October 12, 2013 – INDIA – As many as 500,000 people in India have been evacuated as a massive cyclone sweeps through the Bay of Bengal towards the east coast. Cyclone Phailin, categorized as “very severe” by weather forecasters, is expected to hit Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states on Saturday evening. The Meteorological Department has predicted the storm will bring winds of up to 220km/h (136mph). A super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people in Orissa. But officials say this time they are better prepared, the BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder in Orissa reports. Officials said Cyclone Phailin was expected to make landfall close to the city of Gopalpur (Orissa state), bringing a storm surge of at least 3m (10ft) that was likely to cause “extensive damage” to mud houses on the coast. “No-one will be allowed to stay in mud and thatched houses in the coastal areas,” said Orissa’s Disaster Management Minister Surya Narayan Patra. The army is on standby in the two states for emergency and relief operations. Officials said helicopters and food packages were ready to be dropped in the storm-affected areas. Meanwhile, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre predicted that Phailin could produce gusts of up to 296km/h (184 mph), while the London-based Tropical Storm Risk classified Phailin as a Category Five storm – the most powerful. Janmejay Mohapatra, a resident of Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar, said it was too dangerous to go out now, as trees were down and debris was flying everywhere. Cyclone Phailin is expected to be the biggest storm to hit the region for 14 years. “Already the rain is very heavy and the wind is gusting at 100-120km an hour,” he told the BBC. “The phone lines are down where I am and we have no electricity.” –BBC
October 12, 2013 – ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A volcano on the Alaska Peninsula has again become active during a months-long eruption, with a trace of ash falling on communities up to 35 miles away. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says in a release that Veniaminof Volcano resumed its 2013 eruption on Saturday after being quiet for about a month. It’s been marked by lava flows, fountaining and intermittent but small ash, steam and gas plumes. The plumes usually only travel a few miles from the volcano, but the communities of Chignik Lake and Chignik Lagoon, about 35 miles away, reported trace ash on Friday. The observatory says ash fall from the volcano 480 miles southwest of Anchorage is not considered to be significant. The eruption started in June. –News Miner
October 12, 2013 - NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand’s geological agency GNS Science said on Saturday that it’s raised the alert level for White Island after the volcano erupted. The agency said a moderate explosion eruption, lasting about a minute, happened just after 8 p.m. Friday night. GNS Science said the volcanic alert level has been raised from one to two which indicates minor activity. The aviation color code has been upgraded to orange, the second- highest alert level. GNS volcanologist Arthur Jolly said the eruption was about the same size as the previous one in August 2012, Radio New Zealand reported. Jolly said the eruption threw mostly mud, rather than ash, into the air. He said bad weather on Saturday prevented GNS volcanologists from flying over the island to observe the volcano. –Global Times
October 12, 2013 – GREECE - An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude was detected in the Mediterranean Sea west of the island of Crete on Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, the Greek police and fire brigade said. The center of the quake, which struck at 1311 GMT, was 22.5 miles below the seabed 43 miles west of Chania on Crete, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Greece is often rocked by earthquakes. Most cause no serious damage but a 5.9 magnitude quake in 1999 killed 143 people. -Reuters
October 12, 2013 - VENEZUELA – Parts of Guyana shook last night in the aftermath of a 6.0-Richter scale earthquake just offshore Sucre, Venezuela and about 87 kilometers west of Port of Spain, in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago. At around 10:15 pm, the effects of the earthquake could be felt here and persons from across the country reported feeling the tremors. The tremors would have been the strongest in the northwest of the country. There were no reports of injuries or damage at press time. “We are on the South American plate … when its tip rubs the tip of the Caribbean plate it will create waves and we will have these (tremors) but the thing is no one knows when this will happen…,” science professor and astronomer Dr. Alfred Bhulai explained last evening. Moderate shaking was experienced in many parts of Trinidad and the duration of the temblor closer to the epicenter was between 15 and 20 seconds. The US Geological Survey is reporting that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 79.4 km. –Stabroek News
October 10, 2013 – KAMCHATKA – Eurasia’s highest volcano, Klyuchevskoi, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, churned out ash to a height of six kilometers (3.7 miles) on Thursday morning, local Emergencies Ministry’s department reported. “The cloud of ash moved in the eastern direction from the volcano,” the department said in a statement adding that the cloud of ash posed no danger to residential areas. The statement warned all tourism companies operating in the region against holding tours in the areas located near the volcano, which can also pose threat to aircraft. Klyuchevskoi’s most powerful eruption was registered between January and May of 2005. Following that eruption, the volcano “sank” by 50 meters (about 165 feet), from 4,800 meters (about 16,000 feet) to the current 4,750 meters (15,845 feet). Kamchatka lies within the Pacific’s volatile ‘Ring of Fire.’ –Voice of Russia
