Earth ChangesS


Evil Rays

Devastation in New Zealand quake on par with Haiti: ex-PM


Terra Daily
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:28 UTC
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© Agence France-PresseLuxury houses teeter on the edge after landslides in Redcliffs near Christchurch on February 27, 2011, after a 6.3 earthquake devastated New Zealand's second city and surrounding towns on February 22. The quake caused more damage than the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit the city on September 4, 2010 and has killed at least 146 people.
The scale of devastation in quake-hit Christchurch is comparable with the destruction wreaked in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, New Zealand's former premier Helen Clark said Monday, as rescuers prepared for the final death toll to rise above 200.

The stark assessment came with much of the city lying in ruins after last Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude quake caused widespread death and destruction, toppling buildings and tearing up roads.

"The building damage I've seen compared with Haiti," Clark, who now heads the United Nations Development Program, told Radio New Zealand Monday, referring to the massive quake which killed at least 220,000 in the Caribbean island in January last year.

"Let there be no mistake, New Zealand has suffered a tragedy of monumental proportions and it's going to require every ounce of recovery in this country to push through from this," she added.
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Bizarro Earth

One person dead, 110,000 acres burned in Texas wildfires

Antoinette Campbell
CNN
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:15 UTC
Firefighters in Texas continued efforts to contain fast-moving wildfires that have destroyed nearly 60 homes, burned more than 110,000 acres and caused an accident that killed a 5-year-old child, state forestry officials said Monday.


The fires broke out about noon Sunday, said Lewis Kearney, a spokesman for the forest service's Texas State Lone Star Incident Management Team. Officials believe many were started by power lines that fell from high winds.

Since that time, forestry officials, who were called in to help local fire departments, have responded to 25 fires in 15 counties across the Texas Panhandle, Kearney said.
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Cow Skull

Water demand will 'outstrip supply by 40% within 20 years' due to climate change and population growth


Daily Mail
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:52 UTC
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© Associated PressCrisis? Water demand in many countries will exceed supply by 40 per cent within 20 years due climate change and population growth, scientists have said

A new way of thinking about water is needed as looming shortages threaten communities, agriculture and industry, experts said.

In the next two decades, a third of humanity will have only half the water required to meet basic needs, said researchers.

Agriculture, which soaks up 71 per cent of water supplies, is also likely to suffer, affecting food production.

Filling the global water gap by supply measures alone would cost an estimated £124billion per year, a meeting in Canada was told.
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Radar

Chile: Earthquake Magnitude 6 Marks Anniversary of Fatal 8.8 Quake

Cassie Ryan
The Epoch Times
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:39 UTC
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© USGS
A 6.0 magnitude quake has struck the Bio-Bio region of Chile, exactly one year after a fatal 8.8 magnitude quake devastated the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake hit 23 miles south of Concepcion and 291 miles south south-west of Santiago at a depth of 10.4 miles. It struck at around 10.30 p.m. local time. There have been no reports of damage or injuries yet.

Earlier in the day, the anniversary of the 2010 earthquake was commemorated, led by President Sebastian Piñera. Across the nation, candles were lit and prayers raised in memory of the dead, according to BBC News. One minute's silence was observed at the precise moment the earthquake had struck.

The February 2010 earthquake was accompanied by a tsunami, killing more than 500 people, and leaving hundreds of thousands more homeless.
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Bizarro Earth

US: 4.7-magnitude earthquake hits central Arkansas


CNN
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:30 UTC
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© USGS
A 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Arkansas just after 11 p.m. Sunday (12 a.m. ET Monday), the United States Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake's epicenter was 37 miles from Little Rock, Arkansas, USGS said. CNN affiliate KARK received calls from a number of viewers who reported feeling the impact of the quake and seeing items on their walls shake.

From USGS:

Date-Time:
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 05:00:50 UTC

Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 11:00:50 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
35.265°N, 92.344°W

Depth:
3.8 km (2.4 miles)

Region:
ARKANSAS

Distances:
6 km (4 miles) NE (46°) from Greenbrier, AR

7 km (4 miles) S (187°) from Guy, AR

9 km (6 miles) SE (128°) from Twin Groves, AR

22 km (14 miles) NNE (27°) from Conway, AR

59 km (37 miles) N (359°) from Little Rock, AR

418 km (260 miles) SSW (207°) from St. Louis, MO
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Arrow Up

Mud volcano in Indonesia to erupt until 2037

Laura Phillips
ThirdAge.com
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:01 UTC
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A mud volcano in Indonesia is expected to continue erupting over the next 26 years according to international reports.

