BAY AREA It's not going to let up yet Weather forecasters say the rainstorms to keep rolling in until next midweek
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The unusual meshwork of atmospheric highs and lows is clamped down over the Pacific. Storms have been spoiling holidays in Hawaii for days on end, while a south-tilted jet stream has been pumping buckets of moisture into Northern California. Dreary, wet weather seems certain to persist across Northern California until at least the middle of next week, with one storm after another interrupted by only the briefest hints of spring sunshine. Sooner or later, something always perturbs this kind of pattern, which will allow the storm track to move back to the Pacific Northwest where people are more used to this kind of daily soaking. For now, though, all that the meteorologists can see are systems feeding off each other, citing atmospheric phenomena all over the globe including high pressure over Canada, which blocks Pacific storm systems from moving east, and a series of tropical cyclones over Australia, which is "helping to anchor the long wave pattern." "Think of the atmosphere like a river. There's a big current of air that flows around from the west to the east, and there are these buckles in it, areas that loop northward and other areas that loop southward." One such loop is a persistent trough of low pressure over the West Coast, and a high-pressure ridge to the north. As storms develop in the Gulf of Alaska, they ride up and down the ridge, skimming over Washington and Oregon for the most part but pummeling Northern California. "Once this patterns breaks down, it will be much more likely for the pattern to be drier in April, and maybe drier than normal." "There's no physical reasoning for me to say what I'm saying, but I would just anticipate, as the sun is moving north, for the jet stream to follow, and then we would think the storm track will move father north." Total rainfall, as measured in downtown San Francisco, has been 7.88 inches so far this month, exceeded only six times since the Gold Rush. Snowpack is about 25 percent above average in the Sierra. Last month had almost three weeks without any rain at all.
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Thursday, March 30, 2006
It's not going to let up
Mount Bulusan gets alert level 1
Volcanic Alert
March 30, 2006
SORSOGON CITY - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has placed Mount Bulusan on alert level one after it showed increased restiveness Sunday morning.
Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, said under normal conditions, the volcano only records five or less number of quakes.
Solidum said there was a significant increase in seismicity at Bulusan since last year and an increase in steam emission on March 3 this year.
He said they expect steam-driven and "phreatic" explosions to occur with the volcano’s increased seismic activity.
"If the present earthquake activity persists in the coming days, the possibility of explosions greatly increases so that the four-kilometer radius PDZ may be extended accordingly," he added.
UPDATE
Bulusan volcano spewed a column of ash nearly 1.5km into the sky late Tuesday, raising fears of a major eruption. Officials said they were considered increasing the alert level. More earthquakes had been recorded in the area recently, a possible sign that the volcano may be about to erupt more powerfully. The ash column may have been created by a reaction between water and hot materials, a "possible sign of rising magma". A four-km exclusion zone is already in place around the volcano.
4.1 quake rattles Ridgecrest
SEISMIC UPDATE
Photo: Some minor damage was evident Tuesday afternoon after the 4.1 magnitude earthquake shook Ridgecrest. The Minit Shop on East Ridgecrest Boulevard suffered a new crack on the east side of their building.
At approximately 5:36 p.m. yesterday afternoon, an earthquake shook up residents throughout the Mojave Desert area.With an epicenter located about five miles east of Ridgecrest and 13 miles from Inyokern, the temblor registered at a 4.1 magnitude at a depth of about 6.4 miles according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Described as a “short, rocking jolt” by some concerned callers to The Daily Independent, the USGS-categorized “light” rumbler did some slight damage and was felt as far north as Panamint Springs in Death Valley National Park and as far east as Barstow.Regarding the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Public Affairs Officer Peggy Shoaf said, “As of this morning we have had no reports of damage.”At least one local business had reports of damage, consisting mainly of cracks in walls.
Cyclone Glenda batters Onslow
March 30, 2006
Cyclone Glenda has crossed the West Australian Pilbara coast hours earlier than expected.
Mardi Station recorded winds gusts of almost 180 kilometres per hour as the severe category 4 cyclone passed through.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the cyclone is now heading past the coastal town of Onslow, where winds are reaching 140 kilometres an hour.
It warns there is potential for very dangerous storm tides, which could cause flooding.
Western Power's Evette Smeathers says many residents have already lost electricity supplies.
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RELATED STORY
Cyclone Glenda 'as strong as Larry'
Cyclone Glenda was 100 kilometres from Karratha in Western Australia's Pilbara region this afternoon, as 220 kmh winds put the town on red alert.
The cyclone is bigger than the storm that flattened Darwin in 1974 and about as powerful as Cyclone Larry, which devastated north Queensland last week.
Glenda's eye threatens to cross the coast this evening just west of Karratha and Dampier, about 1,540 km north of Perth.
WA Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesman Bill Rose said told smh.com.au: "It's not going to hit Karratha full-on, it should hit somewhere between here and Onslow, which is good because there's nothing there.
Colombians evacuate as volcano threatens eruption
VOLCANIC ALERT
March 29, 2006
Authorities have demanded the evacuation of nearly 9,000 residents close to Colombia’s most active volcano after the geological institute said an eruption may be days or weeks away.The Colombian Institute of Geology and Mining, working with scientific teams in United States, Ecuador and Germany, raised to level two the status of the Galeras volcano following increased activity in the volcano’s core.“I trust the scientists and my feeling is that this could be a big eruption,” said Fabio Trujillo, acting governor of the department of Narino, home to the volcano.“We are appealing to the common-sense of the people to leave the area of danger and so save their lives.”
ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF THIS VOLCANO
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Monster Waves
Photo: People flock to Bronte to see the waves.
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Total solar eclipse streaks across Earth
BREAKING NEWS: SOLAR ECLIPSE
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 9:44 a.m. ET March 29, 2006
Schoolchildren shouted and even scientists shed a tear as the moon's dark shadow sped across Earth's surface from Brazil to Mongolia on Wednesday, marking the first total solar eclipse in more than two years.
"God is great, this shows the greatness of God," Nana Appah exclaimed as she joined the crowds on Ghana's Cape Coast beach. "This shows the greatness of nature. It is very, very beautiful. I’ve never experienced anything like this before."
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March 29: Watch the total solar eclipse in video from Side, Turkey, provided courtesy of NASA and Exploratorium.
Mega eruption of Yellowstone's southern twin
BREAKING EARTH SCIENCE NEWS
March 28, 2006
"Vilama Caldera formed during a single event that emitted approximately 2000 cubic kilometers (almost 500 cubic miles) of pyroclastic material," said geologist Miguel M. Soler of the National University of Jujuy in San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina. The volume of ash and pyroclastic material, called ignimbrites, produced by the 8.4 million-year-old eruption, and the size of the associated caldera, put it among the world's largest known eruptions, he says. "In contrast, for example, Yellowstone produced its important volumes of ignimbrites and lavas in three cataclysmic events. Eruptions at 2.0, 1.3, and 0.6 million years ago ejected huge volumes of rhyolite magma, and each formed a caldera and extensive layers of thick pyroclastic flow deposits," said Soler. Soler will present some of the recent groundbreaking work on Vilama supervolcano on Monday, 3 April 3 at Backbone of the Americas - Patagonia to Alaksa. The meeting is co-convened by the Geological Society of America and the Asociación Geológica Argentina, with collaboration of the Sociedad Geológica de Chile. The meeting takes place 3-7 April in Mendoza, Argentina. The Vilama Caldera appears to have been created when the 10 by 24-mile roof catastrophically collapsed on a chamber of molten rock, or magma, explosively venting vast amounts of ignimbrites out in various directions. That massive roof collapse is the one thing all large calderas have in common and what separates them from the exponentially smaller "single vent" volcanic eruptions like Mount St. Helens or Mount Pinatubo.
Related News
Vesuvius found to be more dangerous than was thought
DPA , ROME Tuesday, Mar 14, 2006,Page 6
Researchers have found evidence of a catastrophic eruption by Mount Vesuvius some 4,000 years ago which devastated the area of present-day Naples for centuries afterward.
The finding, published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States, provides today's disaster planners with a new "worst-case scenario."
It had previously been believed that the volcano's worst eruption was the notorious one of 79 AD which wiped out the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
But according to experts an eruption 3,780 years ago was more destructive.
Well-preserved remains of a prehistoric village were found about 15km northeast of Vesuvius, where volcanic deposits captured quickly abandoned domestic scenes. Outlines of huts and skeletons of pregnant goats were preserved by the high-speed surges of hot volcanic ash and gases, and researchers found a skeleton of a man and woman buried under 1m of pumice outside the village.
About 15km north-northwest of Vesuvius, thousands of human and animal footprints solidified in cooling ash were found.
Their path indicates a massive, rapid evacuation out of the devastated area.
Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo and Michael Sheridan say their findings represent an important "step forward in our knowledge of Vesuvius."
They note that while the Pompeii eruption had suggested that the area north of Naples was not at risk, the Old Bronze Age eruption suggests all areas surrounding the volcano could be affected.
Prague braces for flood as river rises
Updated: 1:37 p.m. ET March 28, 2006
PRAGUE - Authorities reinforced the main river in Prague on Tuesday as rising waters threatened to flood low-lying parts of the historic city, including its zoo.
Barriers were erected to prevent water spilling into streets, and metal walls will be erected at the medieval Kampa district below the 14th century Charles Bridge.
“It is necessary to secure this part of the city as soon as possible due to the growing water flow in the Vltava river in Prague,” Prague City Council said in a statement.
Rivers across the central European country were rising fast due to rain and unusually warm weather that melted deep snow.
An operator at the Vltava river management firm Povodi Vltavy said the water flowing into Prague was three times the average for spring, and estimated it could rise by another about 75 percent in the coming days. Weather forecasters said there would be more rain throughout the week.
Cyclone Glenda upgraded to category 5
BREAKING STORM NEWS: AUSTRALIA
March 29, 2006
Australia is bracing for its second major cyclone in two weeks as a storm with winds of around 280km/h (175mph) headed for its western coast.
Cyclone Glenda was expected to hit north-west Australia's Pilbara coastline late on Thursday.
A major iron ore port on the Pilbara coast has sent its ships out to calmer waters, and the 10,000 residents of the coastline are preparing their houses.
Australia's north-east is still recovering from Cyclone Larry.
That storm, which hit the state of Queensland, caused no fatalities but left a damage bill which is expected to top AU$1bn (US$707m).
A weather forecaster told ABC radio on Wednesday that Cyclone Glenda's current wind speeds were similar to that of Larry's prior to it hitting the coast.
"It is a very large system, one of the strongest cyclones we have seen off our Australian coastline," Gavin Edmonds said.
On a Related Note (U.S.)
CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTO The 'Long Island Express' hurricane of Sept. 22, 1938, wrecked boats and pier sheds in New London, Conn.
New England Overdue for Big Hurricane
March 29, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Earthquake risk rattles Allstate
Updated: 7:00 p.m. ET March 26, 2006
The chance of a major earthquake hitting Ohio may be low, but it's not remote enough for one major insurer.
Allstate Insurance Co., battered over the past 15 months by seven of the 10 most-expensive catastrophes in the company's history, is taking steps to reduce its exposure to disasters by discontinuing writing residential and commercial earthquake coverage in most of the nation, including Ohio. The company also is planning to shed some of the 407,000 earthquake policies it has in force nationwide.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Earth News Update: Avain(bird)Flu Virus
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Fears of Flooding Face Oahu Residents
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS: HAWAII, U.S.A.
March 26, 2006
Kaaawa (KHNL)- Fears of flooding face Windward Oahu residents as the wet weather keeps falling.
Some people weren't prepared for the heavy rains, but others are taking matters into their own hands in their continuous battle against Mother Nature.
VIEW VIDEO
Heavy Rains Cause Mudslides on Oahu
RELATED NEWS
New Eruptions in Poas Volcano
Photo Above: This is the summit area of Poas Volcano, only about an hours drive from the capital city of San Jose. The summit contains a number of explosion craters such as this one, and one of them contains a lake. The crater in this photo contains a small turquoi se lake of sulfurous steaming water. Poas is one of the main tourist attractions for Costa Rica, but violent explosions occasionally occur here. You can see that there is almost no vegetation and the whole area is covered by ash.
BREAKING NEWS: VOLCANIC ALERT
March 27, 2006
San Jose, Mar 27 (Prensa Latina) Costa Rica closed the area surrounding its central mountain range Monday, due to fear of new eruptions from Poas Volcano.
Emergency Prevention Commission chief (CNE) Lidier Esquivel reported that the generated earth movements do not represent any immediate risk to the residents on the volcano´s slopes, but there exists the danger of new explosions.
Park Security informed that the measure will be effective for a long time, in order to protect the lives of the neighbors and tourists, he stated.
Alajuela Province´s Poas Volcano, 40 miles northwest of the capital, suddenly began emitting water and wet sediment since Friday.
Note From the Editor's Desk
Skywatch/The Great Red Comet
Having lived in Costa Rica, and having studied its multi diversified eco-system of rainforests, plant and animal habitat, it is paradise at its very best. However, it is also a country that is susceptible to great dangers from both earthquakes and volcanoes. There are 112 volcanic formations that belong to the Pacific Ring of Fire. Seven are active, including Arenal, Poas and Irazu. Poas has the second widest crater in the world, so of course it would endanger the entire area near San Jose, if it were to violently erupt.
At one time I had property about 15 miles from Arenal Volcano, situated on Lake Arenal (see photo on left) It was a beautiful site, lush tropical foliage, many varieties of animals and insects, and a magnificent view of the lake. Yet looming only miles from my door was one of the most active volcanoes on earth, that rumbled and spurted ash and smoke.
Well, to make a long story short, During my time in Costa Rica, I had an uneasy feeling, one of insecurity, considering all the dangers surrounding me. I left the country in the spring of 2003, and things have been relatively calm there, except for some rough weather conditions on the caribbean coast. But the country is long overdue for something more omminous to occur, considering that the last major earth event was in 1963, when Irazu blew it's stack, dispersing ash and smoke over metropolitan San Jose and surrounding areas for nearly 2 years. Needless to say, that was quite a mess for area residents, I'm sure the older residents haven't forgotten how powerful and destructive volcanoes or earthquakes can be, both in loss of life and property damage.
Like so many other regions of the world, it appears that mother earth has had enough of those who are determined to destroy her through environmental neglect. The warming of the earth is destined to change our very existence, along with increased volcanic activity and seismic events that will crisscross the globe like a chain of tumbling dominoes. You see all these major earth events go hand and hand, they are interrelated as one event leads to another, all very powerful and destructive in nature.
We all think we live in a fantasy world. We think that because we exist in a world of high technology and innovation, that we will be safe from nature's fury. That my friends is dangerous thinking, nothing more then a false sense of security.
We are living in perilous times, a time in which the earth has become very restless and angry. Maybe this is the time of cleansing, to rid the world of those who are determined to lay waste to the earth's vast richness and diversity, and those who place in jeapardy the ultimate survival of mankind.
Yes, I do believe it is a time of re-awakening. Everyday, there are more people beginning to realize that the world cannot continue on is present course, that each of us will have to change our ways, if this earth is going to have a future for those who carry on for the next generation. The earth and climate changes that we see developing before our very eyes, seem hard to believe and difficult to accept, but it appears that they will become a part of our future, as the trend seems irreversible.
Man in their stubborness and ignorance, will not amend their ways, until it has already past the point of no return. Maybe it already is too late. Maybe life in our solar system, was never meant to last forever. After all, even the Sun in all its glory and might will one day burn out and become a dim remnant of a once bright and magnificent star.
He who giveth, also taketh away. That which was mighty, once day becomes insignificant. We live and we die. Nothing was meant to last forever. All these sayings, are true in one respect or another. Maybe we should be grateful for what we still have and can enjoy on this earth, and give thought to what it might be like to exist on the opposite end of the spectrum, a dismal and bleak world, where man must dig and claw in order to survive. Which end of the spectrum seems more promising? I believe we all know the answer to that question.
Steven Shaman
OTHER SOURCES
Costa Rican Volcanoes
Nobody has yet discovered if the ancient tribes of Costa Rica offered virgin sacrifices to the volcano gods. One thing is certain--they had plenty of options for doing so.
Cyclone on track to force five
BREAKING STORM NEWS: AUSTRALIA
Photo: Making waves ... lifeguards rescue surfers from the swell at Sydney's Coogee beach yesterday as Cyclone Wati hit the coast.
March 28, 2006
SEVERE tropical cyclone Glenda is expected to grow into a category-five storm before it crosses Western Australia's Pilbara coast later this week.
The sixth tropical cyclone of the WA season reached category-four strength today, as it travelled west-southwest roughly parallel to the Kimberley coast, with gusts of up to 235km/h.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Noel Puzey said Glenda was likely to intensify into a force-five storm as it tracked the coastline in the next few days.
"I think it probably will (strengthen) over the next 24 to 48 hours," Mr Puzey said.
By late Thursday or early Friday, Glenda could bear down on the central Pilbara mining region.
"In the 48 to 72 hour time it is probably more likely to affect the central to west Pilbara coast."
Residents and industry in the storm's projected path are battening down.
Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesmen were urging residents to batten down loose boards, remove loose debris from near houses and stock up on emergency supplies.
Last weekend, category-four Floyd caused wind gusts of up to 280km/h, but, like Bertie, the first cyclone of the season last year, it did not threaten the coast or the state's huge resources industry.
The first big storm to cross the Pilbara coast this year was category-three Clare, which caused evacuations in the region on January 9, as key ports were closed and mining operations were shut down.
A week later, category-two cyclone Daryl threatened northern settlements before moving away from the WA coast.
Earlier this month, cyclone Emma crossed the coast as a category-one storm, after briefly shutting down mining, oil and gas operations in the Pilbara region.
WA's cyclone season runs between November and April, with most activity in the latter half of the period.
RELATED BREAKING NEWS
Storms rage as cyclone season peaks
March 28, 2006
STAFF at the West Australian Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre were yesterday monitoring three systems as the storm season appeared to peak a month out from its end.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan, felt in Tokyo
BREAKING SEISMIC NEWS: JAPAN
No immediate reports of injuries or damage; no tsunami warning issued
March 28, 2006
TOKYO - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 jolted southern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The quake, which struck at 10:33 p.m., was also felt in Tokyo.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
The focus of the tremor was about 254 miles below the seabed in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Japan's main island of Honshu, the agency said.
Related News
Earthquake hits central RP (1:50 p.m.)
MANILA -- A strong earthquake shook the central Philippines early Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, the government's earthquake monitoring agency said. The magnitude 5.1 temblor occurred at 7:43 a.m. and was centered undersea, 45 kilometers off San Jose town in Mindoro Occidental province, which is about 260 kilometers south of Manila.
Freak German tornado kills two in Hamburg
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS
March 28, 2006
BERLIN (Reuters) - A rare tornado wreaked havoc in the northern German city of Hamburg on Monday, tearing the roofs off houses, overturning cars and killing two people, authorities said.The southern district of Harburg was hardest hit by the violent storm, which knocked down three cranes at a construction site, killing two operators, a police spokeswoman said. Two others at the site also suffered injuries, she added.The whirlwind overturned several cars and trucks and one company building had its entire roof stripped off, local fire services said. Damage to power masts left parts of the city, including a hospital, without electricity.The tornado caused serious traffic hold-ups in the area, as well as disruptions to rail services. Police said it was too early to estimate the cost of the damage.In June 2004, two small villages in eastern Germany suffered extensive damage when a tornado tore through them, wrecking houses and leaving hundreds of people with no power.
Monday, March 27, 2006
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March 27, 2006
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Will We Be Warned When Next Tsunami Comes
Skywatch Announcement
March 27, 2006
Experts from 140 nations meet in Germany from Monday to see how far the world has come with early warning systems in the 15 months since the devastating Asian tsunami.
This article is posted at Earth Frenzy Radio Blog
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Crazy weather
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS
Locals near Everest fret about Mother Nature’s next surprise
Photo: SNOWED UNDER: Namche Bajar last week under a metre of snow
March 27,2 006
If there is all this global warming how come it snowed so much this spring? That is what trekkers and Sherpas in Khumbu were asking last week as an unprecedented and unseasonal blizzard dumped heavy snow at the tail end of a bone-dry winter. Meterologists explain it is not so much climate change but climate variability associated with the greenhouse effect. No one we spoke to in Khumbu last week could remember a winter like this without snow, or a spring with so much. “This is something we never saw and heard about,” said 80-year-old Jangbu Sherpa, at Namche Bajar. “It’s quite ominous.”
RELATED CLIMATE NEWS
Brighter sun adds to fears of climate change
SKYWATCH SPECIAL REPORT
BREAKING ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
Photo: This image was acquired from NASA's Skylab space station on December 19, 1973. It shows one of the most spectacular solar flares ever recorded, propelled by magnetic forces, lifting off from the Sun. It spans more than 588,000 km (365,000 miles) of the solar surface. In this photograph, the solar poles are distinguished by a relative absence of supergranulation network, and a much darker tone than the central portions of the disk. (Courtesy NASA)
March 26, 2006 (article published in its entirety)
THE amount of sunshine reaching earth is increasing, accelerating the pace of climate change, scientists have found.
A series of independent studies around the world show a significant rise in the amount of sunshine penetrating the atmosphere to be absorbed by the earth’s surface and turned into heat.
The research will concern climate researchers who are already predicting a rapid rise in global temperatures due to man-made emissions of so-called greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. “The enhanced warming we have seen since the 1990s along with phenomena such as the widespread melting of glaciers could well be due to this increased intensity of sunlight compounding the effect of greenhouse gases,” said Professor Martin Wild of the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich, Switzerland.
Researchers will present their findings to the European Geophysical Union conference in Vienna next week.
They reverse a 30-year trend. Measurements of sunshine levels between 1960 and 1990 had shown a decrease in the amount of sunshine reaching the earth, a phenomenon known as global dimming.
This was thought to have been caused by dust, smog and other pollutants, mainly from industrialised western countries.The pollutants, known as aerosols, reduced sunshine levels by absorbing and scattering solar radiation and promoting the formation of clouds that reflected radiation back into space.
In the last two decades, however, there have been significant decreases in such pollutants, partly due to industry becoming cleaner but largely because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and much of its heavy industry.
Wild said: “Sunshine levels had been decreasing by 2% a decade between 1960 and 1980 — a total decline of about 6%. Now they are going up again. Perhaps this is why our Swiss glaciers are melting.”
A 6% increase in the amount of solar radiation reaching earth would have a powerful impact on climate, especially when added to the warming effect of greenhouse gases which have already raised global temperatures by about 0.6C. Researchers predict an additional rise of at least 1.5C by 2050.
Such rises could be disastrous for agriculture, wildlife and human settlements in many regions, especially the tropics. But scientists warn they may have to revise these calculations sharply upwards if the impact of “global brightening” has to be factored in.
Atsumu Ohmura, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, has collated measurements from 400 sites worldwide and found an increase in sunshine at 300 of them, sited mainly in Eurasia and the Polar regions.
Some showed a decline in sunshine since 1990, largely in fast-developing countries such as China and India.
“A widespread brightening has been observed since the 1980s. This may substantially affect surface climate, the water cycle, glaciers and ecosystems,” said Ohmura.
SCOTS SET TO TACKLE VOLCANO
VOLCANIC NEWS
Photo: The glowing dome at dawn. Photograph taken by one of the MVO's remote cameras located on Perches Mountain to the southeast on 19 January 2006
March 25, 2006
SCOTS scientists are on an urgent mission to find out if a faraway volcano is about to erupt.
A team from the University of St Andrews, in Fife, are heading over to the tiny island of Montserrat, West Indies, to measure how much of a threat the Soufrire Hills Volcano is to the 9000- strong nation.
The Caribbean island, which belongs to the UK, was devastated by the volcano's eruption in July 1995.
Two-thirds of the population fled abroad and only a handful ever returned.
The mountain is once again showing signs of activity after a lava dome was spotted growing at its summit.
The formation is caused by new magma, which is forced up from within the Earth.
The dome will eventually become unstable and collapse with deadly hot rocks and ash flowing down the mountainside.
RELATED NEWS
WA braces for cyclone Glenda
BREAKING STORM NEWS: AUSTRALIA
March 27, 2006
Residents of the far north of Western Australia were bracing for the sixth cyclone of the season. At Port Hedland and in the Pilbara region, residents were urged to prepare for tropical cyclone Glenda, which today was a category one storm off the Kimberley coastline. This system is expected to rapidly intensify as it moves off the north-west coast. "At this stage we are saying it could be at least a category three, which is severe." Floyd, the fifth cyclone of the November to April season in WA, was downgraded to a tropical low.
RELATED STORM NEWS
One killed in southern Iran quake
SEISMIC NEWS
LONDON, March 26 (IranMania) - One person was killed in a powerful earthquake that hit a mountainous area of southern Iran, state television reported on Sunday, according to AFP.
The quake struck on Saturday with a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale, damaging some rural houses and blocking mountain roadways to villages, the report said, adding that 2,000 blankets and other items have been sent to the affected areas.
The epicenter was southwest of the town of Fin, north of the city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province.
Last November, nine people were killed and scores more injured when a similar earthquake measuring close to 6.0 struck Qeshm island, just to the south of Bandar Abbas.
RELATED NEWS
Reports released on Sunday said that the city of Fin has been jolted 23 times over the past 24 hours.
Ready for more rain? Storm due to hit Monday
CLIMATE NEWS
March 26, 2006
The National Weather Service has released a special weather statement for the greater Bay Area, warning of a powerful Pacific storm predicted to make land Monday and issuing a wind advisory for the region.
The storm will hit the entire area from Monterey clear to the North Bay, weather service meteorologist Steve Markkanen said today
Monday morning is expected to be warm and sunny but an approaching cold front will bring clouds, southerly winds and chilly weather to most of the region by the afternoon, according to the weather service.
By Monday evening, sustained southerly winds of up to 35 mph and gusts of up to 50 mph will blow across the Bay Area
Next big quake? Maybe east of Bay Area
BREAKING EARTH NEWS
Photo Left: Tom Brocher of the U.S. Geological Survey poses under a photo of UC-Berkeley's football stadium, which is sliced by the Hayward Fault.
March 27, 2006
HAYWARD, Calif. — New cracks appear in Elke DeMuynck's ceiling every few weeks, zigzagging across her living room, creeping toward the fireplace, veering down the wall. Month after month, year after year, she patches, paints and waits.
It definitely lets you know your house is constantly shifting," DeMuynck said. So do the gate outside that swings uselessly 2 1/2 inches from its latch, the strange bulges in the street and the geology students who make pilgrimages to her cul-de-sac.
DeMuynck could throw her paint brush from her front stoop and hit the Hayward Fault, which geologists consider the most dangerous in the San Francisco Bay Area, if not the nation. Like others who live here, she gets by on a blend of denial, hope and humor.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
London 'under water by 2100' as Antarctica crumbles into the sea
Earth News
Article published in its entirety
March 24, 2006
DOZENS of the world’s cities, including London and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century, according to research which suggests that global warming will increase sea levels more rapidly than was previously thought.
The first study to combine computer models of rising temperatures with records of the ancient climate has indicated that sea levels could rise by up to 20ft (6m) by 2100, placing millions of people at risk.
The threat comes from melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, which scientists behind the research now believe are on track to release vast volumes of water significantly more quickly than older models have predicted. Their analysis of events between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago, when the Arctic last warmed to temperatures forecast for 2100, shows that there could be large rises in sea level.
While the Greenland ice sheet is expected to start melting as summer temperatures in the Arctic rise by 3C degrees to 5C (5.4F-9F), most models suggest that the ice sheets of Antarctica will remain more stable.
The historical data, however, show that the last time that Greenland became this warm, the sea level rise generated by meltwater destabilised the Antarctic ice, leading to a much higher increase than can be explained by Arctic ice alone.
That means that the models of sea-level rise used to predict an increase of up to 3ft by 2100 may have significantly underestimated its ultimate extent, which could be as great as 20ft.
Such a rise would threaten cities such as London, New York, Bombay and Tokyo. Large parts of the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Florida would be inundated, and even smaller rises would flood extreme low-lying areas, such as several Pacific islands and New Orleans.
“Although the focus of our work is polar, the implications are global,” said Bette Otto-Bliesner, of the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, who led the study. “These ice sheets melted before and sea levels rose. The warmth needed isn’t that much above present conditions.”
Her colleague, Jonathan Overpeck, of the University of Arizona, said: “This is a real eye-opener set of results. The last time the Arctic was significantly warmer than the present day, the Greenland ice sheet melted back the equivalent of two to three metres (6ft-10ft) of sea level. Contrary to what was previously believed, the research suggests the Antarctic ice sheet also melted substantially, contributing another 6ft to 10ft of sea level rise.”
The findings, which are published today in the journal Science, have emerged from a study that used data from ancient coral reefs, ice cores and other natural records to reconstruct the climate during the last gap between Ice Ages. In this interglacial period, between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago, temperatures in the Arctic were between 3C and 5C above present levels — a similar level to that predicted for the end of this century.
The scientists found that meltwater from Greenland raised the sea level by up to 11ft, but coral records showed that the total global rise was between 13ft and 20ft. Dr Overpeck said that the melting of Antarctic ice sheets was the most likely explanation. As sea levels rose, the floating ice shelves off the coast of the continent would have become more likely to break up. That in turn would have allowed glaciers to dump more ice from the continent itself into the sea.
He said that this was particularly worrying at present as the base of the West Antarctic ice sheet lay below sea level, which would allow ice to escape to the sea easily.
Several recent studies have indicated that the Greenland ice sheet, which contains enough water to raise sea levels by 23ft, and the West Antarctic sheet, which holds enough for a 20ft rise, are thinning. Both are expected to take several centuries to melt completely, but could release substantial quantities of water by 2100.
Dr Overpeck said that the results added to the urgency of measures to control the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Solar Eclipse Viewing Available Via NASA TV, Podcasts, Webcasts
SPACE NEWS
Thursday March 23, 12:59 pm ET
WASHINGTON, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA and San Francisco's Exploratorium will team up to provide webcast, podcast and broadcast via NASA TV of the total solar eclipse on March 29. The coverage is part of this year's Sun-Earth Day theme, "Eclipse: In a Different Light," which shows how solar eclipses have inspired people to observe and understand the sun-Earth-moon system.
Podcast: Begins March 27 from Turkey. Some podcasts are available. A
link to the Sun-Earth Day podcast is available at
Webcast: 5 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. EST, Wednesday, March 29. The webcast will
relay the eclipse live from Side, Turkey. During the webcast,
NASA will contact scientists in Turkey and Libya observing the
eclipse. The webcast will be available at:
NASA TV: NASA's Public Service Channel (#101) and Education Channel
(#102) will carry the webcast. NASA's Media Channel (#103) will
carry a live feed of the eclipse.
NASA TV's Public, Education and Media channels are available on an MPEG-2 digital C-band signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. In Alaska and Hawaii, they're on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception. For NASA TV digital downlink information and access to the Public Channel, Visit Here
Telescope: Telescope only feed: 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. EST, (Analog)
Galaxy-3C/04C (95' W) U/L: 6005.000 MHz Horizontal; D/L:
3780.000 MHz Vertical Allocated Bandwidth (MHz): 36.000. NASA's
Media Channel will also carry a live telescope feed of the
eclipse (103). This feed is courtesy of NASA and the
Exploratorium.
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, Visit Here
OTHER AVAILABLE SOURCES
CLICK PHOTO ABOVE TO VIEW SITE
Tens of thousands expected in Turkey for solar eclipse
BREAKING SPACE NEWS
March 24, 2006 ISTANBUL -- Tens of thousands of scientists and astronomy fans are expected in Turkey on Wednesday to see the total solar eclipse, Turkish astronomers and hoteliers said on Thursday.
According to NASA, the total eclipse will be visible as it crosses half the Earth, traveling from Brazil through northern Africa and ending up in Mongolia. A partial eclipse will be visible along a much broader path taking in much of Europe, Africa and central Asia. The US space agency has said that the Libyan desert has "the greatest eclipse". Ozguc said, however, many astronomers had chosen to converge on Turkey, where the eclipse will be seen around 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) as it passes through Anatolia northward, passing through tourist hotspots such as the Mediterranean coast and Cappadocia.
RELATED ARTICLES (What do Other Nations and Faiths Fear About the Solar Eclipse?)
Islam and the solar eclipse
March 24, 2006
"The Sun and the Moon are two of the Signs (Ayat) of Allah: they do not darken for the death or birth of any person, but Allah strikes fear into His servants by means of them.
READ ALSO HERE
Eclipse is sign of the end times - Islamic scholar
Cape Coast, March 24, GNA - Mallam Muniru Hamidu, an Islamic scholar and head of the Hifzil Islamiyya Arabic school in Cape Coast, on Friday said next Wednesday's eclipse, would be one "of the signs that the world was coming to an end", and that everyone must be committed to the service of God and refrain from committing sin. According to him, it is stated in the Koran that when the end of the world was near, God would cause the sun and the moon to come together. Mallam Hamidu, who was speaking to the GNA in Cape Coast on the impending phenomenon, said it signifies and serves as a reminder to people to stop offending God and serve Him well.
AND HERE
Turkish scientists try to calm quake fears ahead of solar eclipse
Turkey's top seismologist appealed to a nervous public that there was no link between eclipses and earthquakes and gave assurances that there was nothing to fear from the March 29 total solar eclipse.
Strange Weather System Clouds Parts Of Hawaii
Weather Expert Explains Hail, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes
Photo Left: A crane picked up what was left of a 20-foot office trailer yesterday at Kaumalapau Harbor, Lanai, after a tornado tore it off of its foundation and threw it downhill onto the roadway.
POSTED: 7:52 pm HST March 24, 2006
UPDATED: 7:57 pm HST March 24, 2006
Hawaii has been hit with some unusual weather lately. On top of recent reports of hail, a tornado hit Lanai at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Traylor Brother's company reported one of its construction trailers was destroyed and two others were lifted off their foundation at the Kau-mala-pau Harbor.
Serena Kaldi, 18, from Kaneohe, was born and raised in Hawaii and said the heavy dose of wintry weather has caught her by surprise.
"Every other day it seems to be like thunderstorms and lightning," she said. "At home, thunder was shaking my house and I've never seen it like this before."
RELATED NEWS
Photo Left: Pea-size hail rattled areas of Captain Cook, South Kona, yesterday, leaving drifts like this one among Nelson Stringer's geraniums.
Rare hail gives Big Island residents a scare
CAPTAIN COOK, Hawaii » Resident Linda Bong described the "fabulous" scene that followed the brief hailstorm that blanketed parts of South Kona with pea-size pieces of ice yesterday morning.
"It looked like diamonds everywhere," she said.
But it made her nervous while it was happening, with strong winds blowing the ice particles nearly horizontally, shooting them across her lanai and embedding them in the screens on her windows.
Hail was reported yesterday in several Big Island communities.
A mile from Captain Cook, in Kealakekua, hailstones the size of quarters were reported, according to the National Weather Service
MORE CLIMATE RELATED NEWS FROM HAWAII
» Heavy showers bring floods, 2 more mudslides
» Disaster fund needs emerge
Sandstorm from foreign nation sweeps Beijing
BREAKING EARTH NEWS: CHINA
In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, skyscrapers are blurred in sand storm in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin province, on Friday March 10, 2006. A sand storm, the first this year, hit most parts of north China from March 9, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua)
BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Strong winds carrying dust from Mongolia swept into Beijing early Saturday morning, worsening the city's air quality.
The dust storm passed by Saturday afternoon, and local meteorologists say the city's air quality will improve on Sunday.
According to the Beijing Environment Monitoring Center, on Friday afternoon a sandstorm swept across a large part of Mongolia and then joined with heavy winds from northern China. The winds brought the dust to Beijing at around 5:00 a.m. on Saturday when the city recorded dust density of 1,000 micrograms per cubic meterper hour, the center said.
It is the third time Beijing has experienced weather caused by a sandstorm from a foreign nation this year, a meteorologist said.
Reports show that as of Saturday, Beijing had 16 days of clear skies in March, slightly fewer than normal
RELATED STORY:
Sandstorm Sweeps over Xinjiang
This is the worst and the strangest sandstorm that has swept Artux since 1993
March 13, 2006
A rust-colored sandstorm hit over the southwestern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, on Sunday, reducing visibility to less than 50 meters in affected areas.
PANDEMIC (PART 3)
SKYWATCH ANNOUNCMENT
PANDEMIC Part 3, the Final Segment, presented by Earth Frenzy Radio has been posted, and is now available for viewing.
Click Here to read PANDEMIC-Parts 1-3
Friday, March 24, 2006
The Sun's New Exotic Neighbor: A Very Cool Brown Dwarf
IS THIS ANOTHER PLANET X MISCONCEPTION? ONLY TIME WILL TELL!
Source: European Southern Observatory
Photo Left: Artist's impression of the SCR 1845-6357 stellar system. The small red star is shown in the background while the newly discovered brown dwarf is at front. (Image courtesy of European Southern Observatory)
Posted: March 22, 2006
Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, an international team of researchers discovered a brown dwarf belonging to the 24th closest stellar system to the Sun. Brown dwarfs are intermediate objects that are neither stars nor planets. This object is the third closest brown dwarf to the Earth yet discovered, and one of the coolest, having a temperature of about 750 degrees Centigrade. It orbits a very small star at about 4.5 times the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun. Its mass is estimated to be somewhere between 9 and 65 times the mass of Jupiter.
It couldn't have been a meteorite. Could it?
BREAKING COSMIC NEWS
Mar, 23 2006 - 2:20 AM
BURNABY/CKNW(AM980) - A loud explosion in Burnaby late last night has authorities scratching their heads.
About 11:05 the blast rattled windows and awakened neighbours near the Chaffey Burke Elementary School on Abbey Avenue.Police responded with officers and a dog but came up empty handed. All they could find was a small hole in the ground.
No damage has been reported and there were no injuries.
Quake Swarms Rattle Both East And North Bay
POSTED: 2:15 pm PST March 21, 2006
UPDATED: 10:36 pm PST March 21, 2006
MORAGA -- Earthquake swarms with temblors measuring 3.7 magnitude near Moraga and 2.9 near Anderson Springs Tuesday, jiggled nerves in both the East and North Bay but causing no reports of damage or injuries.
As a precaution the BART system slowed its trains to half speed until the rail lines in the area near quake were checked.
The 3.7 temblor hit at 1:42 p.m. about 4 miles southeast of Moraga and was followed over the next 40 minutes by seven smaller quakes. At Anderson Springs, near Santa Rosa, four quakes measuring from 2.9 to 2.1 hit starting at 2:05 p.m.
VIEW IMPACT OF EAST BAY QUAKE SWARM
'Glacial earthquakes' warn of global warming
PHOTO ABOVE: A section of the ice sheet covering much of Greenland is seen in this Aug. 17, 2005 file photo. Scientists say the ice is thinning and blame global warming, predicting a 3-foot rise in ocean levels by the end of the century through a combination of thermal expansion of the water and melting of polar ice. (AP Photo)
BREAKING NEWS: CLIMATE CHANGE
March 24, 2006
Dramatic new evidence has emerged of the speed of climate change in the polar regions which scientists fear is causing huge volumes of ice to melt far faster than predicted.
Scientists have recorded a significant and unexpected increase in the number of "glacial earthquakes" caused by the sudden movement of Manhattan-sized blocks of ice in Greenland.
A second study has found that higher temperatures caused by global warming could melt the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets much sooner than previously thought, with a corresponding rise in sea levels.
BREAKING RELATED STORY
Photo Left: New measurements show that the flow of ice in the Greenland ice sheet has been accelerating since 1996 during the summer melt season.
Melting Ice Threatens Sea-Level Rise
WASHINGTON Mar 23, 2006 (AP)— The Earth is already shaking beneath melting ice as rising temperatures threaten to shrink polar glaciers and raise sea levels around the world.
Sea level rise
THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Photo CLICK TO ENLARGE Pita Meanke, of Betio village, stands beside a tree as he watches the 'king tides' crash through the sea wall into his family's property, on the South Pacific island of Kiribati.
March 24, 2006
"The Maldives is one of the small states. We are not in a position to change the course of events in the world. But what you do or do not do here will greatly influence the fate of my people. It can also change the course of world history." -- Statement by H.E. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (Maldives) Kyoto, Japan, 3rd Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC
It is not only small island states that need to worry about sea level rise. More than 70 percent of the world's population lives on coastal plains, and 11 of the world's 15 largest cities are on the coast or estuaries. Over the 20th century sea levels rose between 10 and 20 centimetres (4-8 inches). The IPCC puts predictions of 21st century sea level rise at 0.9 to 88 cm. There are many variables – including how much the expected increase in precipitation will add to snow packs and, most importantly, our greenhouse gas emissions over the next decades. What we do know is that even a small amount of sea level rise will have profound negative effects.
> What we can expect
> The disappearing Greenland ice sheet
> The West Antarctic ice sheet
> Consequences
Apocalyptic Times
ANALYSIS OF THE END TIMES PROPHECY
March 24, 2006
"We are living in dangerously weird times now. Smart people just shrug and admit they're dazed and confused. The only ones left with any confidence at all are the New Dumb. It is the beginning of the end of our world as we knew it. Doom is the operative ethic." -- Hunter S. Thompson, Nov. 20, 2000
CLICK HERE to read this article posted at Earth Frenzy Radio Blogsite
Thursday, March 23, 2006
PANDEMIC (PART 2)
SKYWATCH ANNOUNCMENT
PANDEMIC-Part 2 of a 3 part series presented by Earth Frenzy Radio has been posted and is now available for viewing.
Click Here to read PANDEMIC-Parts 1 and 2
Read Commentary
H5N1 Bird Flu and 1918 Pandemic Flu Similarities
Recombinomics CommentaryFebruary 18, 2005>> Hien noted that influenza viruses in general were known to cause encephalitis and can damage the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems as well as the heart, kidney and liver."But we have not found encephalitis among the patients who died recently from bird flu in Vietnam," <<Although this may be the first documented case of H5N1 associated with encephalitis, there have been prior examples in animals, as well as warnings about the varied presentations of pandemic influenza.
Tree flowers linked to climate change
BREAKING NEWS: UNUSUAL PLANT GROWTH
Photo Left: CLIMATE CHANGE: An unusually prolonged flowering of cabbage trees this year has been linked to global warming. Bruce Benseman, a Waikanae reserve manager, said some cabbage trees had flowered unseasonably in late summer, which he had never seen before.PHIL REID/Dominion Post
March 23, 2006
An unusually prolonged and prolific flowering period of cabbage trees has been linked to global climate change.
Waikanae's Nga Manu Nature Reserve manager Bruce Benseman said though some cabbage trees, or ti kouka, at the reserve had flowered profusely during their normal flowering time in November, others had flowered in late summer, which he had never seen before.
"Normally cabbage trees flower at the beginning of summer, and the density of the flowering is regarded by some as an indication as to how dry the summer will be. This year, as well as some flowering profusely in November, others flowered in late January-early February," Mr Benseman said.
Heavy Rains Cause Landslides On Oahu
Islands Under Flash Flood Watch
Photo Left: Debris from enormous landslides off Oahu and Molokai extends hundreds of kilometers
POSTED: 9:32 am HST March 22, 2006
UPDATED: 2:36 pm HST March 22, 2006
HONOLULU -- Heavy rains soaked much of Oahu on Tuesday night. The storm caused landslides on Round Top Drive and in Manoa.
Tons of mud slid down the hill at about 4 a.m. and onto the 2800 block of Round Top Drive. The mud covered an area 100 feet long and 7 feet high in certain parts.
The landslide blocked the lanes in both directions. There were no homes in the area and no one was injured.
City crews were dispatched to clear the mud. It took 22 truckloads to remove the land, one official said.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to assess the area to determine if there is a hazard for more landslides.
RELATED STORY
Night Storms Cause Major Mudslides
Lisa Kubota - lkubota@kgmb9.com
Photo Left: Manoa resident Michael Hofmann woke up to find his backyard swallowed in mud.
March 22, 2006
Two major mudslides happened overnight after heavy rains on Oahu. Near the 2700-block of Round Top Drive, city workers spent hours clearing dirt and debris covering the road. Due to the shifting soil, some large trees may now be in danger of falling onto the road.
Earthquake hits central Serbia region already suffering from landslides
BREAKING EARTH NEWS:
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) _ A central Serbia region already suffering from landslides was hit Wednesday by a moderate earthquake which caused additional damage to an area where dozens of homes have been destroyed amid heavy rains and melting snow, media and officials said.
The 4.5-magnitude quake hit the region of Mionica, 75 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Belgrade, at 12:26 p.m. local time (1126GMT), Serbia's seismological institute said. There were no reports of injuries.
Also felt in the capital and as far south as neighboring Montenegro, the quake caused cracks in several old buildings and triggered a brief panic at its epicenter. The same region was hit by stronger, 5.4- and 5.7-magnitude quakes in 1998 and 1999 respectively.
The temblor followed landslides in more than a hundred locations in central and southern Serbia, which left almost 1,000 people homeless.
Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica visited the hard-hit town of Trstenik, 120 kilometers (70 miles) south of Belgrade where local officials had declared a state of emergency.
«The situation is getting worse by the hour,» said Dragan Andrejic, chief municipal official in Trstenik. «The ground is splitting, walls are cracking, roofs falling.»
Kostunica pledged government assistance to the affected areas and told the locals that «all those who lost their homes will get new ones.»
A state of emergency was also declared in the Kraljevo district, where an entire village moved by a dozen meters (yards) as the slope on which it is located shifted downhill due to recent heavy rains.
Twenty-nine houses were destroyed and about 100 badly damaged by the landslides in the southwestern municipality of Cacak. Eighteen roads were damaged near the southern city of Krusevac, threatening to cut off several villages.
Bulusan volcano spews ash
VOLCANIC ALERT
First posted 03:09am (Mla time) Mar 23, 2006
SORSOGON CITY -- After being quiet for 11 years, Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon province, southeast of Manila, erupted late Tuesday night, spewing ash clouds as high as 1.5 kilometers into the sky and prompting government warnings to residents not to go near the volcano.
The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported a steam-driven explosion from the summit of the 1,559-meter volcano at 10:58 p.m. on Tuesday. It lasted 20 minutes and was accompanied by an earthquake.
Resident volcanologist Bella Tubianosa said that because of the westward direction of winds, only the villages of Cogon, Tinampo, Gulang and Bolos in Irosin town and the villages of Bacolod, Sapa, Sangkayon and Biriran in Juban town were covered by the ash fall.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Are We Ready for an Avian Flu Pandemic In America?
SKYWATCH ANNOUNCEMENT
Earth Frenzy Radio.Com Presents
Pandemic (part 1 of 3 part series)
March 22, 2006
Different influenza strains spread around the world annually. Every so often a strain tough enough to kill millions emerges, and experts believe the world is overdue for another pandemic and it could happen soon than later. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology have now identified what many had feared. The researchers have found what they described as a possible pathway for a particularly virulent strain of the avian flu virus H5N1to gain a foothold in the human population.
READ PART 1 OF PANDEMIC AT EARTH FRENZY RADIO BLOG
Powered By Qumana
CITY IN EYE OF KILLER
SKYWATCH SPECIAL REPORT
Photo Left: DEADLY WAKE: Multimedia: Look back at the destruction wrought by the Hurricane of ’38 in the Ocean State, via Journal archival photos. CLICK THE IMAGE TO LAUNCH
March 21, 2006 -- New York could be devastated this summer by a killer storm as powerful as Hurricane Katrina - one that could claim countless lives and cause billions of dollars in damages, top meteorologists warned yesterday.
They say the metropolitan area is long overdue for a powerful hurricane, and weather conditions now being monitored are alarmingly similar to those that triggered the catastrophic, nameless hurricane of 1938, which killed 600 people in the Northeast.
"The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun," said Joe Bastardi, the chief hurricane forecaster for AccuWeather.com, a private forecasting service.
"[With] the weather patterns and hydrology we're seeing in the oceans, the likelihood of a major hurricane making landfall in the Northeast is not a question of if - but when."
Constant deluge taking emotional toll on residents
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS: HAWAII
Photo Above: Nicholas Pedro worked yesterday to clear a large tree lodged under a bridge on Pahia Road in Kaneohe. Water had risen during the night and flooded one family out of their two-bedroom rental unit. CLICK FOR LARGE
March 21, 2006
The constant deluge is taking an emotional toll on residents. Many are at wits' end after the fifth time heavy rains have slammed some homes during the recent storms. Though Oahu received a break from the heavy rain Monday, many residents mostly on the Windward side remain frustrated after most or all their furniture and personal items were damaged. And more rain is predicted to arrive later this week. Kauai is expected to receive the brunt of a thunderstorm, and a flash-flood watch could be in effect today and Thursday.
Erupting NZ volcano 'still volatile'
VOLCANIC UPDATE
March 21, 2006 - 11:09AM
A South Pacific volcano remained volatile, with observers reporting a significant rise in the water level of its crater lake - a phenomenon that occurred shortly before its last major eruption in 1964.
The crater on the remote Raoul Island exploded on Friday, probably burying a New Zealand conservation worker, who has been missing since, under five metres of mud and ash.
Inspected from the air, the volcano "is less active than Friday, with no cloud or ash plume, but ... it is still potentially volatile," said New Zealand Conservation Department area manager Rolien Elliott.
"Vulcanologists on the plane ... observed a rise in the level of the Green Lake of 6-8 metres compared to the footage of the area taken on Friday," she said.
The inspection flight saw no sign of Mark Kearney, 32, who was at the crater lake monitoring the water temperature when it erupted.
New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter said Kearney, a Conservation Department staff member, was almost certainly killed in the eruption on the remote island in the Kermadec group, 1,000km north of New Zealand.
Police, vulcanologists and eight conservation staff - including five who were evacuated on Friday - arrived at the island on Tuesday to check conditions and search for Kearney.
Elliott said conservation workers returning to the island were "shocked by the destruction from the eruption".
"Large trees are just uplifted and blown apart. Boulders are strewn across a large area with a thick layer of ash everywhere around the eruption site," she said.
A three-member team planned to hike to the island's highest point to get a view across the lake and crater site, about 1.5km away.
RELATED UPDATE
Raoul Island crater lake still rising
Posted at 11:08am on 22 Mar 2006
Vulcanologists at an observation post on Raoul Island say the crater lake is still rising and the situation remains volatile.
The scientists from Geological and Nuclear Sciences are based at the island's highest point, Mt Moumoukai, 1.5km from the eruption site.
Volcanologists earlier said the level of the crater lake had risen by up to eight metres since the blast.
PHILIPPINES - a volcano has spewed a column of ash 1.5 kilometres into the sky, raising fears of a major eruption. Officials are considering increasing the alert level from level one to level three, indicating "moderate unrest", after Mount Bulusan in the central Philippines belched ash an hour before midnight (3am AEDT). The Philippine Institute of Seismology and Vulcanology said the ash was unlikely to cause any harm. More earthquakes had been recorded in the area recently, a possible sign that the volcano may be about to erupt more powerfully. Bulusan had a series of similar explosions in 1994 and 1995.
Cyclone devastation prompts disease fears
CYCLONE LARRY UPDATE
Widespread damage: The Premier says rebuilding will be a long, slow job. (ABC TV)
Last Update: Tuesday, March 21, 2006. 6:39pm (AEDT)
Constant rain in cyclone-ravaged far north Queensland has raised disease concerns as many areas remain without power, running water or sewerage.
Premier Peter Beattie is worried about the outbreak of diseases like dengue fever and hepatitis in places like Innisfail, where residents are without basic services.
Mr Beattie has called in two public health experts as well as Army specialists to make sure systems are put in place to prevent the spread of disease and infection.
He says resources at the local hospital are exhausted and a handful of people, including pregnant women, have been flown out.
Queensland Health's Jim Guthrie says there is no electricity.
"It's just too difficult to keep the hospital operating," he said.
"But the problems they are having down there with power and water ... there's no mains power but they're also having trouble with generators - there's a lack of fuel."