October 10, 2013 – SOUTH DAKOTA – Like in a scene from an apocalyptic parable, dark carcasses of cows and steers lie motionless in silent clusters across swaths of South Dakota. An early blizzard caught ranchers off guard this week in the state, killing as many as 20,000 head of cattle, a state official says. But ranchers say they are the real victims. The storm left many of them in ruins, and now Washington is leaving them out in the cold. “With the government shutdown and no farm bill in place, we need South Dakotans to help their neighbors,” Gov. Dennis Daugaard said. This year’s federal farm legislation got hung up in Congress before the shutdown. There’s no money to help the ranchers, and Daugaard is asking for donations. South Dakota’s civil air patrol did flyovers to take pictures of whole herds that keeled over together, dotting the gaping, snow-covered flatlands with big, black blotches. Ranchers who thought they were doing the right thing were blindsided, said state veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven. Now they are dazed by their losses. “The smart thing to do this time of year is to have cows and calf off to pasture,” he said. “Then the storm blew in. We’ve never seen anything quite like this.” Oedekoven says he may never know the total number of livestock killed. South Dakota has asked ranchers to make lists of the animals they lost to help with the tally. “It will be two weeks to a month before we have a better idea of the impact,” Oedekoven said. Only 2,000 have been confirmed dead so far, but crews are out removing more dead cattle blocking roads, where they fell over in their tracks. The state has told drivers to watch out. “Motorists must be aware that livestock carcasses or stray livestock may be present on or along the roadways at any time,” the emergency management agency said in a statement. Herds of livestock still alive are wandering aimlessly far from home. “We have misplaced cattle everywhere,” Oedekoven said. “The storm blew them 10 miles or more from where they are normally pastured.” The blizzard didn’t necessarily dole out fate justly, rewarding the prudent and punishing the lax, he said. “Some people were very well prepared and lost 50% of their herd. Some were not prepared and took no losses. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Some ranchers lost everything.” -CNN
October 8, 2013 – MEXICO – A series of at least six earthquakes — two reaching at least 5.0- magnitude — struck Sunday in the Mexican state of Guerrero, which is still reeling from deadly tropical storms last month. The epicenter of the strongest quake — 5.21-magnitude, at 9.27 local time (1527 GMT), according to the National Seismological Service — was located in the mountainous area where a September 16 mudslide buried a whole town. “We are monitoring the areas affected by the recent rains because the soil is moist and that can generate problems” from the trembling, said Jose Luis Serna, civil protection director of the town nearest the epicenter, Coyuca de Benitez. “But so far, we have no news,” he said. The quakes were also felt with moderate intensity in the resort town of Acapulco, which is recovering from the massive flooding brought on when storms Ingrid and Manuel swept across the country in mid-September. Authorities recommended moving “away from risk areas, such as slopes and where there are cracks in the ground,” Guerrero governor Angel Aguirre said in his Twitter account. Tourists in Acapulco were evacuated from hotels to the Costera Miguel Aleman, the port town’s main tourist road. All six quakes were recorded between 9am local time (1500 GMT) and 10.36am (1636 GMT), and so far no damage has been reported in Guerrero state. — AFP
October 7, 2013 – INDONESIA – Indonesia’s volcanology center issued an alert for Mount Tangkuban Perahu as the volcano rumbled to life on Saturday, erupting three times and triggering minor earthquakes in Lembang subdistrict over the weekend. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the status of the volcano from normal — the lowest level — to waspada (alert) on Saturday morning. The agency’s four warning levels run from normal to awas (danger) with waspada as the first warning above normal. Volcanologists said they would keep an eye on the volcano as the tremors continued. “We’ll kept watching out for quake signals from under the crater before we decide if we should raise the alert level further,” PVMBG official Gede Suandika told Indonesian news portal tribunnews.com on Monday. People were banned from a 1.5-radius around the volcano’s crater — a regular tourist draw in Lembang subdistrict. The PVMBG has not recommended an evacuation. “Residents around Mount Tangkuban Perahu are urged to stay calm and keep doing their activities as usual and not be provoked by issues related to Mount Tangkuban Perahu’s eruptions,” the PVMBG said on its website, adding ” but they are also expected to keep paying attention to developments on [the volcano's] activities listed by the local BPBD [Disaster Mitigation Agency] and follow its instructions.” The volcano, which lies on the outskirts of Bandung, West Java, last erupted in March, but the activity was minor. Tourists were banned from the crater and vendors were told to move. –Jakarta Globe
