Earth Changes

Statewide emergency declared as deadly storms kill 3 in Northwest US

Eric M Johnson
Independent Online
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 10:14 UTC

About 185 000 homes and businesses remained without power in Washington state late on Wednesday, after a storm blew down trees and triggered mudslides, killing at least three people, authorities said.

Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency because of the storm, which left a wide swath of the Puget Sound region under flood watches and warnings.

In the Spokane area of eastern Washington, utility Avista warned it could take three to five days to restore services to nearly 115 000 customers without power. The city closed schools after winds up to 70 mph (113kph) tore through the area.

In Oregon, fallen trees, mudslides and floods shut down roads across the western part of the state on Tuesday night, including a 80km stretch of Interstate 84 that authorities declared impassible into midday Wednesday.

Several other highways remained closed, Washington state police said.

At least three people were confirmed to have died in storm-related accidents, authorities in Washington state said.

USGS: 4.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Oklahoma

RT
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 08:05 UTC

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake has struck Oklahoma, the US Geological Survey reported, adding that the quake hit at a depth of 6.2 km, just 13 km from the town of Cherokee.

There have been no reports of damage or casualties following the quake.

Local media reports said that the earthquake was also felt in neighboring Kansas. Kansas-based KSN reported that the quake had affected Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, with almost 400,000 residents.

"It was a quick jolt with windows rattling with [the first waves], then 5-10 seconds later [the second waves] rattled windows and shook appliances and computer monitors," said AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions meteorologist William Clark, who felt the earthquake in Wichita.

Oklahoma has repeatedly seen seismic activity, which reportedly has links with fracking operations being undertaken in the area.

Comment: Across the planet generally volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are increasing. Very recent seismic activity in the Oklahoma area include:

There is growing evidence that fracking and earthquakes are linked:

Strong 7.0 undersea earthquake strikes near Solomon Islands

Josephine Tovey
Sydney Morning Herald
Wed, 18 Nov 2015 20:50 UTC

A strong undersea earthquake has struck off the coast near the Solomon Islands, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The bureau initially reported that an earthquake of 7.1 had occurred at 5.31am ADET, which would be classified as a major earthquake, but the intensity was later reported as 7.0, which is considered strong.

The quake struck 119 kilometres south west of Dadali, in the Solomon Islands, and 176 kilometres north west of the capital, Honiara.

Some "light" shaking was expected on the Solomon Islands, according to the United States Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program.

There was no tsunami threat to Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Second earthquake in two days hits Lefkada, Greece

City A.M.
Wed, 18 Nov 2015 18:20 UTC

A second earthquake in two days has struck off the coast of Greece early this morning.

Today's quake, 32km west-south-west of Nidri, on the island of Lefkada, registered as a 4.7 magnitude.

This was smaller than the one which struck off the same island yesterday, in which at least two people have been killed.

The US Geological Survey said the second quake occurred at around 5:18am UTC.

While aftershocks are common, and usually weaker than the original earthquake, the group warned there was sometimes a higher risk of damage because of any residual impact on buildings from the original quake. it also warned of possible tsunamis.

There are no reports currently of any injuries.

Rare earthquake strikes western Sweden

thelocal.se
Wed, 18 Nov 2015 18:11 UTC

A mini earthquake struck western Sweden on Tueday night, causing jitters in the town of Halmstad, but no damage or injuries.

Residents in the town, south of Gothenburg, reported feeling the earthquake at around 7.15pm.

"The floor started shaking and the neighbours' dog barked," Camilla Rowan told Swedish newspaper the Gothenburg Post.

"My son called me and asked what was going on. It was only a few seconds," she added.

Others turned to social media to describe their experiences.

Flash floods hit parts of the Klang Valley, Malaysia; second time in two days

Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin
Malay Mail
Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:33 UTC

© Zuraneeza Zulkifli
The situation in Section 13, Shah Alam, where water rose quickly on Tuesday evening following heavy rain.