Mr Beattie hopes Innisfail will have clean running water in the next few days but it could be more than a week before power is restored.
"The whole bloody place is blown apart ... this is going to be a long, slow recovery," he said.
RELATED NEWS
Cyclone Wati baffles weather experts
22mar06
TROPICAL Cyclone Wati is hovering off Queensland and forecast to intensify but weather experts cannot say whether it will cross the coast.There had been fears Wati could follow Larry's destructive path and bring a second wave of devastation to flattened parts of far north Queensland.
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre forecaster Tony Wedd today said Wati, a category-three cyclone sitting 600km north-east of Mackay in central Queensland, could intensify into a category four in the next 24 hours.
He said Wati was 400km in diameter with wind gusts of up to 190km/h near its centre.
"It will be fairly slow moving and remain off the coast for the next few days – it's hard to predict it's movements after that," Mr Wedd said.
RELATED AUDIO
North Queenslanders are still mopping up and clearing debris in the wake of Cyclone Larry, the cost of which a Federal MP says could spiral toward $1 billion, but that has not destroyed their spirits.
MP3 Format
Inuit alarmed by signs of global warming
BREAKING CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
Photo Above: Pangnirtung, a village on Canada's Baffin Island, had rain and temperatures in the 40s last month, when minus-20 degrees is normal.
'Sentries for the rest of the world' report massive changes to Arctic life
By Doug Struck
Updated: 8:33 a.m. ET March 22, 2006
PANGNIRTUNG, Canada - Thirty miles from the Arctic Circle, hunter Noah Metuq feels the Arctic changing. Its frozen grip is loosening; the people and animals who depend on its icy reign are experiencing a historic reshaping of their world.
Fish and wildlife are following the retreating ice caps northward. Polar bears are losing the floes they need for hunting. Seals, unable to find stable ice, are hauling up on islands to give birth. Robins and barn owls and hornets, previously unknown so far north, are arriving in Arctic villages.
The global warming felt by wildlife and increasingly documented by scientists is hitting first and hardest here, in the Arctic where the Inuit people make their home. The hardy Inuit -- described by one of their leaders as "sentries for the rest of the world" -- say this winter was the worst in a series of warm winters, replete with alarms of the quickening transformation that many scientists believe will spread from the north to the rest of the globe.
story continues below
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Warmer Seas Creating Stronger Hurricanes, Study Confirms
March 16, 2006
A rise in the world's sea surface temperatures was the primary contributor to the formation of stronger hurricanes since 1970, a new study reports.
While the question of what role, if any, humans have had in all this is still a matter of intense debate, most scientists agree that stronger storms are likely to be the norm in future hurricane seasons.
The study is detailed in the March 17 issue of the journal Science.
An alarming trend
In the 1970s, the average number of intense Category 4 and 5 hurricanes occurring globally was about 10 per year. Since 1990, that number has nearly doubled, averaging about 18 a year.
Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds from 131 to 155 mph. Category 5 systems, such as Hurricane Katrina at its peak, feature winds of 156 mph or more. Wilma last year set a record as the most intense hurricane on record with winds of 175 mph.
CLICK PHOTO TO VIEW HURRICANES FROM ABOVE
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to Nov. 30.
Deadly Flu Strain Divides
BREAKING VIRAL NEWS: AVIAN FLU ALERT
Image Left: The original H5N1 strain of the Avian Flu Virus.
Oxford, England (UPI) Mar 21, 2006
U.S. researchers announced Monday that the much-feared H5N1 strain of avian influenza has in fact split into two strains. "Back in 2003 we only had one genetically distinct population of H5N1 with the potential to cause a human pandemic," Rebecca Garten, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told an infectious-diseases conference in Atlanta. "Now we have two."
The two strains are linked, and share the same genetic background, but are distinct from each other.
The first was the strain that emerged in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia between 2003 and 2004, causing the first wave of human infections to garner media attention.
The second strain is that which caused a number of infections in Indonesia in 2004.
Both strains are still active, and either could be the one to spark off the human avian influenza pandemic the world is nervously awaiting.
"As the virus continues its geographic expansion, it is also undergoing genetic diversity expansion. ... Only time will tell whether the virus evolves or mutates in such a way that it can be transmitted from human to human efficiently," Garten said.
Death Toll Hits 150 In French Island Epidemic
BREAKING NEWS
Paris (AFP) Mar 21, 2006
A disabling mosquito-borne disease that has hit the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion has claimed 148 lives, and almost a third of the population has been affected, health officials said on Friday.
The toll of 148 amounted to people whose death was directly or indirectly attributable to the disease, known as chikungunya, the national health monitoring institute said on Friday.
A total of 212,000 people have fallen sick with the disease in the course of the epidemic it said. Reunion has a population of 777,000.
The French government has committed emergency health and economic aid worth over 90 million euros (110 million dollars) to help Reunion fight the scourge, but it has been criticised for failing to react in time as the epidemic started to unfold in early 2005.
Chikungunya, a disease believed to have originated in Africa, derives from a Swahili word meaning "that which bends up" because of its arthritic-type symptoms that leave victims stooped.
The disease is generally non-fatal and patients eventually recover, although much about it remains unclear.
Some 500 French troops have already been deployed in Reunion to help health workers spray mosquito breeding areas.
The crisis has badly hit the tourism industry in Reunion, an ethnically diverse department of France which lies to the east of Madagascar.
Cases have also been recorded in the nearby French island of Mayotte, as well as in the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles, and among a small number of Reunionnais arriving in mainland France.
City snow another no-show for record 6th winter in row
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS: Alabama
March 20, 2006
Even in a good year, snow is rare in Alabama. But the current decade has been the worst for snow lovers since weather measurements began in Birmingham in 1895.
The city has now gone 6 years and 2 months since the last measured snow on Jan. 28, 2000, the longest time without snow ever recorded. The arrival of spring today nearly shuts the door on the chance of any snow chances this season.
"I'm not saying it can't happen," said Dave Wilfing, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Calera. "But the likelihood of it happening is getting slimmer each day."
CYCLONE LARRY UDPATE
March 21, 2006
Cyclone Larry has been downgraded to a category three storm, but not before leaving a trail of destruction along the North Queensland's coast.
The town of Innisfail suffered the biggest hammering from Larry's 290 kilometre an hour winds.
Motel owner Yvonne Cavey says there is destruction all around her.
It is estimated one in three homes around Innisfail have been damaged or destroyed. Local mayor Neil Clarke says he's never seen anything like it
Banana and sugar cane farmers say their livelihoods for the next 18 months have been wiped out.
More Katrina victims recovered in New Orleans
SKYWATCH UPDATE: KATRINA DEATH COUNT RISES
Last Updated Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:00:20 EST
The bodies of two people killed last summer when hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans were found on Sunday, as officials warned more would be found as demolition work speeds up.
The hurricane killed an estimated 1,300 people when it hit on Aug. 29 and the levees protecting the city collapsed. About 400 people are still missing.
Two students working to clear debris in the Lower Ninth Ward discovered one body early Sunday morning in the wreckage of a house that had just been bulldozed.
After police and the coroner arrived to remove the body, a second one was found in the same pile of twisted lumber.
Coroner's investigator Orrin Duncan told Reuters that more bodies were being found each week in the Lower Ninth Ward.
The mainly African-American community was hit hard by a torrent of water when the levee that held back the city's Industrial Canal breached.
The darkened, stiff bodies found on Sunday were so badly decomposed, their gender couldn't be immediately determined, Duncan said.
Minor eruption detected at volcano in northern Japan
Volcanic Alert
March 21, 2006
A volcano in northern Japan erupted early Tuesday, spewing a small amount of ash into the air, the Meteorological Agency said.
Mount Meakandake on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido, about 890 kilometers (555 miles) northwest of Tokyo, erupted about 6:28 a.m., the weather agency said in a news release.
A column of white smoke up to 400 meters (1,320 feet) high was observed moving toward the southeast.
About 8,500 residents of the nearby town of Ashoro have been advised not to go near the 1,499-meter (4,947-foot) volcano, but no evacuation order has been issued, according to Keiichi Kamada, official of Hokkaido Prefectural Office.
The volcano had another minor eruption in 1998, according to the weather agency.
Japan, which has 108 active volcanos, is among the world's most seismically active countries.
RELATED NEWS
MARIANA ISLANDS - In early March, the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands extended the state of emergency for the island of Anatahan, citing continued volcanic activity. This volcano began erupting in January 2005 and remained active for much of the year until August 2005, when the volcano quieted.
RUSSIA - Karymsky Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula showed considerable activity between March 10 and 17. The volcano emitted ash several times, and satellite imagery showed debris, most likely ash, draped along the sides of the mountain. When the skies were clear over the volcano, satellites also observed a thermal anomaly at the summit. In late March, the United States Geological Survey placed Karymsky at code orange, the second-highest level of concern, meaning that the volcano was not erupting or posing a major hazard, but was clearly active and merited careful monitoring.
Indonesia
Scientists are closely monitoring a volcano on the densely-populated island of Java after registering increased activity over the weekend.
Vulcanologists have already warned people living in the shadow of the 2,911-meter (9,606-foot) Mount Merapi to prepare for a possible evacuation in the event of an eruption.
The volcano registered more than 30 tremors on Sunday and more than 200 in the past week, Subandriyo, from the Vulcanology Centre in Central Java, told AFP.
Vulcanologists have put the volcano on alert stage two, one level below ordering an evacuation and two below a full eruption.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Storm Wreaks Havoc on Plains, Texas
BREAKING STORM NEWS: U.S MIDSECTION
March 20, 2006
A storm system barreled across the Plains states on the last day of winter, dumping more than a foot of snow that stalled highway travelers Monday in South Dakota and Nebraska and causing flooding in Texas.Hundreds of schools were closed Monday in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota, and at least two deaths were blamed on the storm. Six-foot snowdrifts were reported in western South Dakota.
Spring officially begins Monday at 1:26 p.m. EST.
"The roads are terrible, just terrible," said Shirley Tomac, 49, of Elizabeth, Colo., about 25 miles southeast of Denver. Her 5-mile drive to work took about twice as long as usual Monday.
RELATED NEWS
Storm blankets Plains with snow, rains flood parts of Texas
Photo Above: A motorist work to dig out his car on Monday in Pierre, S.D.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A storm system barreled across the Plains states on the last day of winter, piling snow more than a foot deep that stalled highway and train travelers in South Dakota and Colorado and causing flooding in Texas.
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Decimated by drought, now rains kill Kenya wildlife
BREAKING EARTH NEWS
March 19, 2006
NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 19 (Reuters) - East Africa's long-running drought has devastated livestock and wildlife in Kenya, but now a spurt of rains is killing animals too.
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Cyclone hits Australia 'like atomic bomb'
No deaths, but thousands left homeless
Monday, March 20, 2006; Posted: 10:58 a.m. EST (15:58 GMT)
CAIRNS, Australia (AP) -- Metal roofs littered streets, wooden houses were reduced to splinters, banana plantations were stripped bare -- all victims of the most powerful cyclone to lash Australia's east coast in decades.
Amazingly, there were no fatalities and only 30 people suffered minor injuries as cyclone Larry pounded northeastern Queensland state early Monday with winds gusting to 290 kilometers per hour (180 mph). Damage was expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hardest hit was Innisfail, a farming city of 8,500 people 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the tourist city of Cairns.
"It looks like an atomic bomb hit the place," Innisfail mayor Neil Clarke told Australian television. "It is severe damage. This is more than a local disaster, this is a national disaster." (Watch how Larry tore into the Australian coast -- 2:10)
Mayan Prohecy Retold
The Mayan Calendar foretells of the end of time in the year 2012 A.D.
WHEN THE END COMES....NOT EVERYONE IS READY TO GO!
View The Movie Trailer Apocalypto premiering in June 2006
Earth Frenzy Radio Blogsite- A Weekly Journal of Planet Earth News, A Disaster News Network. Earth Frenzy Radio.Com
Strongest Cyclone in 30 Years Terrorizes Australia
Photo Above: This satellite image released by the Bureau of Meteorology shows cyclone Larry over northeastern Australia Sunday, March 19, 2006. Powerful tropical cyclone Larry is packing winds of up to 290 kph.
Up to 50,000 homes without power as Cyclone Larry rips through Australia's Gold Coast
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ A horrific cyclone ripped roofs off buildings across Australia's northeastern coast Monday, packing winds up to 290 kph (180 mph) that kept emergency workers holed up inside despite pleas for help from terrified residents.Hundreds of tourists and thousands of residents were bunkered down inside resort hotels and homes as Tropical Cyclone Larry _ one of Australia's strongest in decades _ smashed into the coast about 100 kilometers (60 kilometers) south of Cairns.There were no serious injuries among the dozen people initially reported hurt, reflecting the readiness of residents in the storm-prone region, local officials said.But the cyclone damaged more than half the buildings in the hardest-hit town of Innisfail, Queensland state leader Peter Beattie said.''Some have been flattened, roofs have been taken off,'' Beattie told Macquarie Radio. ''The property damage has been immense.''''Power lines are down and it will take days to replace them because of the damage,'' he added. ''We haven't had a cyclone like this for decades, if we've ever had one like it before.''Aerial television images from Innisfail, a town of about 8,500 people, showed alarming devastation, with some homes torn apart and debris from shredded buildings littering streets and gardens. A banana plantation was totally flattened.
RELATED NEWS
BREAKING STORM REPORT
Second cyclone forms behind Larry
A second cyclone has formed behind category five tropical cyclone Larry which has hit the far north Queensland coast.
Tropical cyclone Wati has been named and the Bureau of Meteorology said it was moving west south-west at 13 knots from its position near Vanuatu.
The cyclone was intensifying.
Andrew Caerns from the Bureau of Meteorology's Townsville office said there was no immediate threat from Wati but its course would be monitored closely.
"Tropical cyclone Wati is well out to the east of Townsville, probably close to 2,000 kilometres out near Vanuatu, so it's certainly no immediate threat to the Queensland coast," he said.
"It does look like following a similar path to Larry in the next few days."
Locatiions: Vanuatu
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Skywatch Special Announcment: Perfect Disasters Coming Tonight
March 19, 2006
On TV tonight - "Perfect Disaster" at 9 p.m. on both coasts - the first episode of a new series on the Discovery Channel. Tonight's episode is "Super Tornado," which reduces the entire city of Dallas to rubble. The series examines what might happen if some of Nature's most destructive storms were unleashed on some of the world's most populous cities. Each catastrophe is presented as a mini-movie, complete with actors and fictional storylines, but unlike similar Hollywood creations, each episode is peppered with expert scientific commentary and slick computer animations explaining the science behind the storms. The series' tagline is "It may not happen tomorrow, but it is scientific prediction." The second episode is "Solar Storm". It's the year 2011. The Sun has reached its solar maximum, a turbulent period in its sunspot cycle, and it has unleashed a monster solar flare and massive amounts of radiation. NASA's SOHO satellite has just detected a coronal mass ejection three times stronger than anything scientists have ever seen. If it strikes Earth, the CME will easily break through the magnetosphere, the Earth's natural shield against solar storms, and could cause global blackouts that last for years. The series also includes: a super typhoon bearing down on Hong Kong; a mega flood engulfing London; a fire storm blazing up Sydney; and an ice storm that brings Montreal to a standstill.
Russia says bird flu may hit US in autumn, mutate
AVIAN FLU ALERT
Mar 16, 9:50 AM (ET)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The deadly bird flu virus, which has hit Asia, Europe and Africa, may spread to the United States late this year and risks mutating dangerously there, Russia's top animal and plant health inspector said on Thursday.
"We think that H5N1 (strain of bird flu virus) will reach the United States in autumn," Sergei Dankvert told Reuters.
"This is very realistic. We may be almost certain this will happen after this strain is found in Great Britain, before autumn, as migrating birds will carry it to the United States from there."
He said there was also an opportunity of the virus spreading by fowl migrating from Siberia's Tyumen region to Alaska and mixing there with birds flying to Canada and to other parts of the United States.
"But we believe this is a longer route," Dankvert said.
"We forecast that bird flu mutation is possible in the countries where the number of different viruses is high. This group includes the United States," Dankvert added.
Bird flu has spread with alarming speed in recent weeks across Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia.
The U.S. government is treating avian flu as a scourge that will inevitably reach the United States and is preparing accordingly, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said this week.
The virus occasionally infects people who have direct contact with infected birds and has killed around 100 people since late 2003.
Scientists fear that the virus may mutate into a form which could easily pass from one person to another, causing a pandemic, in which millions could die.
RELATED NEWS
First Afghan bird-flu case confirmed
March 16, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan --Lab tests have confirmed the first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Afghanistan, the government said Thursday. Sweden also announced an outbreak of the virulent virus after two wild birds were found to be infected
A joint U.N.-Afghan statement said samples taken from six birds in the capital, Kabul, and the eastern city of Jalalabad tested positive for the virus, raising concern about how the impoverished Central Asian nation's government will deal with the disease, which has ravaged poultry populations across the globe and killed at least 98 people.
KABUL, Afghanistan --Lab tests have confirmed the first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Afghanistan, the government said Thursday. Sweden also announced an outbreak of the virulent virus after two wild birds were found to be infected
A joint U.N.-Afghan statement said samples taken from six birds in the capital, Kabul, and the eastern city of Jalalabad tested positive for the virus, raising concern about how the impoverished Central Asian nation's government will deal with the disease, which has ravaged poultry populations across the globe and killed at least 98 people.
Volcano Fatigue
VOLCANIC NEWS
Mount Vesuvius may be getting ready to blow, but Italians living on the mountain are oddly complacent.
