Earth Changes

Washington state's Wanapum Dam has 65-foot crack

Gillian Mohney
ABC News
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00 UTC

Engineers have started emergency procedures to stabilize a Washington dam after they found a 65-foot crack in the structure.

The Wanapum Dam, a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River in Grant County, Wash., is still running after divers discovered a 65-foot crack that is 2-inches wide.

The problem was first identified after an engineer noticed a "bowing" in the roadway above the dam and later discovered that a concrete spillway was raised above the water by 2.5 inches, according to Grant County Public Utility District spokesman Thomas Stredwick.

"Since we've noticed the issue, there's no additional movement for that spillway section," said Stredwick.

Stredwick said there are more than a dozen concrete spillway sections, but only one has been affected by the crack.

The dam has not been evacuated and is still producing electricity for the central Washington region. Due to the severity of the problem, a crisis scenario plan has been implemented, meaning that the damage is significant enough that there is potential the dam could fail.

1500 mile massive storm system takes aim at winter-weary U.S.Midwest, East packing cold air, snow and freezing rain

Victoria Cavaliere
Reuters
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 19:44 UTC

A massive winter storm system packing cold air, snow and freezing rain was pummeling the central United States on Sunday and headed for the East Coast, sending temperatures plummeting and causing major delays for weekend travelers. Rainfall and snow associated with the system will stretch over 1,500 miles, from southeastern Colorado to southern Massachusetts, meteorologists said.

The storm "is going to be a real mess," said Bruce Sullivan, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Silver Spring, Maryland. "The main system is injecting a lot of moisture and cold air out over the Southern Plains," he said. "It's going to bring quite a bit of precipitation."

Heavy snow could fall on an area from eastern Kansas to Pennsylvania, with the Mid-Atlantic, including parts of Maryland and Washington D.C., getting up to 12 inches before the system dissipates on Monday. More than 1,500 flights were canceled and another 2,880 were delayed as of mid-afternoon on Sunday, according to the airline tracking site FlightAware.com.

"Ripple-effect flight delays and cancellations are likely to reach nationwide," said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

Heavy rain causes ancient Pompeian wall to collapse

The Epoch Times
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 17:19 UTC

© Associated Press/Salvatore Laporta
Carabinieri police officers, right, review the damage of a collapsed wall in the 2000-year-old archeological site of Pompeii, near Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010.

Two more walls have given way inside Pompeii's 2,000-year-old archaeological site, officials said Wednesday, reporting the second collapse in as many days. Officials sought to play down the latest collapses, saying they only concerned the upper parts of two walls of no artistic value. But the repeated damage at one of the world's most popular archaeological sites is proving an embarrassment for Italy, and giving credence to accusations that the area is in a state of decay. The two walls collapsed early Wednesday morning, likely as a result of heavy rains over the past several days, the office of Pompeii's archaeological superintendent said.

Top Italian culture officials are calling for swift action to save Pompeii, the ancient Roman city encased in volcanic ash, from further ruin after heavy rains reportedly caused part of a wall to collapse.

Giancarlo Galan, the head of a parliamentary culture commission, on Sunday lamented the latest collapse at the archaeological site near Naples.

Italian media reported that Saturday's rainstorm provoked the partial collapse of a wall around a necropolis and caused some stones to fall at The Temple of Venus.

Despite the damage, Pompeii remained open to tourists Sunday. But its offices were closed and further details were not immediately available.

Last year, the Italian government appointed a special official to ensure that European Union and Italian funds were properly spent to repair and protect Pompeii.

Via Associated Press

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.7 - 110km NNW of Nago, Japan

US Geological Survey
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 14:48 UTC

Event Time
2014-03-02 20:11:22 UTC
2014-03-03 04:11:22 UTC+08:00 at epicenter

Location
27.419°N 127.365°E depth=112.3km (69.8mi)

Nearby Cities
110km (68mi) NNW of Nago, Japan
119km (74mi) NNW of Ishikawa, Japan
127km (79mi) NNW of Okinawa, Japan
128km (80mi) NNW of Gushikawa, Japan
1126km (700mi) S of Seoul, South Korea

Technical Data

California reporter stuck in mud reporting on dangerous weather

youtube.com
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 13:06 UTC

Thigh high: Miguel Almaguer filmed a live segment for NBC Nightly News in the area called Azusa near Los Angeles on Friday as the storms threatened houses in the area

A TV news employee trying to report from the scene of an unstable Azusa hillside Friday got stuck in waist-high mud and had to be rescued.

The man was reporting in the hillside above the home of Dennis Sanderson on Ridge View Drive when he got stuck in the mud. Sanderson aided authorities in the rescue.

According to Sanderson, the news employee had intentionally waded into a pool of mud Friday afternoon to demonstrate how thick it was. A rescuer could be seen using a shovel.

