An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 shook northern Japan on Saturday, a Japanese government agency said, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake, at 4:49 p.m. (3:49 a.m. EDT), was centered under the sea off Ibaraki prefecture, just north of the capital, Tokyo, where it was also felt.
Earth Changes
An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale was registered early Saturday off the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East, the regional emergencies ministry office said.
Officials said no casualties, destruction or tsunami threat have been reported following the quake, which occurred at 06:10 a.m. Moscow time (02:10 a.m. GMT) in the Sea of Okhotsk, 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) from the regional center Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where the tremors measured 4.0 on the Richter scale and lasted for three minutes.
Kamchatka is one of Russia's most seismically unstable regions. According to experts, there are more than 150 volcanoes on Kamchatka, 29 of them active.
Officials said no casualties, destruction or tsunami threat have been reported following the quake, which occurred at 06:10 a.m. Moscow time (02:10 a.m. GMT) in the Sea of Okhotsk, 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) from the regional center Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where the tremors measured 4.0 on the Richter scale and lasted for three minutes.
Kamchatka is one of Russia's most seismically unstable regions. According to experts, there are more than 150 volcanoes on Kamchatka, 29 of them active.
BIG SUR - A pair of out-of-control wildfires roared along California's central coast Friday, chewing through opposite ends of a parched forest and threatening a total of more than 4,500 homes.
While flames from the stubborn fire in the northern flank of the Los Padres National Forest inched closer to Big Sur's historic vacation retreats, state emergency officials said hot winds had caused a newer blaze 200 miles south in Santa Barbara County to double in size overnight.
Residents of more than 1,700 homes in and around the city of Goleta were ordered to evacuate, joining an equal number of people who were told to leave Big Sur days earlier.
Driven by wind gusts as high as 40 mph, the Santa Barbara County fire was so fierce early Friday that firefighters at one point took shelter in about 70 homes they were trying to defend, said Capt. Eli Iskow of the county fire department.
"Hundreds of firefighters were in place around hundreds of structures," Iskow said. "I think we saved every one of those structures in that area."
While flames from the stubborn fire in the northern flank of the Los Padres National Forest inched closer to Big Sur's historic vacation retreats, state emergency officials said hot winds had caused a newer blaze 200 miles south in Santa Barbara County to double in size overnight.
Residents of more than 1,700 homes in and around the city of Goleta were ordered to evacuate, joining an equal number of people who were told to leave Big Sur days earlier.
Driven by wind gusts as high as 40 mph, the Santa Barbara County fire was so fierce early Friday that firefighters at one point took shelter in about 70 homes they were trying to defend, said Capt. Eli Iskow of the county fire department.
"Hundreds of firefighters were in place around hundreds of structures," Iskow said. "I think we saved every one of those structures in that area."
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| ©motortoque.com |
| Storm on a T-Cut Volkswagen Golf: The evidence |
A freakish shower of hailstones the size of ping pong balls caused damage to 30,000 new, pre-delivery Volkswagen Golfs, Passats, Polos, Eos, Jettas and Tiguans at a German port.
The worldwide automotive industry arguably has a lot to answer for with regards the part it plays in climate change, however Mother Nature has chosen to vent her considerable spleen on a collection of seemingly inoffensive Volkswagens in Germany.
30,000 Vee-Dubs were quietly waiting in line to be shipped overseas from a dockside plant in Emden on Germany's northern seaboard when the hailstorm struck.
Hail the size of ping pong balls rained down on the new Volkswagens in a freak storm that's caused damage worth hundreds of millions of dollars. For the most part, vehicles sustained heavy paint and bodywork damage, yet amazingly little glass was shattered during the climatical strop.
A school has been forced to close after being infested by a swarm of bees.
Almost 300 pupils of Larkman Primary School in Norwich were sent home after thousands of the insects buzzed into the music department.
A spokeswoman for Norfolk County Council said no pupils had been stung and that pest controllers had sprayed a chemical to destroy the bees.
"The bees were found in a wall cavity of the school by pest control officers," the spokeswoman said.
Almost 300 pupils of Larkman Primary School in Norwich were sent home after thousands of the insects buzzed into the music department.
A spokeswoman for Norfolk County Council said no pupils had been stung and that pest controllers had sprayed a chemical to destroy the bees.
"The bees were found in a wall cavity of the school by pest control officers," the spokeswoman said.
A fire in the social hall attic of St. Patrick's Catholic Church forced the congregation outside just before 9 a.m. Mass on Sunday. A lightning strike on the roof overnight may have ignited a small fire, which smoldered until church member Paul Mumford saw flames about 8:45 a.m.
"I smelled smoke. When I first started looking I couldn't see it. Later I could see flames," Mumford said.
Those attending the Mass were moved outside and an abbreviated service was said as about 50 members stood or sat in folding chairs.
"I smelled smoke. When I first started looking I couldn't see it. Later I could see flames," Mumford said.
Those attending the Mass were moved outside and an abbreviated service was said as about 50 members stood or sat in folding chairs.
Connecticut, US - The pavilion must have seemed safe to Mauricio Bugatti when a thunderstorm suddenly raced over Hammonasset beach last weekend. But he stood too close to a wooden pillar, and that's most likely what killed him.
Bugatti, 23, of West Haven, died when lightning struck the pavilion Sunday at West Beach in Hammonasset Beach State Park. Four others who stood near the same pillar - including a 12-year-old - were injured. Those seeking shelter from the storm probably did not realize it, but the pavilion was one of the worst places to be, according to Richard Kithil, founder and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Lightning Safety Institute in Denver. When a lightning bolt hits, it jumps from one object to the next on its way to the ground, and it is drawn to human bodies because of their high saltwater content, experts said.
Bugatti, 23, of West Haven, died when lightning struck the pavilion Sunday at West Beach in Hammonasset Beach State Park. Four others who stood near the same pillar - including a 12-year-old - were injured. Those seeking shelter from the storm probably did not realize it, but the pavilion was one of the worst places to be, according to Richard Kithil, founder and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Lightning Safety Institute in Denver. When a lightning bolt hits, it jumps from one object to the next on its way to the ground, and it is drawn to human bodies because of their high saltwater content, experts said.
At least 211,358 inhabitants in 44 municipalities of the Mexican state of Veracruz were affected by tropical storm "Arthur", Veracruz Civil Protection Ministry said Friday.
Rains will continue on Saturday and Sunday and more people are predicted to be left homeless, the Hydrometeorology Bureau of the Water National Commission said.
The Civil Protection Ministry suggested Friday the Mexican government declare a state of emergency in the 44 municipalities.
Rains will continue on Saturday and Sunday and more people are predicted to be left homeless, the Hydrometeorology Bureau of the Water National Commission said.
The Civil Protection Ministry suggested Friday the Mexican government declare a state of emergency in the 44 municipalities.
The Roiling waters five miles off Trinidad's east coast might be a sign of a mud volcano growing on the ocean floor, belching out methane gas along with a slurry of mud and sediment, experts believe.
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| ©Trinidad Express |
| A pirogue (small boat), bottom right, moves past what appears to be the activities of a "mud volcano" off Radix Point, Mayaro yesterday. |
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| ©Unk |
Magnitude 5.8 - TRINIDAD REGION, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
2008 July 03 06:34:53 UTC
2008 July 03 06:34:53 UTC