March 16, 2006 - While Giuseppe D'Emilio is drawing down cappuccinos at the Ercolaneo coffee bar, Mount Vesuvius may be on the verge of erupting beneath his feet. D'Emilio, though, doesn't look like a man who is worried. He has no plans to leave the mountain, despite the Italian government's offer of aid. "You can't live your life like that," he says. "What if I leave and the volcano never erupts? Think of all I would have lost."
Experts: More volcano monitoring needed
WASHINGTON--Nineteen volcanoes in Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands that seriously threaten aviation are not monitored by ground sensors able to communicate in real time, according to the federal government's top volcano hazard warning official.
Without such ground-based monitoring, confirmation of an eruption can take hours, according to James Quick of the U.S. Geological Survey, who testified before a panel of the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday. A delay of hours could be fatal when jets filled with people travel the skies at eight miles per minute, he said.
Evros floodwaters rise
BREAKING EARTH NEWSIn what is seen as the worst flooding in more than 40 years, more than 30,000 hectares of land in the Evros region were submerged by water yesterday, causing residents to flee their homes.
Teams of army and municipal crews are helping with rescue operations in the area as raging waters from the Evros River brought down embankments built to protect houses and farmland.
The village of Praggi, close to Didymoteicho on the Greek-Turkish border, was vacated for precautionary reasons, while some 72 homes were flooded in Lavara.
Local residents described the flooding as the worst since 1963, while officials said that conditions have reached a critical point.
Severe cyclone continues march towards far north Qld coast
BREAKING STORM NEWS
Tropical Cyclone Larry is expected to intensify to a category 5, with winds up to 280 kilometres an hour, before crossing the coast between Innisfail and Mission Beach tomorrow morning.
Evacuation centres have been set up between Ingham and Innisfail as Cyclone Larry tracks towards the coast at about 25 kilometres an hour.
Hundreds of people have voluntarily left coastal areas.
State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers are doorknocking tonight advising other residents to leave.
Bruce Gunn from the Queensland cyclone warning centre says the cyclone is expected to make landfall about 8am AEST, coinciding with a high tide.
"We are talking seawater a couple of metres above the high-tide mark, possibly more than that, with waves on top, so this is a very serious situation we are talking about," he said.
Chance discovery: Alaska Range glacier surges
There is evidence that the McGinnis Glacier, a little-known tongue of ice in the central Alaska Range, has surged. Assistant Professor of Physics Martin Truffer recently noticed the lower portion of the glacier was covered in cracks, crevasses, and pinnacles of ice--all telltale signs that the glacier has recently slid forward at higher than normal rates. It has not been determined whether the glacier continues to surge. Truffer, of the Geophysical Institute’s Snow Ice and Permafrost Group, is having difficulty finding evidence of the glacier’s history. He says the glacier hasn’t been on anyone’s radar screen for some time. Much of what has been written about the glacier is that it was covered with debris after several landslides broke loose from Mount McGinnis after the 2002 Denali Fault earthquake. In fact, that’s what prompted Truffer to explore the glacier just a few days ago on a recreational snowmachining trip with friends. "We were going to look at the landslide area and instead we saw that the entire glacier had surged. It was completely by chance," he said.
Turkish scientists try to calm quake fears ahead of solar eclipse
BREAKING SOLAR NEWS
Turkey's top seismologist appealed to a nervous public that there was no link between eclipses and earthquakes and gave assurances that there was nothing to fear from the March 29 total solar eclipse.
"When we check to see whether there is a scientific or statistical model to link solar eclispse with earthquakes, we find none," Gulay Barbarasoglu, the head of the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory told a news conference
"Right now, we unfortunately see a serious lack of knowledge and a serious mix-up of facts out there," she added Thursday. Turks have become increasingly wary of eclipses since a solar eclipse preceded two massive earthquakes in the country's heavily industrialized and densely populated northwest in August and November 1999 which killed some 20,000 people.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Guard: Our planes did not cause mystery sound
MYSTERY BOOMS CONTINUE TO BAFFLE RESIDENTS AND AIR NATIONAL GUARD
March 15, 2006
By KATU.com Web Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Air National Guard says they do not believe F-15 fighters are to blame for loud booms heard throughout our area on Saturday.
The Air National Guard checked Portland's flight track and determined jets were conducting training flights over the Northwest when a series of strange rumbling noises hit.
However, the two jets that broke the sound barrier were over the ocean and pointing west. That sonic boom would not have traveled more than 20 miles.
As for jets headed for Portland, the Air National Guard says they were on approach and flying far too slow to cause a boom.
"If it was us, we'll confess and make sure we look at procedures and make sure it doesn't happen again," said Captain Misti Mazzia "We care about not leaving any noise footprint on our community."
Many people on base heard the noise as well, but say it was much different than a sonic boom.
The Air National Guard will now check Seattle's flight track to see if any other jets may have been flying at the time
Raoul blows its top
BREAKING VOLCANIC NEWS
March 17, 2006
One missing as Ring of Fire rumbles
A remote volcanic island has erupted in the South Pacific, promting an emergency evacuation. The explosion on the New Zealand territory of Raoul island in the Kermadec chain has left one man missing.
A New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) official said: "A helicopter has been sent to pick up the DOC staff that are based on the island, five of whom have been accounted for. One staff member is missing after going on a routine mission."
Rescuers trying to locate the unaccounted for worker have been beaten back by the eruption. A spokesperson said: "Two staff members on the island attempted to search the area where the missing person was thought to be but had to retreat due to further volcanic activity and the track being impassable with fallen trees and ash."
RELATED UPDATES
March 16, 2006
Mt Merapi shows sign of increased activity
Merapi "could erupt within days if the current activity continues."
Solo, Central Java (ANTARA News) - Mount Merapi in Central Java has shown a sign of increased activity in the past few days, forcing the local authorities to raise its alert status to "Awas Merapi" (Beware Merapi).The volcano`s alert status had been raised since Wednesday after the Yogyakarta-based Volcanology Board recorded a number of tremors inside the volcano, said Yulianto, head of the Merapi Observatory Post at Semiran village, Boyolali district, Central Java, on Thursday.He said a team of volcanologists continued monitoring the activity of the 2,911 meter high volcano.He said people living in vulnerable villages on the volcano`s slope were making preparations to flee their homes in case of eventualities.
INDIA - The volcano on Barren Island is very active and the height of the volcanic cone has increased by about 50 metres during the past nine months since its eruption in last May. Although the intensity of the lone active volcano in India was on the rise, there was no need for panic. Such a phenomenon does not lead to any major earthquake in this region. On the contrary, the continuous emission of lava from the volcano releases energy thus cutting out chances of high-magnitude tremors.
Three killed in Indonesian tsunami
BREAKING NEWS
SEISMIC/TSUNAMI ALERT
March 17, 2006
Three people have been killed and another is missing after an earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck eastern Indonesia, wiping away at least one village on a remote island once infamous as a prison for exiled communists.
The quake, measuring between 6.4 and 6.7 in magnitude, occurred on Tuesday and triggered a seven-metre-high tsunami that struck Pela village on Buru Island in eastern Maluku province, a local earthquake observation centre said.
The local deputy mayor, Bakri Lumbessy, said the tsunami swept away an entire village and destroyed 116 houses, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,200 people.
RELATED STORY
Earthquake in Indonesia called deadly tsunami
A powerful earthquake this week in a remote corner of Indonesia reportedly triggered a tsunami that killed three people, but seismologists in the capital Friday said the waves were more likely the result of high tides and heavy winds. The confusion shows the poor coordination and lack of modern tsunami detection technology in Indonesia more than 14 months after its western shorelines were ravaged by the 2004 Asian tsunami, killing more than 130,000 people.
Quakes rock Indonesian island, hundreds of houses damaged
JAKARTA, Mar 16, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Two earthquakes respectively measuring 4.5 and 3.5 on the Richter Scale rocked Buru Island in Indonesia's Maluku province on Wednesday and Thursday morning, a spokesman of the Ambon Geophysics Station, Benny Sipolo said Thursday.
The epicenter of the quakes had been traced at 03.7 southern latitude and 127.2 eastern longitude, around 138 km southwest of Ambon, or north of Namlea, capital of Buru district.
Region urging readiness for a big quake
SEISMIC ALERT
March 15, 2006
Officials expect activity on New Madrid fault, say Katrina is a lesson
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – All this talk about an area of northeastern Arkansas being overdue for a devastating earthquake is making Piggott Mayor Gerald Morris nervous.
His town of 3,900 sits on the edge of what researchers say is the most active seismic zone in the U.S. east of the Rockies. The New Madrid seismic zone produces hundreds of small earthquakes each year. Most can't even be felt.
Mr. Morris remembers one that could.
"I was in church, and it scared me so badly I jumped up and ran outside," he said. "I can't imagine a big one."
But "when you see something like [Hurricane] Katrina, it makes you start thinking what can happen here and we better get ready," he said recently.
Katrina resulted in more than 1,300 deaths and caused billions of dollars in damage when it hit the Gulf Coast last year. Its example has galvanized state, regional and federal officials to make sure the area around the New Madrid fault is ready for the major earthquake that researchers say will happen sooner or later.
Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey hit by floods
Thousands of homes in Bulgaria have been flooded as rivers burst their banks after days of heavy snow and rainfall. Neighbouring Greece and Turkey, also hit by severe floods, are accusing Bulgaria of poor crisis management.
Photo Above: Students are carried to safety by military vehicles after they were rescued Tuesday (14 March) from their school in Edirne, Turkey.
March 15, 2006
Bulgaria declared a state of emergency in 15 central and southern districts and closed its border with Turkey on Tuesday (14 March) as the swollen Maritsa River flooded the highway leading to the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint. Thousands of homes have been flooded and more than 100 villages and towns are without electricity.
The worst affected areas are along the Maritsa and the Arda rivers in southern Bulgaria, but problems also occurred in the northwestern part of the country, where the Danube River rose by more than a metre in just 24 hours, reaching 6.98 meters at the town of Lom.
RELATED NEWS
Cold temps may spur flooding
FARGO - Forecasters say lingering cold weather could delay the Red River Valley snowmelt this spring, increasing the flood potential.
"Looking through the next several days, we're going to be below normal," Lynn Kennedy, a technician at the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks, said Tuesday. "That delays what we would have hoped would be some daily melting right now.
"The longer we wait before we start the melt it could cause more water to come into
Thursday, March 16, 2006
What's causing earthquakes beneath Lake Erie?
BREAKING SEISMIC NEWS
Created: 3/15/2006 5:55:49 PM
Updated:3/16/2006 10:30:52 AM
CLICK TO PLAY VIDEO
LAKE COUNTY -- Hundreds of people felt the earth move last Saturday morning after an earthquake hit about three miles out in the lake off shore from Mentor.
What's causing the recent string of mild earthquakes and do they mean a bigger quake is coming?"My bed shook very violently and it scarred me pretty bad," said 13-year-old Jonathan McLean.There have been 10 earthquakes in barely a year from Mentor to Ashtabula, with seven in the past nine months and five already this year. Early Saturday morning, the seismograph at Lakeland Community College shows everything was normal. "Then at 7:27 and 30 seconds or so we had a snap in the earth's crust," explained Dr. David Pierce.Saturday's quake measured 3.0 - moderate - slightly stronger than most of the recent string of tremors.But Lake County does have the potential for a quake of "6"intensity, which is strong enough to move buildings off their foundations and cause significant property damage. Do the recent quakes mean more and bigger is coming?"We don't know," Pierce says. "We do know its normal. There is a lot of geological activity. Things are always changing and shifting."
SKYWATCH ANNOUNCEMENT
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Cold weather stifles Welsh wildlife
Mar 15 2006
THE Arctic cold gripping Wales has delayed spring and could have a devastating impact on the nation's wildlife, experts have warned.
For the past five years spring has been arriving earlier than usual because of what is widely accepted as the effect of global warming and climate change. But 2006's freezing temperatures have led to a seasonal delay that is already confusing Wales' rich variety of flora and fauna.
Migratory birds have usually arrived from the Sahara by now. So far they have failed to show up.
Insects are yet to hatch, and the spring flowers they depend on, including daffodils, primroses and pussy willow, are late to flower.
Now conservationists are worried about a lack of food for the nation's wildlife during the breeding season.
STORY CONTINUES
Massive lightning strike blamed for Sago explosion
March 14, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - An explosion that killed 12 workers at the Sago Mine likely was caused by a massive lightning strike that ignited methane gas in a sealed-off area, the mine's owner said Tuesday.
The company's own investigation turned up three pieces of compelling evidence of a lightning strike, all from 6:26 a.m. on Jan. 2, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer of International Coal Group Inc.
He said weather monitors confirmed an unusually large and powerful lightning strike near the mine; the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a seismic event at Sago; and the mine's own atmospheric monitoring system signaled a combustion alarm.
Flood risk high in CA
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 15, 2006) — State officials and disaster responders are warning northern California residents about potential severe flooding risks should the levee system in the Sacramento area fail. 
Photo Above: SACRAMENTO / Feinstein seeks funds to repair levee systemWater flows through a 150-foot break on the western levee of the Sutter Bypass in Sutter County near Meridian in January 1997. Marysville-Yuba City Appeal-Democrat file photo, 1997, Associated Press
RELATED STORY
Levee repairs high on Schwarzenegger's priority list
March 16, 2006
Long before Hurricane Katrina demonstrated to most Californians the very real threat of flooding here, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was leading the fight for flood-control funding and repairs to the state's water-delivery infrastructure. For more than a year, he has been leading efforts to protect the millions of Californians whose homes, businesses and water supplies are protected by the state's aging levees.
The governor has proposed dramatic increases to flood control funding in the state budget, called on the federal government to assist with the state's levee repairs and pushed legislation that would have addressed flood-management issues in the Central Valley.
2nd dam failure feared
UPDATE: HAWAII DAM FAILURE
2nd Dam in Jeapardy
Photo Left: Kaloko Reservoir lies not far from Kaua'i's northern shoreline. In this photograph made after the dam failed early yesterday, the reservoir continues to drain through the breach, visible at left.
March 15, 2006
KILAUEA, Kaua'i — The catastrophic failure of Kaloko Reservoir early yesterday unleashed a flash flood of black water that uprooted homes, exploded power transformers in flashes of blue light and left dozens of trees bobbing in the ocean.
One person was killed, six were still missing last night and at least two homes were destroyed.
The reservoir's collapse unleashed an estimated 300 million gallons of water — the worst natural disaster on Kaua'i since Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
Civil defense officials worried about another reservoir failing, earthen Morita Reservoir, which sits downstream of Kaloko.
Moonquakes
BREAKING COSMIC NEWS
March 15, 2006: NASA astronauts are going back to the moon and when they get there they may need quake-proof housing.
That's the surprising conclusion of Clive R. Neal, associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame after he and a team of 15 other planetary scientists reexamined Apollo data from the 1970s. "The moon is seismically active," he told a gathering of scientists at NASA's Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) meeting in League City, Texas, last October.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
More Mystery Booms Reported
March 14, 2006
OREGON - People from the coast all the way to the mountains heard mysterious rumbles Saturday night, so what on earth were they? No, it was not an earthquake from Mount St. Helens and it was not thunder and lightening. It seems everyone had their idea what the noises were and nearly everyone had a different opinion about how long it lasted. A meteor was the best guess from the National Weather Service, but that is unconfirmed. The 911 dispatch center told KATU News they heard it was military jets causing sonic booms. Monday morning, KATU contacted McChord Air Force Base to find out if they were conducting some kind of exercise over the metro area. They were still waiting to hear back from them.
UPDATE - The source of those mysterious rumblings over the weekend that caught the attention of so many continues to be a mystery. The focus is on F-15s at the Portland Air Base, which KATU News was originally told were on the ground, but later learned were not. It turns out a group of F-15s were launched from the Portland International Airport Saturday night as part of three days of intensive training. Within an hour of their departure, people started hearing things and feeling some rumblings. That is when the 911 calls began. Even the commander of the F-15 squadron heard the strange noise from his home in Lake Oswego. The logical explanation seemed to be that the fighter jets set off a sonic boom, but the Air National Guard says it does not make sense that so many people, from Longview to the Oregon coast, would hear the same sonic booms at the same time. A much smaller range of 10 to 20 miles is more likely. With so many wondering what happened, the Air National Guard is continuing its investigation. That leaves others to speculate about meteors and to do comparisons with a similar unexplained phenomenon in FLORIDA last year and in MAINE just last month. Others speculate it is a secret government plane, code-named Aurora, which supposedly flies out of Area 51 in Nevada. For years, unusually intense sonic booms rocked LOS ANGELES, with many believing it was Aurora passing by at four times the speed of sound. The Air National Guard says they plan to interview the pilots individually on Wednesday, which may lead to some kind of answer. Each time an F-15 pilot causes a sonic boom over populated areas, they are required to write a log of the event.
Skywatch NOTE - Mystery booms deep in the plate boundary were reported in Indonesia in the months before the December 2004 quake and tsunami.
CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO
Red snow falls on Russia
March 15, 2006
Russia is red again - after a freak fall of coloured snow on the former communist country.
Northern regions of Russia's Maritime territory have been blanketed by a creamy reddish snow caused by a combination of weather patterns.
Authorities have been broadcasting non-stop weather bulletins to explain the phenomena is down to natural causes after panicked locals bombarded police and emergency services.
Meteorologists have explained that sand storms from neighbouring Mongolia are to blame.