[Updated, 9:46 p.m.: Fire officials said they believe the reporter they helped rescue was Miguel Almaguer from "NBC Nightly News."Almaguer reported live from Azusa on Friday's broadcast with Brian Williams. Almaguer's live shot showed him wedged into a shelf of thick mud that had slid down from the hillside. The mud went up to this thighs.]

After the rescue, Azusa police ordered news media and residents of all 26 homes on Ridge View Drive to evacuate. According to Azusa police Sgt. Sam Fleming, thick mud had poured into the backyards of two homes, rising 2 to 3 feet high.

But some residents were reluctant to leave. Two people called out to firefighters to help divert rising water from their flooded backyards, but firefighters refused, saying the neighborhood was already under an evacuation order.

The residents were later able to divert the water on their own.

The hillside near Ridge View Drive burned in the Colby fire in January.

5 Metre deep sinkhole damages three houses in Kampung Pengkalan, Malaysia

Ivan Loh
The Star, (Malaysia)
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 09:00 UTC

© Nor Azharul Nasaruddin
Resident S. Kumaran showing the biggest sinkhole in Kampung Pengkalan Gate Tambahan 2 near Ipoh yesterday

Four families cheated death when a five-metre deep sinkhole damaged three houses in Kampung Pengkalan Gate Tambahan Dua near here.

The sinkhole, which appeared at about 3.30am yesterday, swallowed part of the floor of one of the houses and damaged the walls and floors of the two other homes.

Former Ipoh City Council worker G. Sandaran, 64, said his son's house was the worst hit.

"The walls are cracked and the right side of the house has sunken into the ground," he told reporters.

Sandaran said he heard sounds of wood being broken and thought that a thief was trying to break into the house.

Sinkhole opens up on Santa Cruz coast, California

ksbw.com
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 08:50 UTC

A sinkhole opened up on Saturday morning in Santa Cruz, forcing the closure of part of West Cliff Drive.

Santa Cruz police said an ocean cave is below the sinkhole.

Authorities closed West Cliff Drive between Woodrow Avenue and Colombia for several hours while the hole was assessed.

The area near the sinkhole remains blocked off until crews can close it up.

100 Acre wildfire in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

wtop.com
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 08:28 UTC

Firefighters were battling a blaze in the south district of Shenandoah National Park that had grown to over 100 acres as of Friday afternoon.

According to WHSV TV- 3 in Harrisonburg, Va., the fire was burning entirely within the park at Rocks Mountain. Firefighters were on the ground as of 4 p.m. still trying to prevent the fire from leaving the park.

The wildfire was first reported at approximately 3:10 p.m. on Friday Feb. 28. The cause is under investigation.

As a result the following trails are closed until further notice: Riprap, Wildcat Ridge and Rocks Mountain. The rest of the park including the Skyline remains open.

According to reports, there are currently 58 personnel are working to contain the blaze, including members of the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, Virginia Department of Forestry, and Augusta County Fire and Rescue. Additional firefighters and equipment have been requested.

USGS: Magnitude 6.4 - 23km WSW of Jiquilillo, Nicaragua

US Geological Survey
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 04:26 UTC

Event Time
2014-03-02 09:37:56 UTC
2014-03-02 03:37:56 UTC-06:00 at epicenter
2014-03-02 10:37:56 UTC+01:00 system time

Location
12.630°N 87.636°W depth=70.9km (44.1mi)

Nearby Cities
23km (14mi) WSW of Jiquilillo, Nicaragua
51km (32mi) W of El Viejo, Nicaragua
52km (32mi) WNW of Corinto, Nicaragua
54km (34mi) W of Chinandega, Nicaragua
160km (99mi) WNW of Managua, Nicaragua

Technical Details

French winter breaks rainfall records

RFI
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 14:57 UTC

France's stormy winter has seen record rainfall, especially in the western region of Brittany that has been racked by successive storms. But it has also been one of the warmest for over a century.

Lashed by storms Xaver, Dirk and Ulla, Brittany has had more rainfall than at any time since 1959 and the country as a whole has had 15-20 more days of significant rain than normal, the Météo France weather-watchers report.

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Earth Changes

Washington state's Wanapum Dam has 65-foot crack

1500 mile massive storm system takes aim at winter-weary U.S.Midwest, East packing cold air, snow and freezing rain

Heavy rain causes ancient Pompeian wall to collapse

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.7 - 110km NNW of Nago, Japan

California reporter stuck in mud reporting on dangerous weather

5 Metre deep sinkhole damages three houses in Kampung Pengkalan, Malaysia

Sinkhole opens up on Santa Cruz coast, California

100 Acre wildfire in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

USGS: Magnitude 6.4 - 23km WSW of Jiquilillo, Nicaragua

French winter breaks rainfall records

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