of time between 500 and 3,000 years.
“Our study suggests that when these exceptionally large magma pools form they are ephemeral and cannot exist very long without erupting,” said Dr Gualda.
“The fact that the process of magma body formation occurs in historical time, instead of geological time, completely changes the nature of the problem.”
At present, geologists do not believe that any of Earth’s known giant magma pools are in imminent danger of eruption, but the results suggest future work to better understand how the pools develop, and aim ultimately to predict devastating super-eruptions.
A ‘green alert’ still allows visitors access to the volcanic areas.
Rincon de la Viejavolcano is showing activity at significant levels experts from the RSN said. Courtesy of National Seismological Network
The National Emergency Commission (CNE) on Wednesday declared a preventive “green alert” due to recent seismic activity at three volcanoes: Rincón de la Vieja, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, Poás, northwest of San José in the province of Alajuela, and Turrialba, in the eastern province of Cartago.
“The CNE’s alert is supported by reports from technical and scientific agencies that note the volcanoes are in constant activity,” the commission stated.
Turrialba Volcano, 70 kilometers east of the capital, has seen significant volcanic and seismic activity in recent months, prompting the National Seismological Network to upgraded its own color threat level to yellow.
Emissions of gas at Poás Volcano are expected to increase, and Rincón de la Vieja Volcano has also seen significant volcanic activity, the CNE noted.
Despite the warning, access to the volcanoes will remain open to the public, but visitors must follow guidelines issued at each national park’s entrance.
A light spewing of ash amid renewed rumblings in the Nevado del Ruiz volcano prompted Colombian authorities to evacuate 500 people from beneath its flanks and briefly suspend flights at four airports.
The volcano’s seismic activity was more intense than episodes in April and early May, when it emitted columns of steam, said the government geological agency Ingeominas. The 17,160ft volcano spouted ash that fell on population centres including the western city of Manizales.
Recovery hope ends for miners
The families of 29 men killed 18 months ago when an explosion ripped through a New Zealand coal mine say they are abandoning their campaign to get the remains returned.
Bernie Monk — whose 23-year-old son Michael died in the November 2010 disaster — said an assessment by new mine owners Solid Energy indicates the old mine shaft remains dangerously full of methane. He said the families do not want to risk any more lives in a recovery operation.
Sudan leaves oil-rich region
Sudan withdrew its army from the disputed Abyei border region that contains rich oil fields and is contested by neighbouring South Sudan, handing it over to UN forces, a semi-official media agency reported.
The Sudan Media Centre quoted Al-Khair al-Faheem Mekki, co-chairman of the committee that oversaw the handover, as saying Ethiopian troops would fill the vacuum and maintain security.
Heritage bid for sunken city
A team of international archaeologists said they will ask the United Nations cultural agency to bestow world heritage status on Port Royal, the mostly submerged remains of a historic Jamaican port known as the “wickedest city on earth” more than three centuries ago.
It was once a bustling place where buccaneers docked in search of rum, women and boat repairs. In recent days, consultants have conducted surveys to mark the old city’s land and sea boundaries to apply for the world heritage designation.
On Saturday, crews in Colorado battled a wildfire that has scorched more than 3,000 acres of rugged canyon land near the Colorado-Utah border. U.S. Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin said the fire started Friday afternoon and is burning in a remote area near Paradox. It is not threatening any structures, and no injuries have been reported. Shannon Borders, a spokeswoman for The Bureau of Land Management, said sheriff’s deputies have evacuated the Buckeye Reservoir area, a popular recreation spot near the Utah border. The Rock Creek and Sinbad Valley areas also were evacuated.
A strong heat wave has taken the city in its grip and the weather is expected to get more hot and dry in the next few days. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, most of the cities including Lahore, will face increasing heat in the next four to five days, with temperature expected to reach 48 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius in some areas. Maximum temperature for Lahore recorded in the last 24 hours was 43 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, harsh weather conditions forced Lahoris to avoid unnecessary travel and stay indoors, which translated into less traffic on the otherwise busy arteries of the city. Irked by massive load shedding and rising temperature, a large number of citizens, including youngsters, women and children, were also seen bathing in the canal even on Monday despite it being a working day.
The vineyards around the villages of Pignans, Carnoules, Flassans-sur-Issole, Carcès, Besse-sur-Issole, Brignoles, Correns, Cotignac and Le Val et Montfort-sur-Argens in the central Var were at the centre of the storm. For some vineyards, the hail was violent enough to not only destroy this year’s harvest but also those of next year and possibly even 2014. In a primary survey, around ten co-operatives and between thirty to forty independent domains have been affected. A special committee has been set up to evaluate the damage to the individual wine domaines and for compensation to be available. Local mayors have asked for a state of natural catastrophe to be declared. The President of the ‘Syndicat des Vignerons du Var’ said he had never seen a hail storm of this violence. The minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, is looking into the extent of the damage, promising support for those hit by the hail.
MONTREAL – A wall of rain collapsed onto Montreal in one torrential instant that flooded city streets, closed subway stations, caused power failures, damaged private property and forced evacuations from public buildings Tuesday.
It took only a few minutes to transform downtown streets into miniature canals. The foul odour of overflowing sewage floated over the area near the port.
Many thousands of people were affected. While some scooped water from their own basements, much larger buildings were evacuated including a fancy downtown hotel, the Quebec provincial library, multiple university pavilions, commercial centres and a large part of the metro system.
More than 28,000 people lost electricity in Quebec, with more than half those disruptions occurring in the province’s biggest city. All but about 4,300 customers in the province and 1,900 in Montreal regained their power later in the evening.
The brief but powerful storm saw a sunny afternoon lapse into night-like darkness. A solid slab of water crashed through the air, eventually bursting sideways in what looked like puffy, swirling white clouds.
The rain overwhelmed the city’s aging infrastructure in some places, with water pushing up through manhole covers and sometimes lifting them up.
People scrambled through the streets, some screaming as they were pelted and struggling to cling to umbrellas that seemed about to fly out of their hands.
By the time it was over, there were cars partly submerged in what looked like little lakes, while a pool of water covered several subway stations.
Within hours, many of the trouble spots had been cleared and the metro service was restored on the line that had been disrupted.
Environment Canada said between 40 and 80 millimetres of rain had fallen on the city. Federal meteorologist Andre Cantin said it was the kind of event that occurs in a city once every five to 10 years.
At the Place d’Armes metro stop near Old Montreal, the water was ankle-deep at the ground-floor turnstile — which is well above the lower-level tracks.
Would-be commuters said they had arrived there to an improbable sight: a sheet of water spilling onto the turnstile area from the windows above.
“It was raining from the ceiling,” said Allyson Haring after she navigated the ankle-deep water around the ticket booth.
Her friend said she had never seen anything like it.
“Up here if it’s flooded, I wonder what is going on down there (on the tracks),” said Brenna Maciw, who was scrambling to find another way home to the city’s outer suburbs.
“I feel like this is something that’s going to go down in the books.”
Business people hoping to take the subway skipped, hopped and sloshed through the massive puddles — some while wearing high heels. Upon arriving, they were turned away.
Transit workers, meanwhile, tried to sop up the water with mops and vacuums.
Fire department crews were also dispatched from a number of stations, their heavy engines kicking up water in the streets ahead of them like the bows of ships.
There were also unconfirmed reports of the police 911 system being overwhelmed by calls.
The late-afternoon storm followed a lengthy and loud early morning thunderstorm in the city, and a sunny afternoon. Between those two storms, up to 120 mms had fallen on Montreal, about a third of it coming in the less severe morning shower.
The worst downpour during the afternoon rush hour caused a temporary shutdown of the Ville-Marie tunnel, one of the city’s busiest and most important expressways.
A famous Olympic athlete was caught up in the mess.
“Yup,” figure skater Joannie Rochette tweeted, “I’ve just taken a boat tour of the Ville-Marie tunnel!”
There was minor damage at the local CBC building. A spokesman there said floods did not damage the broadcaster’s archives.
Concordia University was investigating reports of damage to its library. Classes continued Tuesday evening but some university buildings were evacuated, including the library. Pavilions were also evacuated at UQAM university.
Guests were forced to leave an upscale hotel, Le Crystal, that had been flooded. There were also reports on Twitter that several hundred students at a CEGEP, Dawson College, were forced to evacuate during a major exam.
There were some stomach-churning scenes, too.
The clogged sewers caused dirty water to accumulate in some low-lying neighbourhoods. The local CTV station ran, on its website, a photo supplied by a viewer of a rat swimming on the street.