A cyclone passed over Mongolia on its way to Russia causing sand particles to be driven up into the air causing the colour of the snow to change.
Yuri Meseznikov, a local weather expert, said: "The winds of the cyclone embraced dust particles that coloured the fallouts."
The red snow comes just weeks after yellow snow, caused by pollution from an oil and gas factory, fell on Russia's Far East island of Sakhalin. - Ananova
[Skywatch NOTE - So far there has been red snow and yellow snow in Russia, yellow snow in South Korea, chocolate brown snow in Arizona, a rust sandstorm and a saffron-yellow sandstorm in China.]
Up to 7 lost in flooding on Kauai
PHOTO ABOVE: In this photo made Tuesday, March 14, 2006, by the Kauai county government, Morita Reservoir is seen. An earthen dam burst on Kauai on Tuesday, sending a 50-foot wave into the Pacific Ocean, sweeping away at least two houses and washing out the only road along the island's north shore. One person was killed and as many as seven others were reported missing. Authorities tried to drain the Morita reservoir to relieve the pressure on that dam. (AP)
A dam burst above the island's northeast coast and between 3 and 7 people are missing
BREAKING EARTH NEWS: HAWAII
March 14, 2006
Raging waters have burst through a dam in Hawaii, sweeping away houses and killing at least one person. The reservoir dam gave way after several days of rain on the island. Waters sent a 50-foot wave into the Pacific Ocean along the island's north shore. Witnesses who saw the dam break say it looked like a reverse tsunami.
Earthen Dam in Hawaii Bursts
Wednesday, March 15, 2006; 8:24 AM
KILAUEA, Hawaii -- An 1890s-era plantation dam failed in the rugged hills above northern Kauai, sending water and mud surging through two homes and wiping out the only highway. Searchers found one person dead and were looking for at least seven others, some of them children who hadn't been seen since the deluge.
Expert warns of possible strong earthquake in DR
BREAKING SEISMIC NEWS: QUAKE ALERT
SANTO DOMINGO.- A geology professor in the Pontifical Catholic University (PUCMM) warned that the country must be prepared in the short term for a strong earthquake, which could even generate a tidal wave in the country’s North or South zones.
Orlando Franco affirmed that there are serious indications, “which have occurred in nature leading us to forecast a possible earthquake with fatal consequences.”
He was making reference to the latest tremors which have taken place in the country’s North region, which in his opinion could be the prelude to something stronger.
Franco cautioned that there is a danger when a concentration of energy occurs, causing an earthquake of dangerous magnitude.
He urged the authorities to be prepared to mitigate the damages caused by these telluric movements and recommended that we stay in touch with other countries which have had experiences in this type of catastrophes.
Interviewed in Channel 37, the geologist reiterated that we are susceptible to undergo an earthquake like the one which rocked the country in 1946.
RELATED NEWS
Another Four Rattles Shake S Bulgaria
14 March 2006, Tuesday.The region of Kurdzhali to the south of Bulgaria was shaken yet again by four light to moderate quakes on Tuesday.With a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter scale, the first tremor was felt on the higher floors of apartment buildings. Its epicenter was right in the village of Murgovo. Twenty minutes later the region was hit by a new wave of a moderate strength of 2.8 on the Richter, followed by yet another at 10.30 a.m. The third quake shook at 3.3 on the Richter scale, and the fourth one - about two hours later - was felt at 2.5 on the Richter scale.There have been no reports of injuries or damages.Over the past few weeks the Kurdzhali region was shaken by an alarming number of moderate and light quakes. Experts fear that these could be the warning signals of a devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake in the works.
Rare Volcanic Plumes Create Uncommonly Dangerous Ash Flows
BREAKING VOLCANIC NEWS
Chicago IL (SPX) Mar 15, 2006
Three unique photographs of a recent volcanic eruption in a remote part of Ecuador show a plume unlike any previously documented, and hint at a newly recognized hazard, say scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"The usual volcanic plume consists of a stalk capped with an umbrella, and resembles the mushroom of an atom bomb blast," said geology professor Susan Kieffer, "but the umbrella on this plume was wavy, like the shell of a scallop."
Powerful earthquake hits Indonesia
SEISMIC UPDATE
March 14, 2006
WASHINGTON (AFX) - A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 has jolted the Indonesian region of Seram, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The earthquake's epicenter was 110 kilometers west of Ambon in the Moluccas and 485 kilometers south of Ternate, also in the Moluccas. Its depth was estimated at 35 kilometers. It struck at 3.57 pm local time (0657 GMT), the USGS said. The earthquake did not trigger a warning from the Tsunami Warning System.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
NASA Finds Stronger Storms Change Heat and Rainfall Worldwide
Photo Above: Satellite data used in a new survey of ice sheets have led to maps like this one showing areas in Greenland where the ice has thickened in the center while thinning along the edges.
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS
March 13, 2006
Studies have shown that over the last 40 years, a warming climate has been accompanied by fewer rain- and snow-producing storms in mid-latitudes around the world, but the storms that are happening are a little stronger with more precipitation. A new analysis of global satellite data suggests that these storm changes are affecting strongly the Earth’s water cycle and air temperatures and creating contrasting cooling and warming effects in the atmosphere.
RELATED REPORT
NASA puts its weight behind warming signs
Following two recent studies on changes to Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, NASA is touting a survey that it says confirms “climate warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth’s largest storehouses of ice and snow.”
In a press release for the survey, NASA directly tied the changes to warming and described the survey as “the most comprehensive” ever in both regions.
Tornado shreds parts of Springfield as storm sweeps through central Illinois
BREAKING STORM NEWS: TORNADO DEVASTATION
Posted on Tue, Mar. 14, 2006
CLICK CAMERA TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Belinda Harris rode out a tornado in her bathtub, along with her boyfriend and her 17-year-old son.
"We just cuddled all together and hoped we were going to make it," Harris said.
After half an hour, they came out to find debris outside the house and muddy water inside. "It's the scariest thing I've ever been through," she said Monday.
Thousands of people across Springfield went through similar scares as a tornado and severe storms shredded sections of the city, injuring at least two dozen people but killing none, authorities said Monday.
Other parts of the Midwest were not so fortunate. At least 10 people were killed by a storm system that swept from Kansas City almost to Chicago.
RELATED NEWS
March 13, 2006
A huge weather system that spawned deadly tornadoes in Kansas and Illinois Sunday is giving West Michigan residents a chance to experience weather from all four seasons in just three days.
Sunny skies and temperatures near 70 degrees Saturday made it feel like a mild summer day. That was followed by more than 3 inches of rain Sunday night and early this morning, which is somewhat typical of spring. Today's weather features the gales of March followed by winter's freezing temperatures and snow.
MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) - (03/13/06)-- Pouring rain, high winds and flood warnings are making for a wild day of weather in mid-Michigan.
It is early in the season for the possibility of tornadoes. Today's warnings came at an unusual time as well - between 6 a.m. until 8 a.m.
CLICK VIDEO OF STUNNING TORNADO DAMAGE
Sandstorm sweeps NW China region
Photo Left: Cars drive slowly with headlights on in a city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region March 12, 2006 amid a sandstorm which reduced the visibility to about 50 meters.
(Xinhua)Updated: 2006-03-12 21:33
Article Published in its entirety
URUMQI -- A rust-colored sandstorm hit over the southwestern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, on Sunday, reducing visibility to less than 50 meters in affected areas.
The content of particulate matter in the air over Artux city reached 16 mg per cubic meter of air at noon time, 222 times the normal standard, according to the environment monitoring station of the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu. This is the worst and the strangest sandstorm that has swept Artux since 1993, said Yusupjan, deputy head of the station. "It is like going into a flour mill. It is hard to breathe when standing outside as the air is so smoky," the official said. A yellow sandstorm swept over Kashi city early Sunday morning and the sky turned saffron yellow later. Local residents had to wear masks and vehicles snailed along the street in the heavy smog. The local meteorological station estimated that Kashi's temperature dropped by five to 8 degrees Celsius by 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. A strong cold front began affecting Xinjiang on Saturday, causing sandstorms and gale force winds in parts of the westernmost region of China.
Monday, March 13, 2006
No let up in Iraqi bloodshed, bombs, mortars kill 80
BREAKING WORLD NEWS: WAR IN IRAQ
U.S. urges leaders to avoid civil war
March 13, 2006
Bombs and mortar blasts across Iraq killed at least 80 people in one of the country's bloodiest days for weeks as Washington urged leaders to form a coalition to avert a slide to civil war.
At least 40 people were killed and 104 wounded when three car bombs exploded Sunday evening at crowded markets in the Sadr City Shiite district of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said quoting hospital figures. A fourth car bomb was defused. "People were torn to pieces," a witness, who declined to be named, said at the scene
RELATED NEWS
North Korea: U.S. Is Preparing Invasion
SEOUL, South Korea
March 12, 2006
North Korea accused the United States on Sunday of stepping up preparations to attack and said that justified the communist state's nuclear weapons program.
North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper cited planned drills with South Korea and other U.S. military activity in the Asia-Pacific region as evidence Washington was preparing to invade.
Tornadoes spin death, damage across US Midwest
The preliminary estimate of 110 tornadoes that touched down on Sunday broke a 16-year-old record for any day in March, the National Storm Prediction Center said.
March 13, 2006
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Violent storms that spawned a record number of tornadoes killed at least eight people across the Midwest, many dying in Missouri where twisters wrecked mobile homes, authorities said on Monday.
There were at least seven deaths in Missouri, with the other fatality a drowning victim in Indiana, emergency management officials said.
RELATED STORY
Photo Left: A mobile home, which fell on a woman killing her, sits on its side after a tornado ripped through the area Sunday, March 12, 2006, south of Sedalia, Mo. (AP Photo)
Violent Storms Rip Across Midwest
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Tornadoes swept through portions of the Midwest, killing at least three people in Missouri, blowing roofs off homes in Illinois and Arkansas, and damaging about 60 percent of the buildings on the University of Kansas campus. A fourth storm death was reported in Indiana.
Rain causes chaos in Queensland
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS
12mar06
TORRENTIAL rain has wreaked havoc in far north Queensland with flash flooding inundating homes, blocking roads and causing a landslip.The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said 243mm of rain was dumped on Cairns in the 24 hours to 9am (AEST) today while 202mm soaked Babinda to the south.
A Counter Disaster and Rescue Services (CDRS) spokeswoman said emergency service volunteers were called out to about 20 jobs overnight, including a landslip.
"Most of the jobs were for sandbagging and keeping water out of houses but one house in a new area called Park Ridge west of Cairns was affected by a landslip," the spokeswoman said.
RELATED NEWS
KANSAS - Large hail pelted parts of Osage county breaking out windows and causing roof damage. Reports of golf-ball sized hail (and larger) came down in Burlingame and throughout the county. Parts of Osage County saw hail as large as baseballs hit the ground.
ARKANSAS - Thunderstorms broke out late Saturday across Northwest Arkansas, bringing high wind, heavy rain, unconfirmed reports of baseball-size hail and a possible tornado in Ozark.
Texas wildfires scorch 600,000 acres, kill 7
BREAKING EARTH NEWS: TEXAS
Photo Left: Satellite shows huge burn area in Texas
Monday, March 13, 2006; Posted: 7:41 a.m. EST
GROOM, Texas (AP) -- Massive wildfires raced across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains early Monday, burning more than half a million acres, leaving at least seven people dead and injuring at least seven more.
Four of the victims were killed in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 40 east of Groom as smoke obscured the road. Three others died in fires near Borger, northeast of Amarillo.
"This is probably one of the biggest fire days in Texas history," said Warren Bielenberg, a spokesman for the Texas Forest Service.
Cyclone paralyzes traffic in central, northern Sakhalin
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, March 12 (Itar-Tass) - A powerful cyclone has paralyzed the traffic in central and northern Sakhalin.
Even the snow cleaning machinery cannot move, a representative of the Sakhalin motorway department said. The drivers cannot tell where the road ends and a ditch starts, he said.
Weathermen said that the wind reaches 24 meters per second in the north. A gale is on in the Tatar Strait, and the Vanino-Kholmsk ferry line that connects the island to the mainland, has been stopped until 9:00 a.m. on March 12.
Two cyclones that clashed above Sakhalin caused heavy snowfalls and blizzards. One of the cyclones came from Japan, and the other approached from the Khabarovsk territory. About a dozen of avalanches went down in southern Sakhalin on Saturday. No one was hurt.
RELATED NEWS
HUGE PILEUP IN SUDDEN BLIZZARD WEATHER
Arctic air mass could cause more freakish Bay Area storms today
Sunday, March 12, 2006-A huge 28-vehicle pileup on Highway 101 in Sausalito killed two people and injured more than a dozen. The unusually brisk weather is the product of a massive trough of cold air that's blown in from the Arctic. While such cold air masses are not uncommon in the Bay Area during the winter, this one is UNUSUALLY LARGE - covering most of the West Coast and reaching as far southeast as Arizona - and UNSEASONLY LATE. Indeed, the last time it snowed in the Bay Area in March was in 1896. Rain is expected to return Tuesday, but it will be a significantly warmer storm, with the snow level rising to a more seasonal 4,000 feet. "We don't often see something this big or this late in the season. It's VERY UNUSUAL."
SCOTLAND AND WALES have woken up to a blanket of snow, in what is an UNUSUAL end to the winter season. Western Scotland was worst hit by heavy blizzards Saturday night, leaving around 3,000 partygoers stranded in a nightclub and a bus station in Glasgow. Bitterly cold temperatures have also spread across the north of England, and snowstorms could reach the West Midlands and Bristol. The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning, and officials say there is an increased risk of flooding as the snow begins to melt. Up to six to eight inches of snow could have fallen on higher ground by Sunday night. The cold snap is caused by cool air from Scandinavia. 'This is quite late in the winter season to be seeing snow of this magnitude.'
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Bush's Approval Rating Falls to New Low
Presidential Politics
March, 2006
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Growing dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq has driven President Bush's approval rating to a new low of 36 percent, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Monday.
Only 38 percent said they believe the nearly 3-year-old war was going well for the United States, down from 46 percent in January, while 60 percent said they believed the war was going poorly.
Nearly half of those polled said they believe Democrats would do a better job of managing the war.
REALATED UPDATES
Bush aide arrested in theft scandal
March 13, 2006
US President George W. Bush's battered image suffered another damaging blow at the weekend with reports that his former top domestic policy adviser had been arrested for allegedly swindling two large department stores in a shoplifting scam.Claude Allen, a prominent conservative who had become the highest-ranking African-American on the White House staff, resigned last month, telling the President he wanted to spend more time with his family.
But it emerged at the weekend that Mr Allen had been interviewed by police in early January after he allegedly left a Maryland shop with goods he had not paid for. He was arrested last week and charged with two counts of theft that carry maximum sentences of 15 years in jail.
Feingold Wants Bush Censured for Spying
Sunday, March 12, 2006; 10:31 AM
WASHINGTON -- A liberal Democratic senator who is considering a White House bid in 2008 said Sunday he is seeking to censure President Bush over his domestic eavesdropping program. The Senate majority leader called it "a crazy political move."
A censure resolution, which simply would scold the president, has been used just once in U.S. history _ against Andrew Jackson in 1834.
The bungling Bush presidency is falling apart
An old acquaintance in Washington - a former member of Republican administrations whose foreign policy views are decidedly hard-line - recently had this to say to a friend about the Bush administration: This might be the most inept administration in American history.
THE MELTING OF MINNESOTA
BREAKING EARTH/CLIMATE NEWS
Last update: March 11, 2006 – 9:34 PM
Many in the northland say warming weather is beginning to change the state's identity. Snow emergencies and snowmobile rentals are giving way to fast-thawing lakes. A moose herd declines, lilacs bloom earlier and the future looks warmer and muggier.
Photo Above: Ron Kalla wasn’t wearing a winter hat or gloves on both hands — or using his heater — when he went fishing on Lake Osakis on March 3. Kalla, who has fished the lake for 40 seasons, said that in the past four years he also hasn’t had to use an auger extension to drill holes through 4 feet of ice because of warming. Slush already is appearing on the Minnesota lake
OSAKIS, MINN.
Norman Clyde is puzzled by the sight of the fishing shack still for sale in front of his bait shop. Last year, he sold six on the same spot. This year, he can't sell one.
Granted, Clyde was competing with the warmest January in at least a century. Out on Lake Osakis, a popular fishing spot in central Minnesota, there were half the usual number of shacks, and sheets of water lay over thin ice. In town, despite the completion of a new trail, snowmobile traffic was scant.
Clyde can live with one odd month. But he and others have come to suspect something larger than an extended January thaw is at work. Across Minnesota, there's a growing conviction that what's happening on the lakes, in the woods and in back yards is linked to warming patterns evident around the world.
Freak downpour kills 39, destroys crops in India
SKYWATCH SPECIAL ADDITION
Web posted at: 3/11/2006 2:35:15
Source ::: IANS
Photo Left: GREY IS A COLOUR OF CONFUSION: Indeed so. The weather pattern in the city and across the country has left many puzzled. A view of Chennai's sky this morning. You can say it is almost 'monsoonish'. Oh, not so soon.
Bhopal: Incessant rains have raised Madhya Pradesh’s death toll to 39 with 16 more deaths reported overnight from different parts of the state.
The rains and hailstorms have also destroyed a large number of livestock and caused massive damage to the crops. “Three members of a family died in Ujjain district on Thursday night after their house collapsed due to heavy rains. Lightning claimed six lives in Khandwa district,” said a state administration official yesterday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had confirmed 23 deaths in the state assembly on Thursday. The weathermen have predicted more rainfall in the state in the next two days.
