Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Three earthquakes recorded in Grant County, Oklahoma

Graph
© Dimas Ardian, Getty Images
Three earthquakes were recorded in Grant County, Oklahoma, Tuesday afternoon.

A 3.9 magnitude was recorded at 12:48 p.m, 11 miles northwest of the town of Medford, Okla. at a depth of approximately 3.3 miles. The USGS originally rated this earthquake 4.1 in magnitude. It was later downgraded to a 3.9.

A minute later, at 12:49 p.m., a 3.7 magnitude earthquake struck 12 miles northwest of Medford at a depth of about 7.5 miles.

At 1:33 p.m. another 3.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded 12 miles northwest of Medford. It was about two and a half miles deep.

Comment: See also: 5.6 magnitude earthquake, strongest in state history, rattles Oklahoma early Saturday


Seismograph

Tokyo rocked by 4.9 magnitude earthquake

Graph
© Dimas Ardian, Getty Images
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 shook buildings in Tokyo on Wednesday, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

On March 11, 2011, Japan's northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake and a massive tsunami, triggering the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Source: Reuters

Attention

Man killed by shark in New Caledonia

Shark attacks
A man in Australia has died after he was bitten by a shark while he was kite-surfing in New Caledonia, Australia.

The attack is the second in the area in just six months.

"The man in his 50s was kitesurfing inside the reef at Koumac," said Nicolas Renaud, head of the archipelago's marine rescue co-ordination centre. "He fell and was bitten."

The man, who has not yet been identified, was from Fremantle in Australia and was out with several other people on a catamaran when the attack happened.

"He suffered a deep bite to the thigh from a big shark. We don't know for the moment what species it was," said Mr Renaud.


Bizarro Earth

Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia's Far East spews ash cloud up to 11 km

Geophysicists have assigned the red danger level to the eruption

Klyuchevskoy volcano
© Igor Vainstein/TASS
The Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia's Far East has spewed ash twice today, the local department of Russian Academy of Sciences' Geophysical Survey said on Wednesday.

"The volcano spewed ash for the first time at 8am local time (11pm Moscow time) for eight kilometers in the air, for the second time - at 08:23am local time (11:23pm Moscow time) for 11 kilometers in the air. Volcanic plume is moving eastward, its height is unknown," a spokesman for the Geophysical Survey said.

The volcano currently continues to spew ash. Geophysicists have assigned the red danger level to the eruption. The volcano is being monitored round-the-clock with seismic stations and cameras. The Russian Emergencies Ministry said there is no threat of ash falls in local settlements.

The Klyuchevskoy volcano has been erupting since April. Four lava flows are running down its slopes, and lava is constantly fountaining in its crater. The volcano is located on the territory of the Ust-Kamchatsky district. The nearest settlement is Klyuchi, it is located in 30 kilometers from the volcano's foot.

Comment: See also: Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia's Far East spews ash cloud up to 7.5 km

Update:

"Klyuchevskoy has erupted ash to a height of 7.5 kilometers above sea level. The ash plume has spread 734 kilometers west and northwest of the volcano," the spokesman said.

An 'orange' aviation alert code has been assigned to the volcano, second after the highest - red code, warning about the hazard eruptions may pose to aircraft flying on local and international routes.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills man in Manistee County, Michigan; total lightning fatalities for U.S. in 2016 now 34

lIGHTNING
A man from Texas is dead after being struck by lightning in Manistee County.

It happened Tuesday around 4:30 p.m. on the North Country Trail in Dickson Township.

That's about 20 miles northeast of the city of Manistee.

This is according to the National Weather Service.

We'll continue to update this developing story as we get more information.

Windsock

Hurricane Newton wreaks havoc in northwestern Mexico, kills at least 2

Hurricane Newton hits Mexico
© Ricardo Valenzuela / AFP Two men ride bikes along the seaside Boulevard of Los Cabos during the passage of Hurricane Newton, in Baja California Sur state, Mexico, on September 6, 2016.
At least two people have been killed and three are missing since Hurricane Newton struck northwestern Mexico, bringing heavy torrential rains, breaking windows, downing trees, and leaving households without power.

