Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

New volcano images by USGS, earthquakes "a concern"

Image
© USGS
A new spattering vent has formed on the south side of the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout shield, and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory caught a glimpse of the activity just before daybreak on February 4.

The active Pu'u O'o crater floor is slowly filling the east side of the vent with lava.

Meanwhile, at Kilauea's summit, the circulating lava lake in the collapse pit deep within the floor of Halema'uma'u Crater has been visible via Webcam throughout the past week. Volcanic gas emissions remain elevated, resulting in high concentrations of sulfur dioxide downwind.

Bizarro Earth

Celebes Sea - Earthquake Magnitude 6.7

Celebes 2 Sea Quake_100211
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time
Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 14:41:57 UTC

Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 10:41:57 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
3.966°N, 123.125°E

Depth
512.2 km (318.3 miles)

Region
CELEBES SEA

Distances
330 km (205 miles) SW of General Santos, Mindanao, Philippines

330 km (205 miles) SE of Jolo, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines

1200 km (740 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines

2130 km (1320 miles) ENE of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Cloud Lightning

US: Flood warning issued for Bay, Gulf and Calhoun counties, Florida

Heavy rains over the last week have made conditions conducive to flooding along the Apalachicola River and in Gulf and Calhoun counties and eastern Bay County, according to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

The warning, issued at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, states flood stage begins at 15 feet, height of the bank at the marina at the mouth of the Apalachicola River. Wednesday evening water level reached 14.2 feet.

Igloo

US: Winter storm warning in effect for North Carolina

A winter storm warning is in effect for much of Eastern North Carolina, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters say that snow and heavy rains are possible Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

The precipitation is likely to start as rain or a mix of rain and snow then gradually transition to snow late Wednesday night, according to the warning. Coastal areas are not expected to see a transition to snow until daybreak Thursday.

Question

Australia: Queensland Flood Victims Seek Answers From Inquiry

Image
© Jack Tran / The Australian John Craigie and his wife Gail at their flooded property west of Brisbane yesterday.
John Craigie drove away from stress and unsightly mounds of rubbish, the destroyed contents of his family's flooded house and rural nursery in the Brisbane Valley, for the first day yesterday of a judicial inquiry he hopes will restore a community's shattered confidence.

It is a big ask. But Mr Craigie felt greatly encouraged after sitting through the formal opening of a commission of inquiry into the floods in Brisbane and hearing senior assisting counsel Peter Callaghan SC say that the lessons of the city's deadly 1974 floods had been ignored and this must not happen again.

"People in our communities of Pine Mountain, Fernvale and Lowood live closest to Wivenhoe Dam and suffered very badly in the floods," Mr Craigie, 54, told The Australian as he took notes in a courtroom that will be the inquiry's city arena.

"We want our questions answered and we need to have confidence in (the dam operator) SEQWater. We need reassurance that lessons from the flooding will be properly understood.

Info

Australia: Flood Lessons Can't Be Forgotten, Inquiry Told

Queensland floods
© unknownQueensland Floods
The lessons of Brisbane's deadly 1974 floods were ignored and it most not happen again, the judicial inquiry into Queensland's latest flood disaster was told at its opening session yesterday.

In his debut submission to commissioner Cate Holmes, counsel assisting the inquiry Peter Callaghan SC said the experience of Queensland's floods more than three decades ago -- in which 14 people died and thousands of homes were inundated in January 1974 -- had been forgotten.

"There was no comparable commission of inquiry into those events of 37 years ago. This commission affords an opportunity to ensure the lessons that must be learned from this occasion are recorded for the future," Mr Callaghan said.

"In this way, it might be hoped Queenslanders are neither condemned to the fate of those who cannot remember the past, nor left vulnerable at the hands of those who might choose to forget it."

Igloo

US: Georgia eyes coldest winter ever

Cold temperatures and heavy snow crippled north Georgia in January. Despite heavier-than-normal snowfall, precipitation amounts were below normal, increasing drought conditions across the state.

Georgia's temperature was significantly below normal last month. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 40.2 degrees F (2.5 degrees below normal), in Athens 39.7 degrees (2.5 degrees below normal), Columbus 43.6 degrees (3.2 degrees below normal), Macon 42 degrees (3.5 degrees below normal), Savannah 45.1 degrees (4.1 degrees below normal), Brunswick 49.1 degrees (2.6 degrees below normal), Alma 44.9 degrees (6.8 degrees below normal), Valdosta 47.3 degrees (2.6 degrees below normal) and Augusta 41.7 degrees (3.1 degrees below normal).

If colder-than-normal temperatures continue into February, this winter could possibly set records for the coldest winter ever in some parts of Georgia. Record low temperatures were set at Macon, Savannah and Alma Jan. 14. Macon reported 16 degrees, breaking the old record of 19 degrees set that date in 1970. Savannah and Alma reported 18 degrees, surpassing the old records of 20 degrees set at both locations in 1964.

Arrow Down

US: Oklahoma Snow: Power Outages Reported After Storm

More than 9,500 power outages are being reported in Oklahoma by the state's two largest electric utilities.

More than 9,500 power outages are being reported in Oklahoma by the state's two largest electric utilities.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric reports 4,739 outages Thursday morning with more than 1,700 in Arcadia and more than 1,600 in Harrah. Public Service Company of Oklahoma reports 4,817 outages with more than 3,000 of those in Nowata County and about 1,200 in Lawton.

PSO spokesman Ed Bettinger said the cause was not known. An OG&E spokesman did not immediately return a phone call for comment.

Igloo

US: Bartlesville ties Oklahoma state record for low temperature, Tulsa ties city record

Bartlesville, Oklahoma. - Records amount of snow have fallen across the state, and now records for low temperatures are starting to fall too.

In fact, some temperatures across the state Thursday morning were lower than North Pole, Alaska, which was a balmy 16 degrees.


Attention

US: Lake Effect Storm Hammers Parts of Central New York

A lake effect snow storm has dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on parts of central New York, forcing school closings and travel restrictions in some communities.

The National Weather Service reports Thursday morning that 19 inches fell in less than 6 hours in Pulaski (puh-LAS'-keye) in Oswego County and 23 inches has fallen on nearby Redfield, near Lake Ontario's eastern end 35 miles north of Syracuse.

Many schools in the county have canceled classes or delayed their start by an hour or two.

Officials in the city of Oswego and Redfield have issued no unnecessary travel advisories.