October 5, 2013 – ROMANIA — The Galati area experienced dozens of earthquakes up to a magnitude of 3.8 (last one just before writing this article). The quakes have an extremely shallow depth, have a relatively high shaking intensity and are causing a lot of damage in the villages near the epicenter areas (the epicenters have to be situated in an area of many kms and not in one location). Some people are not waiting for more earthquakes and left their houses due do the damage, fearing a collapse if further quakes would strike. Galati is a region with relatively low seismic activity and earthquake swarms like the current events are only known from the newspapers in other regions/countries (ER could trace some unconfirmed reports that a number of earthquakes occurred in March 1894). Residents and seismologists are very surprised and are trying to understand what is happening. Oil extraction and flooding where initially mentioned as possible triggers but these reasons cannot explain why some other phenomenon like a constant sound like “boiling water” (coming from the ground) and a strange water smell (like sulfur) is being noticed. Another reason the people are scared of are the big cracks appearing in the ground. There is no question that the seismic activity is caused by flood or oil exploitation,” said Mihnea Costoiu, Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Development. Scientists are saying that there was surely no big historic earthquake in the Galati area. Although scientists are absolutely not sure about what will happening in the near future, they are trying to prevent panic in the affected villages. The affected population are upset about the lack of information from the authorities and the scientists (we at ER know that people are expecting answers from science which cannot be fulfilled at this level of scientific knowledge). As a reaction people tend to believe stupid rumors coming from so called people with special capacities while others have been praying to the Gods to end the swarm. Romanian TV stations are reporting on the phenomena with a number of LIVE reports. –Earthquake Report
October 4, 2013 – MIDWEST - It may only be October, but a severe snowstorm has already buffeted Wyoming and South Dakota and threatens the rest of the Midwest Friday. This unseasonably early snow is strong with almost three feet of snow falling in South Dakota, and residents preparing for even more. Winter Storm Atlas is also expected to bring heavy snowfall, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to parts of the Rockies, the Plains and Midwest. “I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life and I’ve never seen it like this, this early. I know several of the businesses nearby are completely closed because they can’t even get workers into work — it’s pretty nasty,” Patricia Whitman, a truck stop shift manager, said to the Associated Press. Winter Storm Atlas could be the earliest snowfall on record in towns throughout the Midwest, and it’s already made its impact felt. The snow has crushed tree lines and destroyed power lines, causing many residents in Wyoming and South Dakota to lose power. Accuweather.com reports that the storm has caused 470 flight delays at Denver International Airport. Numerous roads have been closed, including sections of the I-90 and I-25. It also spawned a tornado in Nebraska, although no one was injured when it touched down. The storm is expected to dissipate over the weekend, with highs in Denver to reach the 70s by early next week. –PBS
October 3, 2013 – CHINA - A rash of deadly hornet attacks in northwestern China has killed 42 people and injured more than 1,600, local officials said Thursday. The attacks began in July and have centered on three cities in China’s Shaanxi province: Ankang, Hanzhong and Shangluo. Local authorities believe a particularly venomous species, known as the Asian giant hornet, is behind the attacks. They say the hornets, which can grow up to 2 inches long, are most active in September and October, when they breed and migrate. But experts quoted by the state-run New China News Agency offered different reasons for the unusual number of attacks this year. Huang Rongyao, an insect control expert in the worst-hit city, Ankang, said increased vegetation growth was attracting hornets to the area while warmer than usual temperatures were making the insects more active. Hua Baozhen, a professor of entomology at Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, cited a decrease in the hornets’ natural enemies, including spiders and birds. Police and firefighters have been destroying hornet nests and medical experts have been dispatched to the region to help treat critical patients, local news reports said. One patient, Chen Changlin, told the official China Youth Daily that he was attacked while harvesting rice last month. “I ran to the side of the road for help, but the hornets chased me about 200 meters [yards] and stung me for nearly three minutes,” he told the paper. There have also been reports of hornet attacks in China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Twenty-three primary school children, their teacher and six villagers who came to their aid were injured in one such attack last month, the official news agency reported. The teacher, Li Zhiqiang, told the children to hide under the tables while he fought off the insects until he passed out, according to the report. -Los Angeles Times
October 1, 2013 – OHIO – A brilliant fireball lit up the skies over the Midwestern United States, treating bystanders on the ground to an amazing light show last Friday (Sept. 27). The cosmic display came courtesy of a meteoroid traveling at about 114,000 miles per hour (51 km/s) that crashed into Earth’s atmosphere high above Columbus, Ohio.
September 30, 2013 – CHINA - Seventy-four people are missing after three Chinese fishing boats sank in the South China Sea amid stormy weather caused by a typhoon, state media reported Monday. The vessels, from the southern province of Guangdong, foundered Sunday afternoon as they battled gales about 330 kilometers from the Chinese island of Hainan, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported, citing maritime authorities. The storm, Typhoon Wutip, is forecast to make landfall in central Vietnam later Monday.
September 30, 2013 – WELLINGTON, NZ – A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the remote, uninhabited Kermadec Islands Monday, but there was little chance of a Pacific-wide tsunami, officials said. The temblor, which hit at a depth of 34 kilometers (21 miles) at the New Zealand-administered volcanic island group, was some 870 kilometers from the nearest major city Whangarei, in New Zealand, according to the US Geological Survey.
September 30, 2013 – PAKISTAN - A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 22 people in a region already devastated by a tremor which left more than 300 people dead this week, local officials said.
