Earth ChangesS


Radar

Strong Earthquake Jolts Chile

Image
© Associated PressThe epicenter is near the site of a massive quake and resulting tsunami that killed at least 521 people and left 200,000 homeless a year ago.
Magnitude-6.8 Temblor Centered Near Exact Same Spot as Last Year's Devastating Quake; No Reports of Injuries or Damage

Cauquenes, Chile - A magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck central Chile Friday, centered in almost exactly the same spot where last year's magnitude-8.8 quake spawned a tsunami and devastated coastal communities.

Electricity and phone service were disrupted and thousands of people fled to higher ground following Friday's quake, but the government quickly announced that there was no risk of a tsunami, and there were no reports of damage or injuries.

President Sebastian Pinera appealed for calm and praised his government and Chileans in general for responding quickly.

"Today we're better prepared," Pinera said. "I think we've learned the lesson of Feb. 27, 2010."

Rodrigo Ubilla, the vice interior minister, said the navy had "totally discounted any risk of a tsunami."

Still, the strong earthquake frightened many Chileans, especially along the coast, where people quickly moved to higher ground.

Bizarro Earth

Chile: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - Off Coast of Bio-Bio

Chile Quiake2_110211
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Friday, February 11, 2011 at 23:39:21 UTC

Friday, February 11, 2011 at 08:39:21 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
37.181°S, 73.484°W

Depth:
13.5 km (8.4 miles)

Region:
OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

Distances:
50 km (30 miles) NNE of Lebu, Bio-Bio, Chile

55 km (35 miles) SW of Concepcion, Bio-Bio, Chile

105 km (65 miles) WNW of Los Angeles, Bio-Bio, Chile

485 km (300 miles) SSW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile

Bizarro Earth

Chile: Earthquake Magnitude 6.8 - Off Coast of Bio-Bio

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Friday, February 11, 2011 at 20:05:30 UTC

Friday, February 11, 2011 at 05:05:30 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
36.432°S, 73.050°W

Depth:
18.4 km (11.4 miles)

Region:
OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

Distances:
45 km (28 miles) N (360°) from Concepcion, Chile

164 km (102 miles) SW (229°) from Talca, Chile

260 km (162 miles) N (352°) from Temuco, Chile

392 km (243 miles) SSW (213°) from SANTIAGO, Chile

Bizarro Earth

North Korea 'Preparing for Eruption of Mt. Baekdu'

Mt. Baekdu
© Newsis

North Korea has started preparing for a possible eruption of Mt. Baekdu, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday. Quoting sources in Ryanggang Province, North Korea, the station said two geography professors of Kim Jung-suk University of Education involved in a Mt. Baekdu expedition team have recently been to Pyongyang to attend a seminar on Mt. Baekdu volcanic activity.

They said there were two evacuation drills in Samjiyon, Taehongdan and Pochon, Ryanggang Province since last fall.

The radio station said fears of an eruption were also behind the sudden suspension of the Mt. Baekdu tourism railroad project, slated for completion by 2012, and that of a mammoth tourism and athletics facility for winter sports nearby, to be completed the same year.

Attention

Louisiana: Hundreds of dead birds discovered in Lake Charles

Dead Birds Louisiana
© KPLC 7 NewsHundreds of dead birds discovered in Lake Charles

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is trying to figure out what caused the death of hundreds of birds in south Lake Charles.

The birds were discovered on Thursday morning.

More than 100 birds were scattered across Lake Street between Gauthier and Tank Farm Road; another hundred were found on Lincoln Road, about a mile away.

Kori Legleu, a biologist with Wildlife and Fisheries, identified the birds as Tree Swallows, a kind of bird that travels in tight flocks.

Legleu said the birds, which are common in Southwest Louisiana, were likely flying erratically when some of them were struck by passing vehicles.

Attention

Twin Quakes Strike Off Philippines

Two big earthquakes struck under the Celebes Sea between the Philippines and Indonesia late on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.