Category 1 Hurricane Newton hit the resort city of Cabo San Lucas on Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Tuesday morning, before heading out into the Gulf of California.

Jose Luis Rios, the captain of La Paz city, told reporters that at least two people have died in the storm. The bodies of two people believed to be crew members of a fishing boat were found on a beach, while three others still remain missing.

According to the US National Hurricane Center, Newton's wind speeds reached 120 kilometers per hour. "Heavy rain could cause life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, especially in mountainous terrain," the center said.

"The storm has already unleashed widespread 75-150 mm of rainfall along Mexico's western coastline with local amounts approaching 300 mm resulting in flooding and mudslides," Accuweather website reported.


Fire

Wildfires rage on Spain's Costa Blanca; 1,400 evacuated

Costa Blanca wildfires
© AFP/Getty ImagesEmergency crews ordered a mass evacuation after a wildfire fuelled by intense heat roared through brush surrounding Javea, a popular tourist resort on Spain's Costa Blanca
Some 1,400 people were evacuated after a wildfire fuelled by intense heat roared through brush surrounding a popular tourist resort on Spain's Costa Blanca, officials said Monday.

The blaze which broke out on Sunday near the Mediterranean resort of Javea, up the coast from the popular holiday spot of Benidorm, destroyed 320 hectares (790 acres) of land and several buildings, local emergency services said.

Authorities said they believe the fire was started deliberately since it appeared to have broken out in several places at once.

"This is environmental terrorism, it goes beyond putting at risk our natural heritage, it directly attacks people," the head of the regional government of Valencia, Ximo Puig, told reporters.


Comment: Not necessarily. Fires can erupt simultaneously and non-locally.


"1,400 evacuated," tweeted Juan Carlos Moragues, who represents the Spanish government in the eastern region of Valencia.


Tornado2

Waterspout caught on camera near Horn Island, Mississippi

waterspout near Horn Island
© YouTube/16 WAPT News Jackson (screen capture)
A waterspout forms near Horn Island over the Labor Day holiday weekend.


Attention

Shallow 4.0 magnitude earthquake underneath summit of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii

Map Mauna Loa
© Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded a magnitude-4.0 earthquake beneath Hawaii Island at 4:25 a.m. Tuesday.

The earthquake occurred underneath Moku'aweoweo, Mauna Loa's summit caldera, at a depth of 1.2 km (0.74 mi).

The USGS "Did you feel it?" website received only one felt report within an hour of the earthquake. This report described light shaking (Intensity III). The lack of felt reports is consistent with the remote location and shallow depth of the earthquake.

The earthquake appears to be isolated. As of 6:30 a.m., no aftershocks have been observed.

Magnitude-4 or greater earthquakes occurred in the summit of Mauna Loa six to seven months prior to the volcano's two most recent eruptions in 1975 and 1984. Tuesday's isolated earthquake, however, does not represent a significant departure from the seismic activity rate for the past year, so the Volcano Alert Level for Mauna Loa will remain at Advisory.

According to HVO's Scientist-in-Charge, Christina Neal, the earthquake had no apparent effect on Kilauea Volcano's ongoing eruptions.

Attention

3 more dolphins strand in Florida

Staff of the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder team bring one of three stranded spinner dolphins to a rescue boat
Staff of the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder team bring one of three stranded spinner dolphins to a rescue boat
Three more spinner dolphins were found stranded in the shallow waters of Florida Bay in the Everglades National Park Monday.

Veterinarians concluded that the mammals were too sunburned and dehydrated and euthanized them to avoid additional suffering. This was the second spinner group in two days found stranded in the bay.

Saturday, marine mammal rescuers with Key Largo's Dolphins Plus responded to four stranded spinners near Rabbit Key and another off Lower Matecumbe Key.

They too were extremely dehydrated, said Art Cooper of Dolphins Plus, and veterinarians euthanize three of them. The other two were taken to Sea World in Orlando. One died there Sunday and as of Monday, the remaining spinner is in critical condition.

Comment: See also: 5 dolphins discovered stranded off Islamorada in Florida Keys; 3 euthanized