Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

7.1-magnitude quake strikes off Indonesian island, tsunami warning issued


ThaiVisa
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:13 UTC
Jakarta -- A powerful earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Java on early Monday morning, seismologists said, prompting a tsunami warning for some local regions.

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake at 3.06 a.m. local time (2006 GMT Sunday) was centered about 279 kilometers (173 miles) south-southwest of Tasikmalaya on Java. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to Indonesia's seismological agency.

Authorities in Indonesia immediately issued a tsunami warning for some coastal areas, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia - Earthquake Magnitude 6.7 - South of Java


USGS
Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:33 UTC
Indon Quake_030411
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Sunday, April 03, 2011 at 20:06:42 UTC

Monday, April 04, 2011 at 03:06:42 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
9.786°S, 107.749°E

Depth:
24 km (14.9 miles)

Region:
SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA

Distances:
241 km (149 miles) ENE of Christmas Island

277 km (172 miles) S of Tasikmalaya, Java, Indonesia

318 km (197 miles) S of Bandung, Java, Indonesia

412 km (256 miles) SSE of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
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Bizarro Earth

Earthquake Magnitude 6.4 - Fiji Region


USGS
Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:11 UTC
Fiji Quake_030411
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Sunday, April 03, 2011 at 14:07:09 UTC

Monday, April 04, 2011 at 02:07:09 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
17.649°S, 178.578°W

Depth:
551.9 km (343.0 miles) set by location program

Region:
FIJI REGION

Distances:
252 km (156 miles) W of Lambasa, Vanua Levu, Fiji

321 km (199 miles) W of SUVA, Viti Levu, Fiji

335 km (208 miles) N of Ndoi Island, Fiji

2230 km (1385 miles) W of Auckland, New Zealand
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Bizarro Earth

Pennsylvania: Residents Fearful of Growing Sinkhole Danger

Susan Koomar, Mallory Vough, and Kristine Porter
UpperSaucon
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 10:52 UTC
Image
© Kristine PorterThe Brookwood Group estimates that this sinkhole opened up within the last month.
Sinkholes are an undermining fact of life in the Lehigh Valley - a region where rainwater relentlessly wears away limestone.

But residents who keep a close eye on gaps in the ground say recent heavy rains have made the problem visibly worse.

Some fear for the safety of youngsters, who might meet danger in places like Tatamy, where a 40-foot sinkhole (known locally as the "Forty Footer") yawns about a mile from Trisha Street.
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Nuke

Radioactive Material Found in Illinois

Jim Anderson
Illinois Radio Network
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:19 UTC
radioactive symbol
© Unknown
Radiation believed to be from the nuclear plant disaster in Japan has been detected in Illinois.

The radioactive iodine similar to what was released in Japan was found in a grass clipping in the Joliet area by the Radiological Assessment Field Team, which regularly checks on vegetation, air, milk and eggs to determine if any radiation is leaking from Illinois' nuclear reactors.

In this case, the grass clippings were taken as part of a drill for the emergency plan at the Dresden nuclear power plant.

Once that grass sample tested positive for radioactive iodine, an air sample in Springfield was taken, which also detected the radioactive material.

Patti Thompson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency says the levels are low: The amount of radiation would have to be 200,000 greater than what was detected to meet the regulatory limit for emission from a nuclear power plant.

Nevertheless, the state will now conduct more tests in other parts of the state.
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Bizarro Earth

Kashmir: Sixth Tremor Hits Valley in 11-days


Greater Kashmir
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:37 UTC
Kashmir Valley
© Opus88888 / WikipediaMarking the three regions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu, Kashmir valley and Ladakh.
Srinagar - A moderate intensity earthquake, sixth within a span of 11 days, was felt in Kashmir Valley on Saturday morning.

The Coordinator of Disaster Management Cell Kashmir, Aamir Ali said that an earthquake of magnitude 4.7 on Richter scale occurred at 0924 hours.

The jolt was epicentred in Xinjiang border in Ladakh-China at 36.5 degree north latitude and 70.9 degree east longitude, Aamir said in a statement.

The tremor follows one on previous night at 1900 hours when an earthquake of magnitude 4.9 was felt with epicentre at Hindukush Afghanistan at 36.54 N, 70.91E, the he said, adding that no damage was reported from any part of the Valley.
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Megaphone

Philippines: Stay away from Taal, Palace warns tourists and residents


GMA News
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 15:32 UTC
On Saturday, Malacañang appealed to residents and tourists to heed warnings by state volcanologists to keep away from the crater of Taal Volcano in Batangas, due to high carbon dioxide levels there.

Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said tourists and residents should also heed the calls of local officials to evacuate once the need arises.

Cooperate with local officials on the ground (Inn such situations, our first appeal would be to heed the authorities in staying away from the volcano's crater. And those residents living at the foot of the volcano should heed village leaders' call to evacuate if the need arises)," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio.
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Igloo

Winter Storm Blankets New England


Wall Street Journal
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 15:21 UTC
Portland, Maine - An April Fools' Day storm brought heavy snowfall to parts of New England on Friday, giving thousands of kids a reprieve from school but also causing power outages and slippery driving conditions.

The storm was expected to last through the day Friday, dropping as much as a foot of snow around parts of northern New England.

Across coastal Maine and New Hampshire, snow covered road signs, blanketed the pavement and clung to trees, which drooped under the weight.

By late morning, falling tree limbs knocked out electricity for 30,000 homes and businesses in southern Maine and New Hampshire, officials said. Scores of cars and trucks slid off roads, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Montgomery said the storm tracked farther east than some models predicted, sparing the region's most heavily populated areas of heavy snow.
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Radar

Trees Cocooned in Spider Webs After Flood


National Geographic
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 08:01 UTC
Image
© Russell Watkins, U.K. Department for International DevelopmentWebbed Trees
The giant spider webs in Sindh, Pakistan, sometimes stretched from tree to tree, as seen above in December 2010.

"Any kind of vegetation that was above ground was affected, literally every kind of tree and bush," Watkins said of the widespread spider webs.

While unusual, trees cocooned in spider webs are not unprecedented. Scientists have reported similar webs in other parts of the world, the tropics in particular. In 2007, for instance, a superintendent at Lake Tawokoni State Park in Texas discovered a giant spider web among the trees.

Watkins said he didn't know which type of spider was responsible for the tree cocoons in Sindh. But in the case of Lake Tawokoni, scientists determined that dozens of spider species were spinning the communal webs.
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Question

Mysterious equine illness spreads in Australia: Increasing numbers of horses displaying unusual neurological symptoms

Emma Pritchard
The Daily Examiner
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 06:06 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Hold your horses. It hasn't arrived in the Clarence Valley - yet but increasing numbers of horses displaying unusual neurological symptoms across three states have prompted the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) to caution all owners.

In NSW alone there have been 87 confirmed cases of the unidentified illness.

While tests conducted by the NSW Department of Industry and Investment have ruled out Hendra virus, AVA president Dr Barry Smyth believes the illness may be the result of a mosquito-borne disease.

"Diseases associated with mosquitoes are very uncommon in normal years," he said.
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