May 26, 2013 – UZBEKISTAN – An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 6.0 struck southeast Uzbekistan on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake was later downgraded to a 5.8 by the USGS. It was preceded by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake which struck 9km NNW of Buka, Uzbekistan, as a foreshock. The foreshock struck at a depth of 15.8 km. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from either quake. –Reuters
May 26, 2013 – ITALY – Mount Etna is spitting lava more violently than it has in years, and scientists are baffled as to why. Despite being the world’s most-studied volcano, the Sicilian mountain is also its most unpredictable. The volcano is raging. Fountains of lava, some taller than the Eiffel Tower, shoot from its mouth every few weeks, flowing in red-hot streams into the surrounding valleys.
May 27, 2013 – NEW ORLEANS, LA – Tens of thousands of Formosan termites swarmed New Orleans on Wednesday night, leading many people to believe that the apocalypse had struck the city. The termites were attracted to bright and well-lit devices, which included car headlights, homes, and streetlights. The insects were expected to hit at the beginning of May, but it has been an unusually cold few weeks, and they only made their first appearance on Wednesday night. The Formosan termites were introduced to the United States of America from the Far East during World War Two when they were brought over in crates and various wood products.
May 27, 2013 – NEW YORK - It’s a snowy Memorial Day weekend for parts of the U.S. On the aptly named Whiteface Mountain in upstate New York, there are at least 34 inches of snow on the ground. What’s that look like? Glad you asked: According to Weather Underground, a couple of other mountain peaks in Vermont reached 18 inches of snow, while some towns with higher elevations clocked in at about 7 inches of snowfall this weekend. To figure out how unusual the snowfall this weekend was, Weather Underground had to go back to 1816: Most famous of all cold and snowy late season events would have to be the infamous 1816 ‘Year without Summer’ when Tambora erupted (1815) and the snowfall in June that occurred in the eastern U.S. and Canada. Between June 6th and June 8th accumulating snow was observed as far south as the Catskills in New York (where one inch was reported) and highlands of central and northwest Pennsylvania. Snowflakes were seen at sea level as far south as ten miles north of tidewater on the Hudson River just above New York City. But, they note, snowfall in the north east this late in the season hasn’t been unheard of since then: the area tends to get some late season snowfall every 5-10 years. Just not nearly as much as this time. –Atlantic Wire
May 28, 2013 – CHILE – Chilean and Argentine authorities on Monday declared a red alert and ordered the mandatory evacuation of a 25-km (15.5-mile) radius around the active Copahue volcano, which straddles the border between the two Andean nations. The volcano – located some 500 km (310 miles) south of capital Santiago, between Chile’s Bio Bio region and Argentina’s Neuquen province – has seen increasing seismic activity in recent weeks but has not erupted, Chilean authorities said.
May 28, 2013 – NORWAY - Flooding has forced hundreds of people to evacuate from their homes in eastern Norway. The weather has been unsettled across the region over recent weeks, and in just the last couple of days the rain has turned very heavy. Lillehammer reported 64mm of rain on Wednesday, which is more than is expected in the entire month.
May 28, 2013 – NEW ZEALAND - The equivalent of a magnitude 7 quake is quietly rocking the capital, though until now you’d have only noticed it if you were a geophysicist. The huge underground movement called the Kapiti Slip is responsible, and it’s not over yet. “This is what we call a silent earthquake,” Geonet scientist Caroline Little said on Firstline this morning. “Instead of this movement happening in seconds, this will take around a year to move.”
May 28, 2013 – CHINA - The new bird flu strain that has killed 36 people in China has proved resistant to Tamiflu for the first time, a development scientists said was “concerning.” The H7N9 virus was found to be resistant to Roche’s widely used flu drug in three out of 14 patients who were studied in detail by doctors from Shanghai and Hong Kong. Tamiflu, which is given as a pill, belongs to a group of medicines known as neuraminidase inhibitors that currently offer the only known treatment option for bird flu.
May 28, 2013 – FRANCE - A Frenchman has died after contracting a SARS-like virus that has killed 22 of its 44 known victims, the Associated Press reported. The 65-year-old man, whose name has not been made public, was hospitalized with respiratory symptoms after a trip to Dubai in mid-April.
May 28, 2013 – ISRAEL - An advanced anti-aircraft system destined for Syria has not left Russia yet, but Israel will know how to act if it does, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Tuesday. Yaalon’s remarks appeared to contradict Israel’s air force chief, who said last week the shipment of S-300 missiles was “on its way” to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is battling a popular uprising that has turned into a civil war. Israel is alarmed by the prospect of Russia supplying advanced weapon systems to Syria, saying such arms could end up in the hands of arch-foe Iran or the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
May 28, 2013 – MARYLAND – A cargo train derailed Tuesday afternoon in the Rosedale area, damaging nearby buildings, shutting down US Route 40 and causing a loud explosion that could be felt miles away. Authorities in Baltimore County said the train struck a tractor trailer near the 7500 block of Lake Drive, veering off the tracks near an industrial park.
May 29, 2013 – HEALTH - Three more people have died from a deadly new SARS-like virus, taking the total death toll to 27. The unnamed victims were from Saudi Arabia and died in the country’s eastern region.
May 29, 2013 – WALES – An earthquake on the North Wales shoreline has been felt over an area of 140 km. People were woken by the quake which happened at around 4.15 am and was felt as far away as Southport in Merseyside. The epicenter was 13km northwest of the town of Abersoch, Gwynedd, on the Lleyn Peninsula and measured a magnitude of 3.8, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
May 29, 2013 – CALIFORNIA - A magnitude-4.6 earthquake struck off the Santa Barbara coast Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor struck at 7:38 a.m. about three miles west of Isla Vista, the USGS reported. Initial reports indicated that the quake had a magnitude of 4.9, but that was later adjusted to 4.6.
No comments:
Post a Comment