Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Indonesia's Mount Karangetang volcano spews lava, gas; 4 feared dead

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© USGS
One of Indonesia's most active volcanos erupted Friday, sending lava and a searing gas cloud tumbling down its slopes. At least four family members were swept away and feared dead, officials said, and several others were badly hurt.

"It happened so fast," said Surono, the director of the volcanology and mitigation agency. "There was no time for an evacuation."

Mount Karangetang, located on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain, burst just after midnight when heavy rains broke the volcano's hot lava dome, which spit out 1,110 degree Fahrenheit (600 Celsius) clouds of gas.

Ash and lava crashed down the mountain's western slope, destroying at least nine houses, a church and a school, said Priyadi Kardono, an official with the national disaster management agency. A road and a bridge also were badly damaged, leaving more than 2,000 people in the remote area completely isolated.

Kardono said four family members were missing and feared dead. Five others were hospitalized, one in critical condition.

Authorities were trying to evacuate residents living in at least one nearby village, said Tony Supit, a district chief.

Bizarro Earth

103 killed in flash floods in Indian Kashmir

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The death toll in flashfloods that hit the remote mountainous region of Ladakh in Indian-held Kashmir has risen to 103. State police chief Kuldeep Khoda said Friday more than 370 others have been injured.

Police and paramilitary soldiers have pulled out hundreds of people from the mud and debris that have buried hundreds of homes but their efforts were hampered by gushing water and mud sweeping down from the steep mountainsides.

Telecommunication towers have toppled or are badly damaged while main highways connecting the popular tourist destination to the rest of Kashmir were only partially open.

This is a breaking news update. AP's earlier story is below.

Bizarro Earth

Pakistan's flooding sweeps south


Cloud Lightning

Revised 2010 hurricane forecast in US: 'Major hurricanes' ahead

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© NASA/APA NASA image shows tropical storm Colin from space
A revised 2010 hurricane forecast is in from the National Weather Service, and the agency is predicting another strong year for tropical storms. Four to six 'major hurricanes' are expected out of 14 to 20 named storms.

The 2010 hurricane season in the Atlantic, now heading into its most active three month stretch, stands a strong chance of becoming the 11th above-normal season in the past 15 years, according to federal forecasters.

June and July were less active than the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center expected them to be when it issued its initial seasonal forecast in May, notes Gerry Bell, who heads the effort.

Phoenix

Canada: Over 400 wildfires scorch British Columbia

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© B.C. Wildfire Management Branch
The number of wildfires roaring throughout British Columbia climbed to more than 400 on Tuesday, with officials predicting the tally will rise as the province is plagued by hot, dry conditions.

"We don't anticipate any significant decrease in fire activity in the coming days," fire information officer Gwen Eamer said in an interview. "We expect to continue to pick up in the range of 50 fires every day."

Eamer said 183 new wildfires were reported during the B.C. Day long weekend. Since the beginning of the year, more than 760 square kilometres of land has been damaged or destroyed by fire.

Bizarro Earth

Dead zone as big as Massachusetts along coast of Louisiana and Texas, scientists say

dead zone map
Louisiana Universities Marine ConsortiumCurrent extent of 'dead zone' as determined from July 24 to Aug. 2

The annual summertime dead zone caused by low oxygen levels in water along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline this year is twice as big as last year's, stretching 7,722 square miles across Louisiana's coast well into Texan waters, scientists with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium announced Monday.

But there's no evidence the larger expanse of low-oxygen water -- which covers an area as big as Massachusetts, and is linked to nutrients carried to the Gulf by the Mississippi River -- was made bigger by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists said.

Last year, the area affected by low oxygen was limited by lower springtime water levels in the Mississippi River, which meant less nutrients reached coastal waters. Also, persistent winds from the west and southwest last year may have driven low-oxygen water out of the easternmost Louisiana waters where last year's mapping was done.

Bad Guys

Navy Plans Could Affect More Marine Mammals

US Navy Ship
© APA military Sealift Command ocean surveillance ship is seen underway in 2009. The Navy plans to increase ocean warfare exercises, conduct more sonar tests and expand coastal training areas.
Washington - The Navy plans to increase ocean warfare exercises, conduct more sonar tests and expand coastal training areas by hundreds of square miles - activities that could injure hundreds of thousands of marine mammals or disturb their habitats, federal records show.

Training areas already are established along most of the continental U.S. coastline, so the Navy is seeking federal permits to broaden an existing range off the Pacific Northwest and dramatically expand exercises and sonar use in the Gulf of Alaska.

The service also plans to increase training substantially in the Pacific around the Mariana Islands.

The Navy estimates in federal permit applications that its activity in those areas will impact about half a million sea mammals each year, including seals, sea lions and whales, some of which are endangered.

The effects range from brief interruptions in normal feedings to significant injury and, in very rare instances, death.

Already, 2.3 million marine mammals are affected similarly each year by the Navy's training on its ranges on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Navy studies show.

Fish

Flashback US: Dead Sea Turtles Wash Ashore in Mississippi

dead turtle
© AP Photo
The carcasses of 23 sea turtles have been found along Mississippi's 70 miles of coastline, and have been retrieved for examination by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, said Moby Solangi, the group's president and executive director.

The carcasses were placed in garbage bags that were stacking up in the institute's necropsy lab refrigerator unit.

Although this is the time of year when dead turtles are often found on the beach, scientists say the number is more than double what they would expect. Necropsies will be conducted Monday afternoon by a team of four veterinarians. It's unclear whether the deaths are related to the oil spill, which is still offshore.

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 4.8 - Wyoming

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© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, August 05, 2010 at 00:04:17 UTC

Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 06:04:17 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
43.585°N, 110.440°W

Depth:
5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program

Region:
WYOMING

Distances:
30 km (20 miles) ENE of Jackson, Wyoming

65 km (40 miles) W of Dubois, Wyoming

95 km (60 miles) NNW of Pinedale, Wyoming

535 km (335 miles) WNW of CHEYENNE, Wyoming

Bizarro Earth

Kuril Islands: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - East of Kuril Islands

Kuril Is. Quake_040810
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 23:48:02 UTC

Thursday, August 05, 2010 at 09:48:02 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
45.964°N, 153.216°E

Depth:
33.6 km (20.9 miles)

Region:
EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

Distances:
425 km (265 miles) ENE of Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands

570 km (350 miles) SSW of Severo-Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands, Russia

775 km (480 miles) ENE of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan

7245 km (4500 miles) NE of MOSCOW, Russia 1