From a single downtown intersection it was possible to see emergency vehicles zipping off in three different directions, their lights flashing and sirens wailing.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
This Montreal bus was flooded by rising waters in Montreal. (YouTube/Radio-Canada)
Heavy rainstorms have washed out and closed parts of roads in southwestern New Hampshire. The state Department of Transportation says major roadways with high water or washouts after Tuesday evening’s rain are Routes 9, 10 and 12. Route 9 is a major east-west roadway. The areas affected by the road closures include Gilsum and Sullivan. DOT spokesman Bill Boynton says luckily it’s not a statewide issue and there are no reports of traffic accidents or casualties. He says he won’t know how much damage there was to the roads until the water subsides. The heaviest rain fell from around 6 to 6:30 p.m. Concord also had heavy rain but no reports of roads affected. The National Weather Service says hail the size of a quarter rained down on Alstead.
One person has skin lesions and 16 animals have died in an anthrax outbreak in northern Colombia, near the Venezuelan border. A notification on the website for the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said the outbreak has affected two farms in the department of La Guajira. Colombia’s Agriculture Ministry sent the information to the OIE on May 28. The source of the deadly bacteria has not yet been determined, the report said. One of the affected populations “belongs to an indigenous community in the department of La Guajira,” the notice states. “The community has been informed of the protocol to be applied to dispose of the carcasses, mainly the fact that, under no circumstances, the dead animals must be neither manipulated nor consumed,” the report said. Humans commonly contract anthrax through close contact with infected animals or eating ones that have died from the disease. “Susceptible species are being vaccinated. An intense epidemiological surveillance is being conducted in the area together with the public health authorities,” the notification continued. The animals will be also be quarantined in response to the outbreak. Three goats, three sheep and two pigs have died from the outbreak on one farm. Another five goats and two pigs have died on a separate farm. Anthrax, also used as a biological weapon, is caused by the spore-forming bacteria Bacillus anthracia, the OIE website states. The disease causes dark ulcers on the skin of infected people when contracted from exposure to infected animals, and it occurs on all the continents.
Biohazard name:
Anthrax
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
A possible outbreak of meningitis in the North West is being investigated, the provincial health department says. “Outbreak response teams had been sent to Majakaneng village, near Brits, following a confirmed meningitis death at a local school,” spokesman Tebogo Lekgethwane said in a statement. He said two more children with suspected meningitis died in the last month in the village. “Interviews conducted by the response teams indicated the deceased children showed signs and symptoms of meningitis.” This could not be confirmed because the children died before visiting a health facility, he said. Lekgethwane said meningitis was a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. “The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.” He said meningitis may develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria, viruses and fungal infections. The severity of illness and the treatment for meningitis differed, depending on the cause. “Symptoms can appear in any order, but the first symptoms are usually fever, vomiting, sensitivity to light, stiff neck, vomiting and headache, and feeling unwell — just like many mild illnesses,” said Lekgethwane.
Biohazard name:
Meningitis outbreak
Biohazard level:
3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
The Open Eye: For those who associate this with Illuminati, consider it stolen, they can’t have it anymore. It is now our awakening.
Michio Kaku: YES, I am more than aware of his stigma, but not every word out of his mouth is incorrect. This is spot on.
Anonymous : It is not a government group, we watched it ‘begin’… we do all we can, for the best cause we can. To be Anonymous is to take nothing for your contribution, let your value be judged in terms of the goals furthered.
Forgiveness gives the forgiven a choice between darkness and light. That may truly be the lord’s work.
“we” is all of us, both as the 0bservers, and as a community. We all help each other, and we share the responsibility for crafting the tomorrow we want to see.
Two small asteroids buzz Earth in back-to-back flybys
NASA says they were well within moon’s orbit, but posed no danger to our planet
Two small asteroids zipped close by Earth in back-to-back flybys of the planet Monday and Tuesday. While both space rocks came well within the moon’s orbit, they posed no danger to our planet, NASA scientists say.
The newfound asteroid 2012 KP24 zoomed by Earth Monday, coming within 32,000 miles (51,000 kilometers) on its closest approach, according to astronomers at NASA’s Asteroid Watch at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
“We’ll have a close but very safe pass of asteroid 2012 KP24 May 28,” scientists with NASA’s Asteroid Watch program assured via Twitter.
