A total of 41 earthquakes with magnitude of over 4.5 on the Richter scale have hit Indonesia in the last 24 hours, the country's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said Thursday.
The most serious of these was an 8.4-magnitude quake with an epicenter off the western coast of the island of Sumatra on September 12. The quake caused the deaths of at least nine people.
One of Sumatra's provinces, Bengkulu, has the dubious distinction of being the world record holder for earthquake activity, with over 694 tremors with magnitude of 4.6 or higher in the first five months of last year.
Earth Changes
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - More than half the residents of an isolated Arctic village were evacuated as storm surges threatened to flood their slender barrier island Thursday, the latest chapter in their losing battle against the sea.
With no road system within hundreds of miles of Kivalina, about 100 people, mostly seniors and children, boarded small propeller planes to the regional hub city of Kotzebue. More than 100 others embarked on a grueling 70-mile nighttime journey by boat, all-terrain vehicle and bus to shelter at the mountain headquarters of a zinc mine.
With no road system within hundreds of miles of Kivalina, about 100 people, mostly seniors and children, boarded small propeller planes to the regional hub city of Kotzebue. More than 100 others embarked on a grueling 70-mile nighttime journey by boat, all-terrain vehicle and bus to shelter at the mountain headquarters of a zinc mine.
Tropical Storm Ingrid, the ninth Atlantic storm of the year, formed on Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Caribbean islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm, located about 840 miles east of the lesser Antilles, was headed in the general direction of the northeastern Caribbean but was days from having any impact on land.
The storm, located about 840 miles east of the lesser Antilles, was headed in the general direction of the northeastern Caribbean but was days from having any impact on land.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Fisheries crews from North Dakota and Minnesota are trying to determine why more than 1,600 channel catfish have died in the Red River south of here.
"The fact they're distributed over a wide area and just channel catfish kind of points at some kind of disease, bacterial infection or something," said Henry Drewes, a regional fisheries supervisor for Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources.
"The fact they're distributed over a wide area and just channel catfish kind of points at some kind of disease, bacterial infection or something," said Henry Drewes, a regional fisheries supervisor for Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources.
HERRIN - Mayor Vic Ritter called it a "natural phenomenon." That's the expert opinion of state Department of Natural Resources field workers in Marion after inspecting the 60-acre Herrin City Lake No. 1 Friday, where a few thousand dead fish had floated to the top of the water from a lack of sufficient oxygen.
"There's no rhyme or reason for it," Ritter said. "That lake is a good lake, one of the best in the area. But this kind of fish kill has happened in Marion, Du Quoin and many other areas before."
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| ©Chuck Novara / The Southern |
| Fish line the bank of Herrin City Lake No. 1 on Monday after a fish kill earlier in the week. |
"There's no rhyme or reason for it," Ritter said. "That lake is a good lake, one of the best in the area. But this kind of fish kill has happened in Marion, Du Quoin and many other areas before."
State environmental officials found up to 2,000 dead catfish near the mouth of the Neuse River, and they believe the drought conditions may have caused the fish to go belly up.
The fish, found Monday in Upper Broad Creek near New Bern, likely died from excess exposure to salt water, said Susan Massengale, a spokeswoman with the state Division of Water Quality. Officials believe the saline water, aided by wind and low river levels, mixed into normally fresh water habitats.
The fish, found Monday in Upper Broad Creek near New Bern, likely died from excess exposure to salt water, said Susan Massengale, a spokeswoman with the state Division of Water Quality. Officials believe the saline water, aided by wind and low river levels, mixed into normally fresh water habitats.
Call it the instant hurricane. Humberto, which grew faster than any storm on record from tropical depression to full-scale hurricane landfall, surprised the Texas-Louisiana coast early Thursday with 85-mph winds and heavy rain that knocked out power to more than 100,000 and left at least one person dead.
Meteorologists were at a loss to explain the rapid, 16-hour genesis of the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005.
"Before Humberto developed, you looked at the satellite imagery the day before, and there was virtually nothing there. This really spun up out of thin air, very, very quickly, said National Hurricane Center specialist James Franklin in Miami. "We've never had any tropical cyclone go from where Humberto was to where Humberto got."
Meteorologists were at a loss to explain the rapid, 16-hour genesis of the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005.
"Before Humberto developed, you looked at the satellite imagery the day before, and there was virtually nothing there. This really spun up out of thin air, very, very quickly, said National Hurricane Center specialist James Franklin in Miami. "We've never had any tropical cyclone go from where Humberto was to where Humberto got."
Government figures indicate that in northern Ghana flooding has affected more people than in all other West African countries combined, yet the disaster has received little international attention compared to floods elsewhere in the region.
The government's National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) says floods have affected close to 275,000 people in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of the country. Parts of the Western Region have also seen flooding. Most of the affected people are displaced, although some are still living in what is left of their homes.
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| ©Unknown |
The government's National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) says floods have affected close to 275,000 people in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of the country. Parts of the Western Region have also seen flooding. Most of the affected people are displaced, although some are still living in what is left of their homes.
The algal bloom that tarnished Virginia Lake earlier this year refuses to go away.
Scientists expected the blue-green algae would die out in the chill winter, but not so.
Barry Gilliland, Horizons Regional Council's water quality leader, said latest sampling from the lake had shown a rapid increase in the algal cell count in the lake.
Scientists expected the blue-green algae would die out in the chill winter, but not so.
Barry Gilliland, Horizons Regional Council's water quality leader, said latest sampling from the lake had shown a rapid increase in the algal cell count in the lake.
Nine cows died after drinking from Delmoe Lake, a popular recreational lake east of Butte.
A witness reported watching two of the cows drink water from the lake, then walk just a few feet before falling over dead. This has prompted a warning for people to stay out of Delmoe Lake.
A witness reported watching two of the cows drink water from the lake, then walk just a few feet before falling over dead. This has prompted a warning for people to stay out of Delmoe Lake.
