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Attention

Hurricane Matthew sends Florida into panic as 'direct hit' and 'massive destruction' expected


RT
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 04:11 UTC
Hurricane Matthew path
© NOAA
Hurricane Matthew is making its way towards the US, sending Floridians into a panic and rushing to finish last minute preparations before it strikes. Staple products have long been claimed by shoppers as officials warn of a "direct hit on Florida."

Matthew, a deadly Category 3 storm, is currently moving northeast through the Caribbean and is expected to make landfall on the Atlantic coast of Florida by Thursday evening or early morning on Friday.

The National Hurricane Center has issued an advisory at 11p.m. Wednesday, saying that Matthew was moving northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h) with maximum sustained winds reaching 115 mph (185 km/h).

"Strengthening is expected during the next 24-36 hours, and Matthew is forecast to be a category 4 hurricane as it approaches Florida," the NHC said.

The Central Florida coast is potentially at highest risk, with Flagler and Volusia counties bracing for a direct hit. Both hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Florida's coastline, stretching from Miami to the Volusia county line, which includes Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach.

Comment: After unusually forming very close to the equator, Matthew has already caused severe damage in Haiti and Cuba. Meanwhile in the Pacific, Typhoon Chaba has set new records in South Korea. Just over one week ago an 'unprecedented' storm resulted in the entire state of South Australia (inhabited by more than 1.7 million people) losing power.

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Arrow Up

Dormant volcano in British Columbia, Canada sparks with activity


CBC.ca
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:23 UTC
Mount Meager
© Global Volcanism Program/Smithsonian Institute
Volcanologist Melanie Kelman with Natural Resources Canada is taking a closer look at Mount Meager, north of Pemberton, after a discovery this summer showed the long-dormant volcano is a little more active than originally thought.

Expert says activity on Mount Meager presents no danger to the public, but scientists monitoring

Experts are taking a closer look at Mount Meager, a dormant volcano north of Pemberton, after they discovered activity on the peak earlier this summer.

Volcanologist Melanie Kelman with Natural Resources Canada said sulphur smells and volcanic openings known as fumaroles were spotted on the the long-dormant volcano.

She said it is not uncommon to find fumaroles on the peak, and it could have been thinning ice that exposed the vents.

While fumaroles pose no risk to the public, she said it would be unsafe to approach or enter them as they are letting off hydrogen sulfide — a poisonous gas — and the ice around them is crevassed and potentially unstable.

Her team is now monitoring the area for increased seismic activity — the key sign of an upcoming eruption.

"The main thing we would expect if the volcano was becoming more active is lots and lots of small earthquakes," she explained.

"We're not seeing a lot of that right now, but this is what we would expect, and that's why we're watching it closely."
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Windsock

Typhoon Chaba sets new records in South Korea

Hong Jun-ki
The Chosun Ilbo
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 03:09 UTC
typhoon Chaba damage

Cars are submerged in floodwater in an apartment complex in Ulsan on Wednesday.
Typhoon Chaba left a trail of destruction on Jeju Island and the southern mainland.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday, Chaba brought winds of up to 49 m/s in parts of Jeju Island, second only to typhoon Maemi in 2003 (51.1 m/s).

The Seogwipo area of Jeju saw a record 116.7 mm of rain an hour.

The southeastern port cities of Busan and Ulsan were hit by heavy winds of up to 28.3 m/s and 21.5 m/s.

Ulsan experienced 104.2 mm of rainfall an hour, a record for the city.

Downpours also soaked nearby Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which was hit hard by a recent earthquakes, with 280 mm of rain.

According to the KMA, Chaba was the most powerful typhoon ever to hit the Korean Peninsula in October.

Typhoons usually hit Korea in the summer but are seen in October only once in a decade.

The last typhoon that caused such extensive damage in October was in 2013, and one in October 1994 did not cause nearly as much damage.

Comment: Asian typhoons are becoming more frequent and intense researchers say

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Bizarro Earth

Newly discovered fault line running parallel to San Andreas in Southern California raises fears of 'the big one'

Mark Prigg
Daily Mail
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 21:33 UTC
Salton Trough Fault

The new Salton Trough Fault, which runs parallel to the San Andreas Fault, could impact the earthquake-prone region that includes the greater LA area, seismologists say. It is in an area where a swarm of nearly 200 small earthquakes hit last week, raising concerns they might trigger a larger earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault.

Researchers have revealed a newly discovered fault line running parallel to the San Andreas fault in Southern California.

The new Salton Trough Fault, which runs parallel to the San Andreas Fault, could impact current seismic hazard models in the earthquake-prone region that includes the greater Los Angeles area, seismologists say.

The newly identified strike-slip fault within the Salton Sea, just west of the San Andreas Fault, is in an area where a swarm of nearly 200 small earthquakes hit last week, raising concerns they might trigger a larger earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault.