Asteroid Watch is part of the Near-Earth Object Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The NEO office oversees the agency’s efforts to detect, track and characterize potentially dangerous asteroids or comets that could zoom close to Earth.
The recently discovered asteroid 2012 KP24 measures about 69 feet (21 meters) across and did not pose any threat to Earth during its flyby, NASA scientists said.
But this space rock is not the only one that paid a close visit to our planet this week.
Another small asteroid, called 2012 KT42, flew past Earth early Tuesday. The asteroid came within 8,950 miles (14,400 km) on its closest approach, which easily fits between the Earth and moon’s orbit. For comparison, the moon typically circles Earth at a distance of about 240,000 miles (386,000 km).
While asteroid 2012 KT42 was only discovered yesterday, the space rock did not pose any impact threat Earth when it made its closest approach at 3:07 a.m. EDT, NASA scientists said.
The small space rock is only about 16 feet (5 m) wide, which means it would not pack much of a punch even if it did hit the planet, according to astronomer Tony Phillips on his websiteSpaceweather.com, which monitors major space weather and skywatching events.
“Even if it did hit, this space rock is too small to cause significant damage,” Phillips wrote. “It would likely disintegrate almost entirely in the atmosphere, peppering the ground below with relatively small meteorites.”
Astronomers with NASA and other organizations regularly scan the skies in search of potentially dangerous near-Earth objects.
Experts estimate that space rocks that measure about 460 feet (140 m) across or larger could cause widespread devastation if they impact the planet. A much larger asteroid, however, would be required to cause destruction on a global scale.
Findings could explain how cold, dry world might have sustained conditions friendly for life
By Charles Q. Choi
Cosmic impacts that once bombed Mars might have sent temperatures skyrocketing on the Red Planet in ancient times, enough to set warming of the surface on a runaway course, researchers say.
According to scientists, these findings could potentially help explain how this cold, dry world might have once sustained liquid water and conditions potentially friendly for life.
The largest craters still visible on Mars were created about 3.7 billion to 4.1 billion years ago. For instance, the Argyre basin — a crater about 710 miles (1,140 kilometers) wide generated by a comet or asteroid 60 to 120 miles (100 to 200 km) in diameter — is thought to be 3.8 billion to 3.9 billion years old,
The origin of these immense craters roughly coincides with when many branching Martian river valley networks apparently formed. The impact that created Argyre basin would have released an extraordinary amount of energy, far more than any bomb made by humanity, or even the asteroid suspected of ending the Age of Dinosaurs 65 million years ago. [7 Biggest Mysteries of Mars]
It would have been an explosion with an energy on the order of 10^26 joules, or 100 billion megatons of TNT. Altogether, scientists had calculated these giant collisions would have raised surface temperatures on Mars by hundreds of degrees.
Long-term warming on Mars? Now these researchers find this heating might not have been fleeting. Instead, the warming might have gone on a runaway course, pushing Mars into a long-term stable warm state.
The idea of runaway warming is most commonly associated with Venus. Scientists think that planet’s close proximity to the sun heated its water, causing it to build up in Venus’ atmosphere as steam. Water is a greenhouse gas, trapping heat from the sun that would have vaporized still more water, leading to a runaway greenhouse effect that apparently boiled all the oceans off Venus.
Ultraviolet light would have then eventually split this atmospheric water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen escaped into space, the oxygen became trapped in the rocks of the planet, and the end-result was a bone-dry Venus.
The researchers note the many giant impacts Mars experienced might have heated the planet enough to send vast amounts of the greenhouse gases water and carbon dioxide into the air. Their computer models suggest that there might have been enough of these gases in the Martian atmosphere to trigger a long-lasting runaway greenhouse effect.
The impact that created the Argyre basin might have by itself been large enough to trigger such a chain reaction. Other impacts that might have pushed Mars toward a runaway greenhouse include the ones that created the Isidis and Hellas basins.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona
Images like this from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show portions of the Martian surface in unprecedented detail. This one shows many channels from 1 meter to 10 meters (approximately 3 feet to 33 feet) wide on a scarp in the Hellas impact basin. On Earth we would call these gullies.
“Any terrestrial planet, including Venus, the Earth or even exoplanets, may have experienced a temporary or permanent runaway greenhouse climate caused by impacts,” researcher Teresa Segura, a planetary scientist at the commercial satellite firm Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, Calif., told Astrobiology Magazine.
