© Google/Volcano Discovery
Magnitude: 6.1
Depth: 5.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 7.26°N / 119.44°E [Map]
Nearest volcano: Jolo (226 km)
Primary data source: GFZ
Earth Changes
Magnitude: 6.1
Depth: 5.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 7.26°N / 119.44°E [Map]
Nearest volcano: Jolo (226 km)
Primary data source: GFZ
© Anthony Phelps / Reuters
Local residents Chris and Viv Young look at damage caused by an earthquake along State Highway One near the town of Ward, south of Blenheim on New Zealand's South Island, November 14, 2016.
Local residents Chris and Viv Young look at damage caused by an earthquake along State Highway One near the town of Ward, south of Blenheim on New Zealand's South Island, November 14, 2016.
The quake took place at around 12:30am GMT at a depth of 8.3 kilometers, and was initially measured at 6.8, but was later downgraded to 6.2 by USGS.
Meanwhile GeoNet, the official source of geological hazard information for New Zealand, measured the latest quake at 6.3 and said its depth was around 35 kilometers.
At least two people were killed following the initial quake which struck New Zealand just after 11:00am GMT on Sunday (12:02am Monday local time).
The ministry of civil defense immediately issued a warning saying that a "destructive tsunami" with waves of up to five meters (16 feet) was possible. The ministry treated the possibility of a tsunami as "an event of life-threatening or national significance."
What was that strange light in the sky? Many people overnight reported seeing strange lights in the sky, a phenomenon that has been reported for centuries before, during, and after earthquakes.
Seismologists aren't in agreement about the causes of the hotly-debated phenomenon - called earthquake lights or, sometimes, earthquake lightning.
© Iain McGregor/Fairfax NZ
Major damage caused by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Canterbury.
Major damage caused by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Canterbury.
Historical reports include globes, or orbs, of glowing light, floating just above the ground or in the sky.
© NOAA
Whale carcass
Whale carcass
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, fishermen first spotted the dead whale lodged on the reef near Moku Manu, or Bird Island, off Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
When officials got there, about three hours later, the carcass had moved about three miles into Kailua Bay and was being circled by large sharks.
David Schofield, NOAA Pacific Island region marine mammal response coordinator, said crews decided to tow the carcass for public safety reasons.
"There were at least six, probably more, 12- to 13-foot-plus-sized sharks on the whale," he said. "If we had not towed it out of Kailua Bay, it would have likely washed up along Lanikai Beach, and the beach would have probably had to been closed for most of the weekend."
People walk along the Songhua River in snow in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China
Hubei Power Company dispatched four more rescue teams to disaster-hit Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture late Saturday to repair the grid.
As of Sunday morning, more than 17,000 workers and nearly 5,000 vehicles have been mobilized for the repair work, according to the company.
Snowstorm hit Enshi last Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing down nearly 9,000 electric poles, and destroyed transformers and other supporting facilities.
Source: Xinhua
© USGS
La Rioja, Argentina
La Rioja, Argentina
Comment: Other interesting events of note in the last 24 hours:
- Powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes near Christchurch, New Zealand
- Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts again with record 3 km high ash cloud
© USGS
Powerful M6.6 earthquake strikes Amberley, New Zealand
Powerful M6.6 earthquake strikes Amberley, New Zealand
Twitter reports from locals talk of "enormous" shaking felt in Wellington and Cheviot.
The quake was centered 46km from the town of Amberley with about 2,000 people, and 70km from the town of Kaiapoi with 10,000 residents, according to the USGS. The tremor had a shallow depth of 5 km.
Comment: Spaceweather.com reports:
Minor geomagnetic storms and Arctic auroras are likely on Nov. 13th as Earth moves through a stream of high-speed solar wind. Visibility of auroras will be muted somewhat by the glare of the waxing supermoon.
The new activity came just hours after a flurry of small explosions at the volcano.
Six small explosions shook the earth around the Sabancaya volcano in southern Peru on Friday morning.
The 6,000-metre volcano Sabancaya, which means "tongue of fire" in Quechua, has been in seismic activity for 18 years, when it had an eruptive period that has since continued with various intensities.
It sits atop the South America tectonic plate, which forces magma to the surface when it clashes with the neighbouring Nazca plate.
8 Nov 2016 (Excerpts) - "It is cold, rain and snow have fallen in abundance on several regions of the country. These incidents caused several fatal accidents on the roads .... at least 8 people were killed and 48 others injured in road accidents in several parts of the country.
"Road traffic in the capital has been severely disrupted by inclement weather and interminable traffic jams have formed around the main roads in Algiers.
"In the west of the country, the army had to intervene to reopen roads, blocked by snow, especially in Sidi Bel Abbes."
Thanks to Patrick for this link
Areas expecting accumulating snowfall include northern Romania, northern Moldova, eastern Hungary, eastern Slovakia, southeast Poland and much of northern and western Ukraine.
A mix of rain and snow will begin on Saturday across the region before transitioning to all snow across western Ukraine, southeast Poland and eastern Hungary. Snow will continue into Sunday night for many areas.
Snow will fall heavily at times from the Carpathian Mountains northward to Lviv and Kiev on Sunday. Widespread snowfall of 15-30 cm (6-12 inches) is expected throughout this region with local amounts in excess of 30 cm (12 inches).
The heaviest snowfall in Lviv on Sunday and in Kiev from midday Sunday into Sunday night.
Comment: See also: