Earth ChangesS


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Earthquake hits Oban, Scotland - for second time in a week

Alistair Munro
Scotsman
Thu, 19 May 2016 11:32 UTC
earthquake in Oban, Scotland
© British Geological Survey
A MINOR earthquake has shaken up the seaside town of Oban.

Locals reported feeling tremors that made some houses shake and hearing rumbling at 11pm last night.

The British Geological Society confirmed an earthquake measuring 1.9 on the Richter scale hit Oban at that time.

They recorded it at a depth of three kilometres.

It was the second earthquake in the Argyll and Bute town in the last week, with a 1.3 quake occurring on Sunday, 14 May. This was two kilometres below ground.

The earthquakes are not believed to have caused any damage.

Oban councillor Neil MacIntyre said: "It was really, really quite loud. The house rattled.

"I was watching TV at the time and we had grandchildren staying over and I thought one of them, or my wife, had fallen out of bed.

"These quakes are just a natural occurance, but make a great talking point in the town.

"We could maybe market it in tourism, telling people they can visit Oban to feel the earth move.

"Inverness has the monster, we have earthquakes."

Meanwhile, another earthquake measuring magnitude 1.9 hit Loch Goil in Argyll and Bute at around 4pm on Wednesday.

The 1.9 magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 9km, according to the Edinburgh based Geological Survey, which makes it one of the strongest earthquakes on the British mainland this year.

Other recent earthquakes around Scotland inlcude:

* A quake 200km east-south-east of Shetland recorded at 2.3 on the Richter scale on 15 May.

* A 1.2 quake at Foyers on 14 May.

* A 1.3 quake at Finnart, Perth and Kinross, on 9 May.

* A 0.9 quake at Lennoxtown, Dunbartonshire, on 9 May.
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Alarm Clock

Two shallow 5.3 magnitude earthquakes hit Tibet


The Hindu
Sun, 22 May 2016 04:41 UTC
earthquake graph
© Flickr/ Matt Katzenberger
Two 5.3-magnitude earthquakes hit parts of Tibet on Sunday but no damage was reported so far, Chinese authorities said.

The first quake shook Dinggye County, Xigaze City at 9:48 a.m., the China Earthquake Networks Centre said.

The epicentre was monitored at a depth of 10 km, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Another quake hit the area at 10:05 a.m. in Tingri County.

Its depth was monitored at 6 km.

Both were stated to be shallow quakes as they took place not far from the surface of the earth.

Authorities are awaiting reports of damage from the areas.
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Arrow Up

4.4 magnitude earthquake strikes around Bárðabunga volcano, Iceland as unprecedented seismic activity continues

G. Hauksdóttir
Icenews
Sat, 21 May 2016 19:07 UTC
Bárðabunga volcano
Holuhraun is a new lava field just north of the Vatnajökull glacier, in the North-eastern Region of the Icelandic Highlands. The lava field was created by fissure eruptions from Bárðabunga volcano, they began on August 29th in 2014 and produced a lava field of more than 85 km2 wide, the largest in Iceland since 1783.

The eruption lasted for almost six months, until February last year, with the lava flowing over a wide stretch of land, changing the landscape, including the path and temperature of Jökulsá, a glacier river flowing from underneath the Vantajökull ice cap, resulting in the river partly heating up so that people who ventured up on that part of the highlands were able to bask and bathe in it surrounded by the fresh black lava.

The last earthquake was at 7am this morning and measured 4.4 on the Richter scale, the biggest one measured since the end of the eruption in February. Right now there is considerable seismic activity in Bárðabunga and scientists are keeping a close eye on it, the events up there are unprecedented and so scientists are observing with great alertness. Normally there would not be such strong seismic activity so soon after a caldera subsides.
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Cloud Lightning

Hell opens? Costa Rica volcano erupts, spewing ash, column of smoke


RT
Sat, 21 May 2016 20:42 UTC
Turrialba volcano
© Roko77 / InstagramTurrialba volcano
Featuring thick clouds of ash and smoke rising into the grey sky, spectacular images of the powerful Costa Rica volcano eruption have flooded social media.

The 3,340-meter Turrialba Volcano is located in Cartago Province of central Costa Rica, only 30 km from the country's capital, San José. The volcanic activity started Wednesday and the first eruptions were recorded Friday, according to local media.
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Fish

Rare oarfish found dead on beach near Kaikoura, New Zealand

Jeremy WIilkinson
stuff.co.nz
Sat, 21 May 2016 20:07 UTC
Tim Wilding found the unusual-looking oarfish washed up on a beach south of Kaikoura.
© Tim WildingTim Wilding found the unusual-looking oarfish washed up on a beach south of Kaikoura.
A deep-sea fish rarely seen in New Zealand waters has washed up on a beach near Kaikoura.