It is possible that any impacting comets might have delivered even more greenhouses gases into the atmosphere once they vaporized. Still, “the kinetic energy is of most importance,” Segura said.
The researchers do note that during the runaway greenhouse phase, Mars would actually have been too warm for liquid water to last on its surface. Still, this heat would eventually subside — ultraviolet light would have caused the Martian atmosphere to lose its water just as Venus did, forcing the Red Planet to cool.
A wetter Mars After runaway greenhouse conditions collapsed but before Mars became too cold for liquid water on its surface, the planet might have remained wet for a long time, possessing “a prolonged hydrological cycle with rainfall and valley networks as well as surface lakes,” Segura said.
It remains uncertain just how long either this runaway state or any wet period afterward might have lasted, but previous research suggests the warm climate may have lasted for at least centuries, she noted.
Future research could analyze the effects cosmic impacts might have on the climates of Venus, exoplanets and Earth. Although impacts might very well be capable of causing a runaway greenhouse effect now, “the size of the impact required is much larger than that we need to worry about today,” Segura said.
That is to say, if our planet was hit by an impact large enough to create the Argyre basin, there probably wouldn’t be anyone on Earth left to worry about any of the collision’s potential effects on climate.
Segura and her colleagues Christopher McKay and Owen Toon detailed their findings online May 2 in the journal Icarus.
Event into space in India on Wednesday, 30 May, 2012 at 12:02 (12:02 PM) UTC.
Description
A team of scientists from Mumbai left for Nagpur on Tuesday to investigate the impact of last Tuesday’s meteorite shower in the Katol region, which left several houses damaged. The team is expected to reach Nagpur on Wednesday early morning. “We were actually suppose to leave on Monday, but had to wait for the confirmation of our tickets,” Bharat Adur, head of Akash Ganga Centre for Astronomy (AGCA), Thane, said. The scientists will be at the site for the next three days to investigate the matter. “Based on the information I received, at least six houses were affected because of this meteorite shower…only stony iron meteorites have such a huge impact,” said Mr Adur, adding, “We cannot declare anything immediately, and can only confirm the type of meteorite shower, once we visit the site.” When asked if anyone was to be blamed for not forewarning the locals in Katol, Mr Adur said “ I am not blaming anyone for this, but European Space Research Organisation (Esro) should have been more tactful. For that matter, even the airport authorities are provided with a radar, which detects such meteorite showers, at least an hour before they hit the earth. Adequate precautions could have been taken.” Residents of Katol were left shaken after a meteor-ite shower hit the region on May 22. “People are bound to get scared; I will be meeting my relatives and friends as soon as I reach Katol,” Mr Adur said.
Unusual Natural PhenomenaMessageToEagle.com – Earth is a fantastic and beautiful planet full of wonders.
No matter where we decide to go there is always something amazing to admire in all corners of the world, from the East to the West, from the South to the North, our planet offers a mixture of amazingly mysterious experiences which can occasionally even be somewhat dangerous.
Pillars of Light
“Light pillars” is a visual phenomenon created by the reflection of light which looks like joining the earth and the sky.
It’s not a mystery that how these are formed but it is considered a wonder of nature best viewed just before sunrise or just after sunset, when the sun is low on the horizon.The real reason why these are formed is the ice and pillars are created Light whether artificial or natural, when falls on ice reflects light.These light pillars are created by the reflection of light on the ice. The color and size of them vary depending on the distance from where they are viewed.
The most unforgettable experience is to see a few of them side by side.
Lava “Lake”
This phenomenon should not be called a “lake” because there is no water in it. Instead, here is lava in voth frozen and liquid state.
On our planet we have four such “lakes”: Erta Ale, Ethiopia (image above), Kilaulea, Hawaii, Erebus, Antarctica and Nyiragongo, the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are located in craters of volcanoes. Apparently they represent a very dangerous force of nature! Erta Ale in Ethiopia, for example, is the country’s only known active volcano. when it exploded recently, it forced nomads to flee lava flows, immediately.
The volcano also killed about 1,370 camels and goats, dried and polluted local rivers and has displaced over 2,000 people along with their cattle.
Dust Storm
It’s also a very dangerous, notorious force of nature. Dust storms can reach 2.5 km in height and are often seen on the Arabian peninsula, the Gobi Desert or the Sahara.