Flash floods that hit parts of the Klang Valley for the second time in two days saw water levels rising to unprecedented levels, causing damages to vehicles, loss of income for business and hazardous trips for those who need to move around.

Traders in the Seksyen 13 area within Shah Alam are not surprised the water level rose following heavy rain yesterday, but said it was the worst flooding in the area to date.

Khairudin Hamid, 59, has been working at the Proton showroom for the last six years and he has never seen the water rise so fast.

"The water was about a feet deep, and it seeped into my office space and the main showroom area. Some of the office equipment were damaged," he said.

Alaska endures bitter temperatures of minus 24 — and it's only November

Alexander Smith
nbcnews.com
Mon, 16 Nov 2015 11:44 UTC

It's only November and Alaska has been plunged into a deep chill, with frostbite-inducing temperatures dipping as low as 24 below zero early Monday.

Fairbanks was subjected to bitter temperatures of minus 22 degrees Sunday and was forecast to endure almost as bad on Monday night, according to forecasters.

"With these sorts of temperatures, people are at risk of frostbite within a minute of stepping outside, if not less time than that," according to Kevin Roth, lead meteorologist at The Weather Channel. "You've got to be bundled up from head to toe with no exposed skin. With this kind of cold, you walk outside and it really takes your breath away if you're not used to it."

Temperatures were about 20 degrees below average but were some way off record lows, Roth said, adding the state was not expected to go above zero until Thursday.

Four killed as out-of-control bushfires burn in Western Australia

BBC News
Wed, 18 Nov 2015 02:21 UTC

Four people have been killed and there are fears for two others caught in bushfires in Western Australia.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling major blazes that were reportedly sparked by lightning over the weekend.

The worst of the blazes are north of the coastal town of Esperance, 720km south-east of Perth.

Strong winds with gusts up to 90km/h (56mph) have hampered efforts to bring the fires under control.

They are the first serious bushfires of the Australian summer.

Storm Barney batters Britain with 80mph gusts and crippling floods

Nathan Rao
The Express, UK
Tue, 17 Nov 2015 15:09 UTC

Gusts of 80mph threatened to topple trees, close roads and bridges and cripple transport networks while heavy rain threatened further flooding. Another furious storm system is about to rip in from the Atlantic on Wednesday whipping up 80mph gales and torrential downpours.

Swathes of the country are on heightened flood alert as rivers continue to swell amid forecasts of more heavy showers. A twist in the "atrocious" weather at the weekend will see a bitter Arctic blast trigger sub-zero temperatures and snow.

A double-whammy of misery will see torrential downpours clash with freezing northerly winds sparking warnings to expect blizzards. Wintry showers are forecast widely by the weekend with a dusting of white possible even to low ground in the south.

Scotland and the north will take the brunt of the winter blast as temperatures plummet to -6C (21F) allowing several centimetres of snow to settle. The Met Office has severe weather warnings in place for wind and rain into the early hours of Wednesday.

It said the worst of the battering was due last night (Tuesday) with southern, western and central regions braced to take the brunt.

Waterspout captured over Townsville, Australia

Townsville Bulletin
Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:21 UTC

A waterspout formed off the Townsville coast this morning, with at least one or two separate funnel cloud formations also sighted over land. Townsville weather bureau forecaster Andrew Cearns said a waterspout had definitely formed but photographs taken by locals of tornado-like clouds between the airport and Yabulu were harder to confirm.

"Looking at the doppler, there were signs of strong winds moving in two different directions so there was definitely a possibility of rotation (over land)," he said. "The conditions were there. We had a southeast change coming up the coast and low level northerly winds coming in to it." Mr Cearns said the funnel-like clouds sighted over land did not appear to reach the ground.

It's been called everything from a tornado to a funnel cloud and a water spout but whatever it is, it has got Townsville talking. Pictures of the weather phenomena have been posted on social media this morning after rain fell across the city overnight. The Townsville Bulletin contacted the Bureau of Meterology for an official identification but they have not been able to confirm what took place at this stage.