The biggest quake, measured at 6.7 magnitude, hit 330 kilometres from the town of General Santos on the Philippine island of Mindanao, and roughly the same distance from Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

It was 512 kilometres deep, the USGS said.

It came two minutes after a 6.5-magnitude quake a few kilometres away and at a similar depth.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, based in Hawaii, did not issue a tsunami warning following the earthquakes.

The area is part of the Pacific's so-called Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent tectonic activity where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common.

Bug

Australia: Giant locusts threaten NSW crops

Locust
© Unknown

A RARE, giant breed of locusts has the potential to destroy crops in NSW overnight, the State Government says.

The spur-throated locusts is a mainly tropical species found in Queensland and the Northern Territory but warm and humid weather has drawn them into NSW.

Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan says the Government has a plan of attack to help northwestern NSW farmers control the largest outbreak in 40 years.

"The much larger spur-throated locust is a ferocious eater and can completely destroy a crop overnight," Mr Whan said in a statement.

"Insecticides are now being made available to farmers to control densely-populated spur-throated locust nymphs on their properties."

Rangers are also being deployed to help farmers identify the creatures, which have a spur or throat peg between their front legs.

Attention

Monaco: Three 'mini-quakes' hit the the Cote d'Azur

Monaco Port
© The Riveria TimesThe quakes happened around the coast of Monaco
Just days after a minor earthquake was recorded off the coast of Menton, three further tremors have been registered in Monaco.

The Geo-Azur Laboratory confirmed that the first of these latest rumbles was registered at around 10.32am on the 8th February and hit 2.3 on the richter scale. The second, felt at about 2.02pm, had increased to 2.4 in its maginitude and finally came the third and strongest quake, which reached 2.8 ML.

Although the fire department in Menton did not receive any emergency calls at the time of the first minor tremor, several residents in Monaco, from Fontviellle and Monte-Carlo in particular, phoned police two days ago to find out what was happening.

Jena Luc Berenguer, Professor of the European Center of Valbonne, told press that the seismologists who recorded the movement under the Mediterranean Sea are not sure if all four were caused by the same fracture in the sea bed or if there is any link between the Menton and Monaco tremors at all. He added that although it is impossible to make any predictions, there was no great cause for concern at present. In fact if the technology was not in place to register signs of these 'mini-quakes', most of the region's residents would not be aware that they were even happening.

Attention

Hawaii: Second earthquake hits Big Island in two days

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake shook the Big Island at about 8:37 a.m. Thursday, the second small earthquake to hit the island in as many days.

The epicenter of the quake was at a depth of 1.7 miles and 5 miles from the town of Volcano, according to the U.S. Geological Survey website, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island.

On Wednesday, a quake registered a magnitude 3.0 and occurred about 2 miles south of the Kilauea summit.

Cloud Lightning

Tropical Cyclone Threat to Madagascar

Madagascar Cyclone Bingiza
© Joint Typhoon Warning CenterTropical Cyclone Bingiza east of northern Madagascar early on February 10, 2011
Tropical Cyclone Bingiza poses the threat of damaging wind and flooding rain to the southwestern Indian Ocean island of Madagascar.

Early Thursday morning, EST, the center of the new tropical cyclone lay about 580 miles, or 930 km, northeast of Antananarivo. Highest sustained winds were estimated by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center to be 45 knots, or almost 85 km/h. T.C. Bingiza was nearly stationary.

Forecasters at AccuWeather.com believe that T.C. Bingiza will strengthen and drift mostly southwestward over open water through at least Saturday. Thereafter, a landfall on eastern Madagascar could take place. Faster movement than anticipated would make the landfall threat earlier than currently forecast.

If Bingiza were to veer southeastward, on the other hand, it could ultimately threaten the Mascarene Islands of La Reunion and Mauritius. However, this scenario would take several days to unfold.