Comment: Recent earthquake swarm under California's Salton Sea could lead to massive earthquake on San Andreas fault

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Windsock

Rare, deadly Typhoon Chaba batters South Korea with massive waves and flooding


Sputnik International
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 13:42 UTC
Typhoon Chaba
© Yonhap
Damages caused by the Typhoon Chaba
Typhoon Chaba hit the southern parts of South Korea Wednesday, leading to casualties among local population.

At least three people were killed and three others went missing after the typhoon swept over South Korean island of Jeju and the cities of Busan and Ulsan, according to national KBS broadcaster.

The rainfall due to typhoon Chaba reached over 120 millimeters (4 inches) in some areas of the country, according to the Korean Meteorological Administration. About 58,000 houses are left without power in Busan and Jeju Island. The typhoon has reportedly disrupted transport services and air traffic.

Typhoon Chaba hammered parts of Japan's Okinawa prefecture on Monday, bringing more than 200 millimeters of rainfall. Over 590,000 residents of the Japanese Okinawa Prefecture were prepared for evacuation.


Comment: It is rare for a typhoon of this size to hit the Korean Peninsula at this time. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), only eight typhoons out of 327 that affected Korea between 1904 and 2010 landed in October. See also: Asian typhoons are becoming more frequent and intense researchers say

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Cloud Precipitation

Residents evacuated as flood levels rise in Victoria, Australia


9news.com.au
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 18:58 UTC
More than 70mm of rain has fallen in the Myrtleford area in the past 24 hours.
© 9NEWS
More than 70mm of rain has fallen in the Myrtleford area in the past 24 hours.
Residents in a number of homes and businesses in Victoria's north-east have been evacuated while more than a thousand properties are without power as rivers again swell to major flood levels.

Residents who live in low-lying areas in Myrtleford have been urged to evacuate and seek refuge at a relief centre set up at the Myrtleford Senior Citizens Centre, after more than 70mm of rain fell in the area in past 24 hours.

In the nearby town of Tarrawingee, a man had to be rescued from his back of his truck after he became trapped in rising floodwaters earlier today.

The man, in his 50s, was eventually handed a life jacket from emergency crews before being pulled to safety.


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Attention

Volcano triplets spotted erupting on the South Sandwich Islands

Kacey Deamer
Live Science
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 18:07 UTC
On Sept. 29, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this false-color image showing volcanic activity in the South Sandwich Islands.
© NASA
On Sept. 29, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this false-color image showing volcanic activity in the South Sandwich Islands.
Three active volcanoes simultaneously erupting and unleashing giant plumes of smoke were spotted by a NASA satellite as it passed over a remote archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The three stratovolcanoes — a type of composite volcano built of layers of lava, ash and stone — are located on the South Sandwich Islands, which are about 1,700 miles (2,800 kilometers) southeast of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Volcanoes in the region are some of the least studied in the world, because of the remote location and inhospitable environment of the islands.

On Sept. 29, NASA's Aqua satellite captured the plumes from these volcano triplets in a false-color image. Clouds and ice in the region make it difficult for satellites to see volcanic activity in natural-color imagery, NASA said. False-color images use portions of the electromagnetic spectrum typically invisible to humans — such as infrared — to distinguish ice from ash and clouds, according to the agency.
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Attention

Fisherman killed by shark off southern Mozambique; second fatal attack for the region in a month


News24
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 17:45 UTC
Shark attacks
A fisherman has been attacked and killed by a shark off the coast of southern Mozambique in the second fatal attack in a month, local reports say.

The man, named only as Julio, was fishing with a friend last week in waters near Maxixe, O Pais reported.

Maxixe is the economic capital of Mozambique's Inhambane province, which is well-known for its beautiful beaches.

The man was attacked when he was just 5m away from his colleague who could only watch helplessly, the newspaper said.

Shark attacks are not frequently reported in Inhambane province, according to a timeline of incidents in the last 100 years provided by Sharkattackdata.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows car, passengers in Adelaide Hills, Australia


BBC
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 17:09 UTC
Suzuki-in-a-sinkhole
© Jordanna Schriever
A South Australian couple were left "shaken" after they and their car were swallowed by a 3m-wide sinkhole.

According to local residents, the driver and passenger were sitting inside the car taking in the view in the Adelaide Hills when the earth gave way underneath them.

The vehicle is believed to have been parked above an abandoned mine shaft, excavated more than 150 years ago. SA Police said the pair were shocked but not seriously injured.

They managed to get out of the car themselves. Council workers arrived on Wednesday to remove the vehicle with a crane. Local woman Helen Behrens told The Advertiser newspaper said the couple had knocked on her door on Tuesday saying they had had an accident.

"They were pretty shaken up. They phoned the police and as soon as they got here," she said.
A neighbour, Neville Sharpe, also told the newspaper the couple were quite distressed.

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Tornado1

Hurricane Matthew hits Cuba hours after slamming Haiti, headed for the Bahamas & US


RT
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:40 UTC
Hurricane Matthew in Cuba
© Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters
People walk on the street after strong waves hit the coast at Siboney beach ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in Cuba, October 4, 2016.
Hurricane Matthew has reached Cuba just hours after flattening homes and leaving a trail of destruction in Haiti. The eye of the storm slammed the country with sustained winds of around 140 mph (225kph).