Growing up to eight metres long, the oarfish is known to float vertically in the water at depths of up to 300m, and usually only in tropical locations.

One was found in Dunedin last year, but sightings of them in New Zealand were few and far between.

Identifiable by their long flat bodies and red dorsal fin, the oarfish was an edible game fish, but their meat was jelly-like and not regarded as very good eating.

Comment: See also: Rare oarfish: New Zealand sea serpent maybe a harbinger for natural disaster, says scientist

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Cloud Precipitation

Cyclone Roanu: Death toll in Sri Lanka rises to 71 after torrential downpours cause landslides and flooding


Deutsche Welle
Sat, 21 May 2016 16:18 UTC
Sri Lanka landslide
© ReutersA woman reacts as she inspects the site of a landslide at Elangipitiya village in Aranayaka
Fresh landslides in Sri Lanka have been reported as rescue workers try to reach residents in the capital stranded by floods. Poor weather conditions have hindered rescue operations with hundreds still missing.

Landslides and flooding caused by torrential downpours have killed at least 71 people as rescuers search for more than a hundred people still missing, Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center (DMC) said on Saturday.

A half a million people have been displaced by a week of heavy rains caused by Cyclone Roanu, which after passing through Sri Lanka continued on a destructive path towards low-lying Bangladesh.

Roanu battered Bangladesh's coastline on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and displacing nearly a half a million. Hundreds of mud and tin homes in the impoverished nation were destroyed.


Comment: See also:

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Attention

Giant Nile crocodiles that kill livestock and people in Africa, have now been found in Florida


RT
Fri, 20 May 2016 16:26 UTC
nile crocodiles florida, invasive species
© Juda Ngwenya / Reuters
They kill livestock and dozens of people every year in Africa - and now they're in Florida. Up to three Nile crocodiles have been discovered in the Sunshine state, and scientists aren't sure how the giant reptiles arrived.

"They didn't swim from Africa," University of Florida herpetologist Kenneth Krysko, who co-wrote a study confirming the arrival of the crocs, told the Associated Press."But we really don't know how they got into the wild."

Over the course of their study, Krysko and his team analyzed the DNA of three crocodiles that were caught in Florida in 2009, 2011 and 2014. Their results found that two of the reptiles matched up almost perfectly with native Nile crocodiles from Africa, while the third one was also related.

Additionally, all three crocodiles may have been introduced to the environment through the same source - possibly an illegal reptile collector who lost control of the animals.

Notably, the scientists believe that it's possible more Nile crocs are still out in the Florida wild.
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Attention

2 earthquakes rattle Macedonia, Albania and northern Greece


BNO News
Sat, 21 May 2016 18:28 UTC
quake
© El Comercio/AP
A moderate earthquake southwest of Skopje has been felt in Macedonia, Albania and some areas of northern Greece, seismologists and residents say. It was followed by a slightly smaller earthquake a few minutes earlier.

The first earthquake, which has a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, was centered about 16 kilometers south of Vraneštica, or some 85 kilometers southwest of Skopje. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers, making it a shallow earthquake.

About 8 minutes later, the same region was shaken by a slightly stronger earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center. It said the second earthquake struck closer to the surface, at a depth of just 5 kilometers.

The earthquakes were felt throughout the region, according to residents, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. "It was loud and pretty strong," a resident in Resen in Macedonia reported.

In Skopje, one resident reported that doors and lights began to sway.

Earthquake map
© Google
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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand


You Tube
Fri, 20 May 2016 17:55 UTC
Waterspout
Pukerua Bay resident Jackson Hamilton whipped out his when he saw the spout forming Pukerua Bay resident Jackson Hamilton quickly whipped out his phone when this happened.

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Arrow Up

Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia, three farmers killed


Deutsche Welle
Sat, 21 May 2016 16:21 UTC
Mount Sinabung eruption
© Getty Images/U. Ifansasti
Three people have been killed and four critically injured after a volcano erupted in Indonesia. More than a dozen people have been killed and thousands displaced since the volcano sprung back to life in 2010.

The highly active Mount Sinabung on the island of Sumatra spewed gas and ash high into the atmosphere and surrounding area on Saturday.

The three farmers were killed inside the prohibited "red zone" near the slopes of the volcano, Indonesia's disaster agency said.

"This area should have been empty, because nobody should be inside the red zone," disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

The 2,600 meter (8,530 feet) high volcano sprung back to life in 2010 after lying dormant for nearly four centuries.
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