"Lusi," a mud volcano in Sidoarjo of East Java, Indonesia, first erupted on May 29, 2006. The 40 Olympic-sized pools of mud the volcano spewed a day during its peak buried homes and land in a 7-square kilometer radius, displacing over 13,000 families.

Based on the flow of mud, which has now slowed to 4 pools a day, researchers estimate that Lusi will continue to erupt until 2037.

"Our estimate is that it will take 26 years for the eruption to drop to a manageable level and for Lusi to turn into a slow bubbling volcano," Richard Davies, professor of Earth sciences at Durham University in England, said.
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Radar

Philippines: 13 lahar-related 'quakes' rock Mount Bulusan area


gmanews.tv
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:57 UTC
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At least 13 volcanic quakes were recorded around restive Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon in the last 24 hours, state volcanologists said Monday morning.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quakes were "lahar-related" - a day after lahar flows affected water supply in parts of Sorsogon.

"Bulusan Volcano's seismic network recorded 13 lahar-related seismic signals during the past 24 hours. Steaming activity was not observed due to thick clouds covering the active vents and summit crater. Continuous heavy rain over Bulusan Volcano yesterday saturated loosely deposited ash and rock fragments and generated small lahar flows to roll down the slopes of the volcano then flowed along river channels," Phivolcs said on its website.

It said channel-confined lahar flows were observed along Cogon and Monbon river channels.

Other than that, it said no other significant volcanic activity was observed since the last ash explosion on Feb. 21.
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Arrow Up

International Science Mission Investigates New Zealand's Submarine Volcanoes


Voxy News Engine
Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:24 UTC
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© UnknownHunga Tonga is located about 30km from Falcon Island. Volcano lies about 65 miles above a very seismic zone. Many underwater volcano have been erupted here first ever volcano erupted here was in 1912 This volcano was erupted on march 18, 2009 caused due to the melting of two tectonic plates using excessive amount of heat and pressure resulting in the big eruption. Volcano extends from New Zealand to north-east to Fiji.
A New Zealand-led group of international scientists will spend the next three weeks on NIWA's research vessel Tangaroa, using a free-diving robotic vehicle to investigate mineral deposits and hydrothermal activity at five major submarine volcanoes in the Kermadec Arc, northeast of the Bay of Plenty.

The voyage is the first project in an international programme involving GNS Science, NIWA, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in the United States, to explore the mineral potential of the volcanoes and their unique biodiversity.

Studies from surface ships and in submersibles during the past decade have shown some of the volcanoes in the Kermadec Arc host extensive metallic mineral deposits and one of the aims of this 25-day voyage is to clarify the type and size of these deposits.

Many of the volcanoes have highly active hydrothermal vent systems, which are home to unique biological communities of animals which thrive in the very hot and chemically-rich environments.

The five submarine volcanoes to be investigated on the voyage are Clark, Rumble II West, Healy, Brothers, and Rumble III. The nearest volcano to New Zealand is Clark, which is 150km northeast of White Island.
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Arrow Up

Pakistan: New island forms off Balochistan coast

Asif Nazeer Rana
Dawn.com
Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:11 UTC

Hingol, Balochistan - A soft muddy island appeared a few kilometers offshore in Hingol on the Makran coast, Balochistan on November 16, 2010. The Director General, Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) dispatched a team of earth scientists to investigate the sudden appearance of this white mud dome, about three kilometres offshore near the Kund Malir beach.

The island is 90 metres high with a span of approximately three kilometers.

Before the upsurge of sludge, local fishermen reported high tides near the coast and several boats were trapped due to the emergence of this mud volcano from nowhere. Another island of similar nature was also reported to have appeared 12 years ago. That island disappeared into the sea after four months. It is inferred that this mud dome which is given the name of Khizr, will also disappear with passage of time when methane and other gases are released from this structure.

The pictures taken by GSP earth scientists during their field investigations shows the eruption of white hot muddy sludge on top of the island. The ejected material is a sludge of fine solids, hydrate-bearing sediments suspended in acidic water and hydrocarbon fluids.
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Cloud Lightning

Arkansas: Lighting strikes the Capitol Building


The Weather Channel
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:28 UTC
arkansas lightning
Lightning struck the state Capital building twice as the storm passed over Little Rock.

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