They are caused by strong winds blowing over loose soil or sand, and picking up so much of that material that visibility is greatly reduced. The widespread abundance of loose sand in deserts makes them the most common locations for sandstorms to form.
In desert regions at certain times of the year, sandstorms become more frequent because the strong heating of the air over the desert causes the lower atmosphere to become unstable. This instability mixes strong winds in the middle troposphere downward to the surface, producing stronger winds at the surface.
The “Dust Bowl” storms that swept across the Midwest from 1930 to 1936 were terrible experience. They displaced hundreds of thousands of agricultural workers in the central United States and Canada.
Sea sparkle
It is a mysterious experience when you walk along the beach on a warm summery evening, when sea sparkle is in the water. You can see it as your foot presses down on the wet sand. And you can see it in the breaking waves. Sparks of light!
It’s a sea sparkle or Noctiluca scintillans that lives near the surface of the ocean, where it feeds on other planktonic organisms.
When millions of sea sparkle are bounced around by the water or your feet, a chemical reaction takes places which produces a greenish light.
This light is meant to scare off predators. Sea sparkle likes rather quiet waters. Should the sea get too rough, it moves to deeper depths.
Fire Whirl/Fire Devil
It’s a very dangerous combination – it’s a vortex tornado with fire! Tornado itself extremely frightening, but combined with fire – it’s one of the most destructive forces. Whether a simple tornado turns into a tornado of fire whirlpool, is dependent on temperature. Warm air is directed to the inside and cold outside the vortex.
Why is it so dangerous? Well, it’s very difficult to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading. An extreme example is the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake in Japan. This tragic fire whirl ignited a large city-sized firestorm and produced a gigantic fire that killed 38,000 people in fifteen minutes in the Hifukusho-Ato region of Tokyo.
Today, fire whirls are often observed when burning grasslands by farmers.
Aurora Borealis
The aurora occurs along ring shaped regions around the north and south geomagnetic poles. The intensity of the displays vary from night to night and throughout each night.
An intense auroral display can cause many problems on the ground, such as intense electric currents along electric power lines (causing blackouts) and oil pipelines (enhancing corrosion).
The aurora can disturb the ionosphere and disrupt short wave communication. Auroral discharge electrons have even damaged the electronics and solar panels of communications and meteorological satellites, rendering them inoperable.
Ocean Currents
Tremendous whirlpools have always terrified sailors, especially in times when their boats were less resistant to weather conditions and enormous water masses. The atmospheric circulation that is set up between the equator and the poles also influences the redistribution of these water masses.
Wind blowing over the ocean surface exerts drag (friction) and starts to move the surface waters.
In addition the currents are influenced by the Coriolis Force and the tides.
Water masses, however, are both fascinating and dangerous force of nature.
In the vicinity of Scotland, one of the currents produces15 feet high waves and is easily heard even from a distance. Water is not always – an adventure. Tsunami, which is water’s very destructive acitivity is dangerous and deadly!
A chemical mix-up at a Darigold plant in Southeast Portland sent eleven people to the hospital Wednesday morning. Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman Paul Corah says they are being treated for respiratory irritation. Corah says a truck was offloading corrosive material inside the plant when hoses were crossed. The material was pumped into the wrong tank. Corah says when the two chemicals mixed, they made a chlorine-type gas. A HAZMAT team is evaluating the condition of the plant. Corah says the gas leak has stopped and there will be no more evacuations required. He said neighbors who live near the plant are not in danger.
[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.]
The Hunger Site – Your click helps to feed the hungry
Wheatgrass Kits.com
FAIR USE NOTICE
The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of scientific, environmental, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal or technical advice.
Any materials (ie. graphics, articles , commentary) that are original to this blog are copyrighted and signed by it's creator. Said original material may be shared with attribution. Please respect the work that goes into these items and give the creator his/her credit. Just as we share articles , graphics and photos always giving credit to their creators when available. Credit and a link back to the original source is required.
If you have an issue with anything posted here or would prefer we not use it . Please contact me. Any items that are requested to be removed by the copyright owner will be removed immediately. No threats needed or lawsuit required. If there is a problem and you do not wish your work to be showcased then we will happily find an alternative from the many sources readily available from creators who would find it amenable to having their work presented to the subscribers of this feed.
Thank you for your time and attention, blessings to all :)