Many parts of the state are reeling under the heavy downpour — a scale never witnessed in the month of March in the last several decades. According to the meteorological department, the March rainfall has broken a 70-year record.
“On March 7, 1936, Bhopal received a rainfall of 35.1 mm. But by Friday morning, the city had received a rainfall of 44.7 cm,” said a meteorological department official.
“Three more people died in Indore district after being struck by lightning. Another four people died in Sagar district," he said.
“We have received reports of 114 people being injured due to the rains. Nearly 200 cows and buffaloes have perished due to the bad weather,” he added.
RELATED STORY
FREAK WEATHER STUMPS THEM ALL
They say it doesn't rain as it used to do in Cherrapunjee. But perhaps Cherrapunjee has shifted address ? to all over the county. It has been raining so much in several parts, including in the city, that even seasoned weather observers are stumped at the 'strange phenomenon'. This time of March is not used to receiving rains, at least not at the levels that the nation is witness to. Chennai has been receiving intermittent showers all through the week. Down South, in places like Tuticorin, Kanyakumari and nearby places, it has been belting down hard.
Hail freezes over Humboldt
Blue moons are far more frequent than sea-level snowfall on the North Coast, so snow showers in Arcata, Eureka, McKinleyville and other seaside towns Friday were a giddy spectacle for some and a hazard for others.
This Winter Continues To Run Hot And Cold
It's been a funny winter - mild, with major snowfalls that promptly melted and temperatures that seemed confused about the actual season. We've weathered it without too much fuss, but what about shrubs and plantings more accustomed to a long snow cover and consistently colder temperatures? And what about our daffodils and tulips?
Thailand warns of possible Tsunami in some provinces
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BREAKING EARTH NEWS: TSUNAMI ALERT
www.chinaview.cn 2006-03-11 19:15:09
BANGKOK, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center Saturday warned Phuket and other provinces in the country's southern Andaman Sea region to pay close attention to any earthquake in the Andaman Sea that may cause Tsunami, according to a government official.
Phuket Governor Udomsak Asavarangkura said Saturday that the National Disaster Warning Center warned that 31 earthquakes measuring from 4.0 to 5.3 on the Richter scale took place in recent two days on the seabed some 400-600 kilometers west of the Ranong coast.
According to the Center, the quakes were at irregular intervals, but the epicenter is an undersea mountain which has probably resulted from a new undersea volcano.
"If a huge explosion occurs, it could cause a new tsunami," the warning center said.
RELATED ARTICLES
The new Tsunami alarm sounded by the Natural Disaster Warning Centre said, “In two days, there were 31 quake tremors. If the cause is the eruption of an underwater volcano, the risk of a Tsunami is very high.” From March 9 to 11 there were “UNUSUAL PHENOMENA” about 500km off Ranong Province. “There were 31 tremors measuring between 4 and 5.3 on the Richter scale. There would be one of three reasons for this: a new underwater volcano, the eruption of a volcano called Baren or the eruption of another volcano. In the last case, the risk of a seaquake is very high.” The Admiral of the Royal Navy put all his men on alert. All fishermen were invited to give “timely” reports to the centre and Navy personnel about any suspect phenomena.
The National Disaster Warning Centre Saturday issued the urgent warning asking the people to monitor announcements from the centre constantly. It said the number of the quakes was irregular and the epicenter was at a fault where undersea mountains were located and sometimes lava had seeped out from the fault. The centre said the quakes might have been caused by the force of the lava which was pushing out through the fault or the moving of the fault. The centre added that the quakes also indicated that the Bahrain Volcano, which was about 110 kms away from the fault or 67kms from Thailand might explode in the future and affect Thailand. Fishermen were asked to watch out for possible signs of undersea volcano explosion, such as the change of sea colours and strange behaviours of sea animals and smelling of phosphorous and seeing bubbles coming up from the sea.
Tornadoes Rip Across Midwest, Killing Two
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS
Tornadoes Rip Across Midwest, Killing Two and Destroying Homes Along Path of More Than 20 Miles
Satellite Image Left: This NOAA satellite image taken Sunday, March 12, 2006 at 2:15 AM EST shows dense clouds over the Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley as a cold front stretches through the area. These clouds are renewing the severe weather in the region as a Tornado Watch is in effect from southern Missouri to western Kentucky. Severe Thunderstorms are observed in this area and rain is falling as far north of Michigan. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
ST. MARY, Mo. Mar 12, 2006 (AP)— Powerful tornadoes ripped across southern Missouri and southern Illinois during the night, destroying homes along a path of more than 20 miles and killing two people, officials said Sunday.
Several other people were injured as the storm system pounded the central Mississippi Valley with hailstones as big as softballs, high wind and torrential rain.
RELATED NEWS
Severe Storms Hammer Southern States
5 Counties In Arkansas Declared Disaster Areas
UPDATED: 6:08 pm EST March 10, 2006
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- At least two people are dead and several others injured after storms hit the South.
Power failures and wind damage to homes, barns and businesses were reported in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee declared five counties disaster areas.
Tornadoes Rip Through Arkansas
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Mass Extinctions Outer Space Threat Or Our Own Planets Detox
EARTH NEWS
Image Left: Volcanic eruptions at Laki, Iceland.
Leicester, UK (SPX) Mar 10, 2006
Earth history has been punctuated by several mass extinctions rapidly wiping out nearly all life forms on our planet. What causes these catastrophic events? Are they really due to meteorite impacts?
Current research suggests that the cause may come from within our own planet – the eruption of vast amounts of lava that brings a cocktail of gases from deep inside the Earth and vents them into the atmosphere.
University of Leicester geologists, Professor Andy Saunders and Dr Marc Reichow, are taking a fresh look at what may actually have wiped out the dinosours 65 million years ago and caused other similarly cataclysmic events, aware they may end up exploding a few popular myths.
The idea that meteorite impacts caused mass extinctions has been in vogue over the last 25 years, since Louis Alverez's research team in Berkeley, California published their work about an extraterrestrial iridium anomaly found in 65-million-year-old layers at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.
This anomaly only could be explained by an extraterrestrial source, a large meteorite, hitting the Earth and ultimately wiping the dinosaurs – and many other organisms - off the Earth's surface.
Bering Sea Ecosystem Responding To Changes In Arctic Climate
Knoxville TN (SPX) Mar 10, 2006
Physical changes--including rising air and seawater temperatures and decreasing seasonal ice cover--appear to be the cause of a series of biological changes in the northern Bering Sea ecosystem that could have long-range and irreversible effects on the animals that live there and on the people who depend on them for their livelihoods.
In a paper published March 10 in the journal Science, a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers use data from long-term observations of physical properties and biological communities to conclude that previously documented physical changes in the Arctic in recent years are profoundly affecting Arctic life.
No alien attack; no green men
BREAKING COSMIC NEWS
Flash in sky likely a meteor, but no evidence of impact
Published: Mar 11, 2006
Southern Louisiana residents who spotted a green flash in the sky Thursday night can get the kids out from under the kitchen table and put away the gas masks. It was likely only a meteor and may not have even survived long enough to touch the ground.Reports from Baton Rouge in the east to Jefferson Davis Parish in the west were called in to news outlets about a greenish light seen in the skies around 8:30 p.m.Randy Belleau, 24, of Lawtell in St. Landry Parish said Friday that he believes a meteor hit in his neighbor’s field across the road from his home, though he neither heard nor felt an impact and wasn’t able to find anything in a Friday morning search.He said he looked outside the door of his home at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday and saw a greenish streak of light lasting “a split-second” that appeared to pass behind the oak trees in his front yard.“It was big green flash and the end of it was wrapped up in flames,” Belleau said.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Intense Rain Floods Hauula
Alan Lu - alu@kgmb9.com
Photo Left: Hauula resident Larry Arb was rescued tonight after falling in a stream.
March 8, 2006
Intense rain floods Hauula, even long-time Windward Oahu families are calling this THE WORST THEY'VE SEEN IN 35 YEARS. As the night wore on, water from deep in the valley washed down toward Kamehameha Highway, flooding home after home. Rain is in the forecast through the weekend. Heavy showers last week destroyed four homes and dropped up to 22 inches in 48 hours. The rains are being caused by a low-pressure system west of the islands, which is interacting with moist, unstable air.
RELATED NEWS
AUSTRALIA - Western Australia's Billabalong and Twinpeaks stations are both thought to have borne the brunt of the rising Murchison River Wednesday night. Billabalong looked a bit like a war zone. "They had sandbags at all the doors and all the gear at least two foot high." Flooding from ex-tropical cyclone Emma has caused SOME OF THE HIGHEST WATER LEVELS ON RECORD in the Murchison catchment, with the river more than 10 kilometres wide in some places. Murchison pastoralists are expected to report large stock losses once flood waters recede.ARKANSAS - Sharp winds are kicking down trees and fences, bending road signs, and ripping shingles from rooftops in Arkansas. Most of the state was under a tornado watch this morning and at least two possible tornadoes were spotted. Storms sweeping across the Plains states have unlocked heavy rainfall. And southern Oklahoma reported hail the size of baseballs. The rough weather is caused by a system rumbling out of the Pacific Northwest. Ahead of the cold front, weather-watchers say large hail, strong winds and tornadoes are possible.INDIA - A sudden bout of heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning made life easier for heat-weary Mumbai residents on Thursday. The UNSEASONAL rains that lashed the city from early Thursday morning continued throughout the day and were accompanied by thunder and lightning. For most part of the day, the sky was overcast as if it was monsoon time already. "This weather is expected to continue in most parts of the state - especially in the coastal belt - for the next 48 hours."In Bhopal and other areas lightning killed 5 people on Wednesday. The rain water and hail ruined crops of wheat and mustard.MALAYSIA - Residents in the densely populated suburb of Subang Jaya thought a hurricane must have swept across their neighbourhood when a FREAK storm that lasted 30 minutes uprooted trees, blew off roofs, toppled over lampposts and caused chaos. Besides houses and property ravaged by the storm, hundreds of cars were also damaged by flying debris and falling trees and branches. Residents described the blustery weather conditions that started at 3pm yesterday as “NOTHING LIKE THEY HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.” The Meteorological Department, when contacted, was unable to explain the phenomenon. “It was like a typhoon...This is the first time I have experienced something so unnatural as this storm.” One man saw the evidence of strong winds coming from both the right and left sides. “The wind was so strong, it felt like a hurricane. It’s so weird as this is the first time we see this happening. Roof tiles were flying all over the place and partitions were falling on cars.”ISRAEL - Torrential rain and hail storms were sweeping through the center of the country yesterday, and ice was reported on the roads in the Binyamin area of Samaria. Hail the size of marbles also fell from Kiryat Arba to the southern Hevron Hills. Heavy rains are pummeling Jerusalem, and the precipitation is to continue until this afternoon. Temperatures will be UNSEASONABLY high by Sunday, but another storm system is headed for Israel and is likely to dampen Purim festivities next week.
Augustine Volcano
VOLCANIC UPDATE
March 9, 2006
After blowing off more steam and triggering numerous avalanches, scientists say they are noticing something else on Augustine.
Early this morning, geologists saw something new. They began to see a different signal on the seismometers on the island. They say it could have to do with the rate lava's coming out of the ground or the stickiness of the lava. So, they're closely monitoring the volcano.
“We were starting to see very small, repetitive events that we've seen at other volcanoes and actually at Augustine back in 1986, and 1976, during what's called a dome building eruption. So, the signals are very consistent with lava slowly coming out of the ground,” said Tina Neal, Volcanologist, USGS.
They say they're still interpreting the signal and trying to figure out what it means. They'll be doing overflights and trying to visit Augustine as soon as weather conditions permit. For now, the code warning remains at orange.
Six persons injured in Gujarat earthquake
SEISMIC NEWS
March 10, 2006
Six persons were injured in Rapar taluka of Kutch district of Gujarat in earthquake which jolted many parts of the state late Tuesday night. The earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale also damaged houses in many places of the district. Most of the injured have suffered fractures in the leg and the arms after portions of their houses collapsed during the quake. Rapar was one of the talukas which was one of the worst affected during January 26, 2001 earthquake in Gujarat.
RELATED NEWS
LOUISIANA - A 3.1 earthquake Tuesday at 9:12 pm near Mount St. Helens in Washington state caused brown water to flow from some faucets in rural West Feliciana Parish on Wednesday. “People don’t want to believe me when I say an earthquake caused their brown water, but it’s true.” Strong seismic activity on the West Coast and in Central America and Mexico affects two wells at Laurel Hill, causing them to briefly pump water discolored by manganese when seismic waves pass through the area. “It’s only these two wells. They are about 500 feet from each other, and there’s some instability underground for some reason.” Water district employees can prevent the wells from pumping the discolored water if they learn about an earthquake hundreds or thousands of miles away in time to temporarily shut down the wells. They look at Geological Survey seismograph readings, via the Internet, at two sites in Arkansas and one at Pickwick Lake, Ala., to verify their suspicions. “If they had movement at Pickwick, we get brown water.”
VIRGINIA - Prompted by the area's increased seismic activity over the past few years - minor earthquakes west of Richmond and the microquakes that rattled the city in 2004 - scientists hope to catch central Virginia in motion with a new network of seismic equipment. Two quakes in 2003, including one of magnitude 4.5, a lesser temblor in 2004 and the "booms" that shook Richmond's North Side that fall convinced the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory's director that he needs to know more about underground activity in central Virginia. Equipment was placed in Richmond because of the mysterious "booms" that rocked the Ginter Park neighborhood. At the time of the shaking, in the fall of 2004, little was known about these microquakes, but there had been a few recent reports in eastern Henrico County and earlier in the area in the winter of 1986-87. Now it appears that the microquakes occur in episodes that can last a few days or even weeks. The epicenter for these swarms seems to be underneath Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill's statue and grave at the center of the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road, "as best I can tell." Although some of the booms were blamed on two teens, later convicted, who set off homemade explosive devices, he believes that some were microquakes so minor that they wouldn't register on monitors far away. He thinks the granite and other hard rock underneath the city is strained by some unknown factor, possibly groundwater fluctuations, triggering the shaking. He hopes the new monitors will shed some light on the cause. "It's a curious phenomenon." Virginia has had more than 160 earthquakes in the past three decades, but only about a sixth of them were felt.
In Phoenix, Even Cactuses Wilt in Clutches of Record Drought
Photo Above: A drought in Phoenix has left pollutants in the air. Dust storms only add to the area's pollution concerns. Photo: The New York Times
BREAKING CLIMATE NEWS: ARIZONA DROUGHT
Published: March 10, 2006
PHOENIX, March 9 — Thursday began like the 141 days before it, sunny and crisp, dust settling everywhere except on the record — set again — for the number of days without rain.
Phoenix knows all about dry weather. It is a place where children are drilled throughout elementary school to conserve water, where hotels boast of covered parking areas not to protect from rain, but to offer a bit of shade. Grown men spread lotion all over their bodies every morning. Noses bleed. Newcomers watch in horror as their hands seem to age right in front of them.
But even the desert suffers droughts, and this winter has brought a strong one, the fickle air currents pushing approaching storm clouds to the east. Until this year, the record for days without recorded rainfall was set in 2000, a measly 101 days. The recording instrument for rainfall is at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, referred to as "the bucket" by meteorologists, and drier than a Sunday morning during Prohibition.
"People are sort of losing their grip," said Gary Woodard, who, as associate director of the University of Arizona Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas, is an expert on the region's water. " 'Did you hear it's going to rain tomorrow?' Well, actually, there's an 80 percent chance it's not going to rain. People are getting very excited about very slim chances of rain."
The tip of the iceberg
BREAKING EARTH/CLIMATE NEWS
Photo Left: Kangerdlugssuaq is 7km wide, 30km long and 1km deep
March 10, 2006
A hurricane traveling toward us at 175 mph caught us unprepared. So will we be prepared for a force, with even greater destructive potential, that's traveling at the barely discernible rate of nine miles per year?
That's the speed that Gordon Hamilton and Leigh Sterns of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine calculated that the Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier is traveling. Studies conducted last year by the two scientists of the 30 mile by five mile Greenland glacier, revealed a speed far exceeding expectations. The team spoke of their findings Monday evening at Cape Cod Community College. Earlier that day they sat down over coffee to speak in detail of their discovery and its implications
Important Please Read Breaking Climate News
Photo Left CLICK TO ENLARGE "People are finally realizing there's a danger out there we haven't been paying attention to," said Eugene Linden, a Washington environmental writer and advocate, referring to climate change. ( The Washington Post)
The warnings are coming from frogs and beetles, from melting ice and changing ocean currents, and from scientists and responsible politicians around the world. And yet what is the U.S. government doing about global warming? The answer, essentially, is nothing. That should shock the conscience of American citizens.
NASA studies Yellowstone geology
VOLCANIC UPDATE
Learn How And Where Volcanoes Arise
WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Scientists say new satellite images reveal recently discovered changes in Yellowstone National Park's caldera are caused by molten rock movement.
Wayne Thatcher and other U.S. Geological Survey scientists say the European Space Agency satellite data also indicate the park's caldera, or crater, rose about 5 inches from 1997-2003.
"We know now how mobile and restless the Yellowstone caldera actually is. Ground-based measurements can be more efficiently deployed because of our work," Thatcher said. "The research could not have been done without satellite radar data."
About 640,000 years ago, a massive volcano erupted in Yellowstone, creating a caldera measuring about 28 miles wide and 47 miles long in the center of the park.