The Category 4 hurricane - the most powerful Atlantic tropical storm in almost a decade - reached Cuba's eastern tip around 8 pm local time Tuesday night.

Three hours later, it was churning around 20 miles (32km) northwest of where it made landfall, moving north at about eight miles per hour (13kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.

Comment: And projections for what Matthew is likely to do in coming days, from Weather.com:
Hurricane Matthew will hammer parts of eastern Florida and other parts of the Southeast coast starting Thursday and continuing into the weekend.

As illustrated by the National Hurricane Center's (NHC) projected path map, and also explained below, the severity of any direct impacts will depend on how close the center of Matthew moves near the coast.

All interests from Florida to coastal Georgia and the Carolinas should continue to monitor the forecast closely and make necessary preparations for a hurricane. Those in eastern Florida should make those preparations as soon as possible.

(MORE: Full Matthew Forecast)

Here is the latest on what we know about Matthew right now in terms of U.S. impacts.

1. Timing For Matthew

hurricane matthew
As far as timing for any impacts along the Southeast coast, here is a general overview. The NHC forecast calls for Matthew to be a strong hurricane during this timeframe.

Florida Peninsula (particularly east): Thursday-Friday, possibly lingering into early Saturday in northeast Florida.
Southeast Georgia: Friday-Saturday.
Eastern Carolinas: Later Friday-Saturday, possibly continuing into Sunday.

2. Battering Waves, Coastal Flooding, Beach Erosion Likely

No matter how close the center of Matthew passes in relation to the Southeast coast, we expect major marine impacts.

Matthew will generate large, battering waves along the entire coastline Thursday into the weekend. Mariners and beachgoers are encouraged to stay out of the water given this danger.

Significant coastal flooding is also likely along the path of Matthew from Florida into the Carolinas. The magnitude of any inundation will be dictated by the exact path Matthew takes.

Furthermore, the threat for major, damaging storm surge flooding is in play should the center of Matthew make landfall along the Southeast coast. Locations from Florida's east coast to the coastal Carolinas are at risk for this possibility, though this is still uncertain.

Here is how high the water could reach during this life-threatening inundation if the peak surge coincides with high tide, according to the National Hurricane Center:
  • North Palm Beach, Florida, to the Flagler/Volusia county line: 3-5 feet above ground level
Of course, beach erosion is a given with all those factors above playing out.

If you live along the immediate coast, stay informed and have a plan to evacuate should you be instructed to do so.

3. Tropical-Storm-Force Winds and Hurricane-Force Winds Likely

The potential for tropical storm-force winds (39 mph+) or hurricane-force winds (74+ mph) is in play along the entire Southeast coast.

How strong those winds are in any one location will depend on where the center of Matthew tracks in relation to the Southeast coast.

The last few days, forecast guidance has trended towards a track closer to the coast, which increases the probability of strong, damaging winds in some areas.

Right now, it appears at least tropical storm-force winds likely from most of Florida's East Coast to coastal North Carolina.

Hurricane-force winds are also highly possible throughout that stretch of the coast. This would particularly be the case if Matthew's eyewall grinds along the Southeast coast or even makes landfall, again anywhere from Florida's east coast to coastal Georgia and the Carolinas.

At this time, the National Hurricane Center has the greatest chance of hurricane-force winds right along Florida's east coast. Those damaging winds are likely to occur no matter whether the center of Matthew makes landfall or stays just offshore. The exact strength of the winds will depend on how close the eyewall passes to the coast.

Structural wind damage will be possible along with downed trees and widespread power outages in areas where hurricane-force winds occur. Matthew is forecast to be a major hurricane (Category 3 or stronger) when it moves near Florida's east coast, so extreme wind damage cannot be ruled out. Once again, that will depend on the exact path of the eyewall.

Even tropical storm-force winds could down trees and knock out power.

4. Rainfall Flooding, Tornadoes

Two other threats we will have to watch for from Matthew is the potential for rainfall flooding and tornadoes.

Once again, Matthews track in relation to the U.S. coast will dictate the magnitude of any heavy rainfall impacts, possibly resulting in flooding. The heaviest rainfall totals, possibly ranging between 5-12 inches, are likely to be confined to the immediate coast, from Florida to the North Carolina.

In areas where coastal flooding occurs, the heavy rainfall could make flooding worse or prevent water from receding.

An isolated tornado threat could also develop on the Southeast coast, particularly if Matthew makes landfall.

5. Matthew May Stall Off Southeast Coast Instead of Impacting Northeast States

In recent days, forecast guidance had suggested Matthew would eventually get pulled northeastward by a jet stream dip and potentially impact the Northeast states along with Atlantic Canada. This no longer appears to be the most likely scenario.

Instead, that jet stream dip may leave Matthew behind. This would result in Matthew pushing southeastward away from the coastal Carolinas on Sunday. It's possible Matthew could then meander off the Southeast coast into early next week, but details on where it may eventually go from there are uncertain at this time.


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