At the same time the northern rim of the caldera began rising in 1997, the floor of the caldera began sinking.
The new satellite data reveal the floor sank as molten rock flowed from the caldera about 10 miles below the Earth's surface and into the Yellowstone volcanic system.
The research appeared in the March 2 issue of the journal Nature.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Bird flu risk to humans higher in Europe, spreading across globe
BREAKING VIRAL NEWS
March 8, 2006
A German minister claimed that deadly bird flu was moving closer to infecting humans in Europe after two more cats died of the virus, while China reported its 10th human fatality.
And Albania became the latest European country to report an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu strain, as international veterinary experts warned that the United States, Canada and Australia will probably not escape the ever-spreading disease.
In Germany, Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said late on Tuesday the discovery of the dead cats a week after the first feline infection in Germany signaled a heightened risk of infection for humans.
"This means that the virus is not confined to a single case of a mammal but has spread to several cases. Therefore, bird flu has clearly moved closer to humans," he told Bayerischer Rundfunk radio.
PLEASE READ BREAKING RELATED NEWS: Bird Flu Could Reach Americas in 6 Months
Click the Photo For Important Media Information
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu could reach the Americas in six to 12 months or even sooner as infected wild birds migrate toward the Arctic and Alaska, the U.N. bird flu chief said.
Migratory patterns will probably take birds carrying the virus from West Africa to the Arctic and Alaska this spring, Dr. David Nabarro said Wednesday. Some infected birds will then likely move south in the fall on a migratory route to the Americas.
"I think it's within the next six to 12 months," Nabarro told a news conference, "And who knows - we've been wrong on other things, it may be earlier."
The H5N1 strain has spread rapidly through Asia and Europe and recently reached Africa, devastating poultry stocks. Virtually all people who have gotten bird flu have had close contact with infected poultry.
NOTE * The Bird Flu Multimedia Feature Will Be Added To the Sidebar For Reference Purposes. Bird Flu Is Spreading Rapidly and Poises A Serious threat For Both Wildlife and Mankind. Skywatch Intends to Keep Our Viewers Fully Informed On this Infectious Virus, including ways in which to protect yourself. It Appears We Cannot Control This Virus,Unless The U.S. Can Find A Way to Quell The Spread of the Avian Flu Into Our Country. The U.S. And The Rest Of The World Faced A Major Pandemic In 1918 Which Killed Millions. The Flu Pandemic Will Happen Again, And We Should Take Every Precaution Now.
Budding blooms may face bitter blast
Early flowers are susceptible to late freeze
March 8, 2006
Pear trees, peach trees, even azaleas already are blooming across Muskogee.
But underneath the beautiful blossoms is concern that the blooms and the fruit that follows might not survive a March freeze. The National Weather Service says the last freeze of winter usually hits around March 29.
“You can see a lot of the trees blooming already,” peach grower David Livesay said, adding that he even has seen tiny peaches on the trees. “We normally don’t have to be concerned with a freeze until the middle of March.” Similarly, Muskogee Parks Superintendent Rick Ewing said he has seen azaleas already blooming, even though the bushes normally don’t bloom until late March.
Tackling the tsunami threat by rising above it
BREAKING EARTH NEWS
March 9, 2006
WAKAYAMA--There is an old story here about an elderly villager who lived on a hill.
One day, the villager saw a tsunami approaching. He realized he had to warn other villagers working down by the seafront, but knew he had no time to reach them.
So he set fire to his haystacks, alerting them of impending doom and leading them uphill to safety.
Now the Wakayama prefectural government is building a modern version of the old man's solution: emergency tsunami evacuation towers.
The evacuation towers aim to provide shelter for people in low-lying areas if tsunami tidal waves hit the coast. The feared Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes that could spawn tsunami are estimated to have at least a 50-percent possibility of hitting within 30 years.
RELATED NEWS
HAWAII - While the five most severe tsunamis to hit here in the past 60 years have come from three areas — Chile, Russia's Kamchatka region, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands — Hawai'i is at risk from almost every point of the compass. Emergency preparedness officials maintain that no Hawaiian shoreline is safe from a tsunami. Tsunamis that have caused damage in the Islands in recent generations have come from the Aleutians (1946 and 1957), Kamchatka (1952), Chile (1960) and Alaska (1964), and from an earthquake near Kalapana on the Big Island (1975). A 1994 earthquake in Japan's Kuril Islands prompted a statewide coastal evacuation in Hawai'i, but the wave measured only a few inches locally.
NASA Confirms Recent Ice Sheet Losses
Photo Above: Antarctica lost much more ice to the sea than it gained from snowfall, resulting in an increase in sea level. Credit: NASA/SVS
BREAKING CLIMATE/EARTH NEWS
March 9, 2006
In the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of the massive ice sheets covering both Greenland and Antarctica, NASA scientists confirm climate warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth's largest storehouses of ice and snow.
The current issue of the Journal of Glaciology carries findings from NASA scientist Jay Zwally on the changing ice cover of Greenland and Antarctica that tallies with other recent studies indicating unprecedented thinning of the massive ice sheets. Zwally's survey, carried out using satellites and airborne mapping, confirms that climate warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth's largest storehouses of ice and snow.
The new survey is the first to inventory the losses of ice and the addition of new snow on both continents in a consistent way throughout an entire decade. Zwally's findings indicate that between 1992 and 2002, there was a net loss of ice from the combined Antarctic and Greenland ice shelves and a corresponding rise in sea level.
Adding up the overall gains and loses of ice from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, Zwally said there was a net loss of ice to the sea of around 20 billion tons.
Volcano in Nicaragua Spews Gas, Ash
Nicaragua on Alert After Volcano Spews Large Columns of Gas, Ash
March 8, 2006
VOLCANIC ALERT
MANAGUA, Nicaragua Mar 8, 2006 (AP)— Nicaraguan civil defense authorities on Wednesday warned residents about a volcano that has been shooting off columns of gas and ash.
The activity had ceased by Wednesday morning and there were no immediate plans to evacuate communities near the 5,725-foot San Cristobal volcano in the province of Chinandega, 60 miles west of the capital of Managua.
The renewed activity began Monday night and involved small explosions alternating with mini-earthquakes, civil defense official Maj. Pablo Marenco said.
"It is launching abundant columns of gas and ashes on a constant basis," he said.
He said it was not as strong as in December, when the San Cristobal spewed ash over the communities.
"But we are on constant alert," Chinandega Civil Defense Chief Carlos Caceres said. "Nothing is foreseeable."
It is part of a range of four volcanoes that has been active since November 1999.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Focus: The climate of fear
CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT: PUBLISHED FEB 19, 2006
Scientists used to think climate change took centuries. But evidence presented today at the world’s biggest science conference will indicate it can happen frighteningly fast. Jonathan Leake and Jonathan Milne reportIt should have been a chill midwinter day in St Louis as Professor James Zachos laid out his findings last week on how the world could be about to change for ever. But as the expert in earth sciences addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on the dangers of climate change, the weather was noticeably warm and muggy.If Zachos and others are right, it could be about to get a lot warmer — and far more rapidly than people expect.Humans, he said, are putting earth on a fast-track to catastrophe. They are creating the same conditions that in the past provoked global temperature rises of 5C, destroyed ecosystems, caused widespread extinctions and raised sea levels by 150ft.“Records of past climate change show that it starts slowly, then the system crosses a kind of threshold and it suddenly accelerates,” said Zachos, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “Our studies suggest that earth is now on that fast track to global warming.”
A long hot summer
Published Feb 20, 2006
Man is heating up the atmosphere and Earth's weather is changing as a result, says our correspondent, a leading explorer and zoologist
In 1981, when I was in my mid-twenties, I climbed Mt Albert Edward, one of the highest peaks on the verdant island of New Guinea. The bronzed grasslands were a stark contrast to the green jungle all around, and among the tussocks grew tree-ferns whose lacy fronds waved above my head.
Downslope, the tussock grassland ended abruptly at a stunted, mossy forest. A single step could carry you from sunshine into dank gloom, where the pencil-thin saplings on the margin were so festooned with moss, lichens and filmy ferns that they ballooned to the diameter of my waist. In the leaf litter on the forest floor I was surprised to find the trunks of dead tree-ferns. Tree-ferns grew only in the grassland, so here was clear evidence that the forest was colonising the slope from below.
Judging from the distribution of the tree-fern trunks, it had swallowed at least 30 metres of grassland in less time than it takes for a tree-fern to rot on the damp forest floor — a decade or two at most. Why was the forest expanding? CONTINUE HERE
Earth is moving towards danger point of sinking
EARTH NEWS
Antarctica: An awakened giant in terms of climate change
NASA, Feb 28, 2006.
The new finding by NASA scientists has posed a serious question about the safety of the earth. According to their research, Greenland's glaciers are losing ice at an escalating rate. During the period between 1996 and 2005, the island's glaciers have intensified the shedding of ice into the world's oceans.
Accordng to Dr. Raj Baldev, Cosmo Theorist from India, "This acceleration is due to a global warming and if it is not checked the level of our seas and oceans may rise from 7 to 18 meters thereby giving no chance to any species of land and air to survive".
Dr. Baldev said, "Only water species have rare chance to live. It is difficult for some of the sea species to survive, since they need to come on the land to take breathing and in absence of land they would also extinguish. If our Greenland's glaciers are melted at this fast rate nobody can stop the earth to sink".
The loss of ice from Greenland doubled between 1996 and 2005, as its glaciers flowed faster into the ocean in response to a generally warmer climate, according to a NASA/University of Kansas study.
RELATED ARTICLE: Climate change threat serious
Tony Blair, the British prime minister, has admitted that climate change is a greater threat than previously thought and that global warming is advancing at an unsustainable rate.
Augustine is Active
VOLCANIC ALERT
ALASKA
March 7, 2006- Mount St. Augustine has come alive again. On Monday the Alaska Volcano Observatory Web site described a low level eruption throughout the day characterized by small ash plumes. Southern Cook Inlet experienced light ash fall. Monday night the mountain experienced increased levels of seismic activity, but by morning seismic activity decreased. Since Saturday, overall seismicity at the volcano has been elevated. Minor ash emission continues to be seen in the current island web camera image and this is likely to continue intermittently. Satellite images show a strong thermal anomaly and occasional local ash clouds.
VIEW RECENT PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE ACTIVE VOLCANO
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
BBC offers epic portrait of Earth
SCIENCE NEWS AND INFORMATION: SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
March 5, 2006
The biggest series ever made by the BBC Natural History Unit, aiming to offer the definitive portrait of the Earth, starts on BBC One on Sunday.
Planet Earth, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, took four years to make.
New technology allowed aerial shots of animals that "simply blow the mind", Sir David told BBC's Sunday AM show.
A first six-episode run of the series, with footage of some of the most remote areas and rarely-seen animals, will be followed by six more later in the year.
Planet Earth aims to be a definitive look at the planet's diversity 
SEE VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM PLANET EARTH
Iran threatens new 'killing fields' in nuclear row
Is the U.S. headed towards a confrontation in the Middle East? Is WWIII just around the corner? Cast Your vote at the survey posted on the sidebar.
Photo left: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has won support at home for his defiant stance on nuclear power
March 6, 2006
Iran today intensified its rhetoric in the row over its suspect nuclear programme, responding to a veiled threat of military action by promising to become a "killing field".
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The threat came as the international nuclear watchdog opened crucial talks in Vienna on how to dampen Tehran's atomic ambitions.
John Bolton, the hawkish US Ambassador to the United Nations, warned that the republic faced "painful consquences" if it refused to comply. In response, the deputy head of Iran's armed forces retorted: "Iran’s armed forces, through their experience of war, will turn this land into a killing field for any enemy aggressors."
Representatives from the 35 member states gathered at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for last-chance talks aimed at defusing the stand-off through diplomatic means.
RELATED NEWS: IRAQ-IRAN
WASHINGTON — At least 8,000 members of the all-volunteer U.S. military have deserted since the Iraq war began, Pentagon records show, although the overall desertion rate has plunged since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday told an influential pro-Israel lobbying group there is an urgent need to confront Iran's ``clear and unrelenting drive'' for a nuclear weapons program.
John Bolton, speaking before a crowd of 4,500 gathered for an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, said that a failure by the U.N. Security Council to address Iran would ``do lasting damage to the credibility of the council.''
``The longer we wait to confront the threat Iran poses, the harder and more intractable it will become to solve,'' Bolton said.
Warm winter?You ain't seen nothing yet
EARTH/CLIMATE NEWS
March 05. 2006 8:00AM
Sparse snow that melts quickly, fast and furious rain storms and unpredictable weather patterns. That's not a review of the last year's weather. It's a description of some of the trends that scientists say will likely occur in New England over the next century if the climate here continues to warm.
Some scientists say recent extremes - record floods that washed away roads and homes, a rainy fall that dulled the foliage and turned apple season soggy, and a more-than-mild winter - prove that change isn't decades away.
"Climate is changing in New Hampshire and New England, and the evidence is already here," said Tom Kelly, director of the University of New Hampshire Office of Sustainability Programs. "It's not a question of some future possibility. It's happening."
EDITOR'S NOTE: THE RESTLESS WIND
Wind... defined as roughly horizontal movement of air, different from an air current, and caused by uneven heating of the Earth's surface. Wind can be gentle, balmy, soothing, and caressing; at other times, so biting, violent and destructive you'd think it had an axe to grind. However, I'm most uneasy when it just seems restless. Apparently, I'm not alone. Gogi Grant, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, and Neil Young all sang about it. 'The wayward wind is a restless wind.'
Bird Flu Found In Austrian Cats
BREAKING VIRAL NEWS: AUSTRIA
Photo Left: A cat looks through the fence on Feb. 17, 2006, in the Noah's Ark animal shelter in Graz, Austria, where several birds died last month of H5N1. (AP)
"We truly feel that this present threat and any other threat like it is likely to stretch our global systems to the point of collapse."
Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization'sdirector of epidemic and pandemic alert and response
March 6, 2006
(CBS/AP) Three cats have tested positive for the deadly strain of bird flu in Austria's first reported case of the disease spreading to an animal other than a bird, state authorities said Monday. The sick cats were among 170 living at an animal shelter where the disease was detected in chickens last month, authorities said. The World Health Organization called bird flu a greater global challenge than any previous infectious disease, costing global agriculture more than $10 billion and affecting the livelihoods of 300 million farmers. Meanwhile, U.S. health officials announced plans for a second vaccine to protect people from bird flu because the virus that is spreading among birds in Asia and Europe has changed significantly in the past year.
CBS VIDEO: Bird Flu Watch
The United States has banned some poultry and live bird shipments from France after the bird flu outbreak in Europe. Dr. Emily Senay discusses what's being done to stop the virus
SKYWATCH SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Photo above: March 5, 2006 - Venus and Comet Pojmanski.Venus is the bright white sky object on the right in this Bursa, Turkey,image taken on March 2, 2006. Highlighted in the blue rectangle is a newly discovered cometcataloged as C/2006 A1, or Comet Pojmanski, named after the astronomer who found it on January 2,at Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory in Poland. The comet will be at its closestapproach to planet Earth, just over 100 million kilometers away, on March 5. For northern hemisphere observers in the next few days, the beginning of morningtwilight will be the best time to spot Comet Pojmanski. Image © 2006 by Tunc Tezel.
VIEW ENLARGED PHOTO AND INFO ON COMET POJMANSKI
Earlier Mount Vesuvius blast should be warning to Naples
BREAKING SCIENCE NEWS
Photo Left:
The skull of a young woman buried by the Bronze Age eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
March 6, 2006
USA TODAY
Italy's Mount Vesuvius erupted catastrophically about 1780 B.C., burying Bronze Age villages and people, U.S. and Italian researchers reported Monday.
The damage exceeded that at the more famous site of Pompeii in A.D. 79 and should be a stark warning to the modern-day city of Naples, the researchers warn.
"The pattern is that every 2,000 to 3,000 years, there is a monstrous eruption (of Mount Vesuvius). And it has now been about 2,000 years," says study co-author Michael Sheridan of the University at Buffalo in New York.
Scientists Say Next Solar Cycle Will Be Strong but Delayed
BREAKING SOLAR NEWS
Published: March 7, 2006
WASHINGTON, March 6 — Every 11 years or so, the Sun reverses its magnetic field, producing a cycle marked by solar flares, sunspots and magnetic storms that can have disruptive effects on Earth.
On Monday, scientists predicted that the next of these cycles would start as much as a year late — in late 2007 or early 2008 — and would be 30 percent to 50 percent stronger than the last one.
The prediction, based on a new computer model developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, could enable better preparation for the solar storms, the scientists said. That is important, because the storms can affect satellite orbits, disrupt telecommunications and bring down electric power grids.
VIEW SUN'S RAPID FIRE
Monday, March 06, 2006
Winds of change could spell catastrophe for European winters
CLIMATE CHANGE
Europe faces the risk of more severe storms and extreme weather as a result of climate change. © WWF
March 2, 2006
Gland, Switzerland – Following a European winter of extreme cold and heavy snow, a WWF report says that there’s more risk of severe storms and extreme weather in future winters as a result of climate change unless CO2 emissions are reduced dramatically.The report — Stormy Europe — summarizes recent scientific findings on future storm activity across western and central Europe. The countries included in the analysis are the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Italy. The report shows that the UK would be worst affected by the deterioration in winter weather conditions, with the number of winter storms by the end of the century increasing by up to 25 per cent per year and top wind speeds increasing 8–16 per cent.