Earth ChangesS


Fish

Chilean scallop farms devastated by tsunami

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© UnknownChilean fishing boats in "Caleta Tumbes" cove, Concepcion,some 519 km south of Santiago, in 2009.
Underwater currents from the tsunami have ruined Tongoy's scallop beds

Thousands of miles from the shores of Japan across the Pacific Ocean, Chilean shellfish farmers are facing an uncertain future after a giant wave traveled the seas and washed away their scallop beds.

"I don't think I can carry on. Too much has been lost. I had all the scallops I could wish for, and now, look," said fisherman Patricio, shaking his head in despair.

Tongoy, some 450 kilometers (290 miles) north of the capital Santiago, stands on part of the scenic Chilean coast which was put on alert on March 11 after a catastrophic earthquake in Japan triggered a massive tsunami.

Radar

U.S. fears overdue 'megathrust' earthquake will trigger tsunami and decimate unprepared cities on north-west coast

Cascadia fault line has lain dormant for 300 years
Eruption could trigger tsunami, devastating seaside communities - and reach as far as Japan


The north-west coast of the U.S. could be devastated by a huge movement of undersea plates known as a 'megathrust' earthquake, scientists say.

A review of the dangers posed by the Juan de Fuca plate released in the wake of the Japanese quake has raised fears that the Pacific seaboard could be similarly ravaged.

The horrifying possibilities have been brought to light by data researched by the Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Laboratory at Oregon State University.

And the results are shown in a documentary, Megaquake: The Hour That Shook Japan, which is set to go out on the Discovery Channel in the UK this weekend.
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© UnknownDisaster zone? A huge 'megathrust' earthquake could spark a tsunami and devastate the U.S. northwest if the Juan de Fuca plate is forced further under the North America plate on the Cascadia fault line


Cloud Lightning

Indiana, US: Storms continue; floods forecast

The National Weather Service in northern Indiana has issued a number of flood watches and warnings for northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.

The flood warning continues for the following rivers:
  • St. Joseph River affecting Allen and DeKalb counties in Indiana and Defiance County in Ohio until Friday night. At 1 p.m. Monday, the river was 9.8 feet and falling in Fort Wayne. Flood stage is 12.0 feet, and the weather service said it is likely to rise above flood stage Tuesday morning and crest near 14.9 feet by 2 a.m. Wednesday. Minor flooding is forecast.
  • St. Joseph River near Newville was measured at 12.5 feet and steady at 3 p.m. Monday, with minor flooding. Flood stage is 12.0 feet. The river is expected to crest near 134.0 feet about 2 p.m. Thursday. Moderate flooding is forecast.
  • Wabash River near Bluffton affecting Huntington and Wells counties.
  • Tiffin River near Stryker affecting Defiance, Fulton and Williams counties in Ohio.

Bad Guys

US: Napolitano, Duncan Coming to St. Louis for Earthquake Drill

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© The Associated Press
Two members of President Barack Obama's cabinet will be in St. Louis this Thursday morning to lead the nation in a first of its kind multistate public earthquake drill.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will join Missouri Governor Jay Nixon at Carnahan High School of the Future for what has been called "the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut."

More than 2.7 million Americans across 2,016 schools and 82 colleges and universities will participate in the drill.

The drill will be conducted along the earthquake-prone region known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Scientists predict a major earthquake could hit this region in the next 50 years.

Bizarro Earth

Pakistan: 5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Jammu and Kashmir

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck Jammu and Kashmir Monday morning. The epicentre of the quake was located in Pakistan, the local disaster management authority said.

"The earthquake was of mild intensity with coordinates measuring 36.23 north and 72.17 east. It struck at 6.25 a.m. Its epicentre lay in Pakistan. No damage has been reported from anywhere so far," said Amir Ali, in-charge of the the disaster management cell at the provincial headquarters here.

It may be mentioned that more than half a dozen earthquakes have rocked the Valley during the last two months. Jammu and Kashmir is located in a highly seismic zone.

More than 40,000 people were killed in a massive quake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, that rocked this state in 2005.

Stop

Florida, US: Officials determine 'duck plague' is killing ducks at Crescent Lake

Walking along the edge of Crescent Lake this week, Mike Flanagan found something that has become a concern around this close-knit neighborhood: dead ducks.

In recent weeks, more than 25 Dave Bairam, a St. Petersburg environmental analyst, takes a water sample at Crescent Lake Park on Tuesday. He said tests are measuring the lake's oxygen levels.have died along the shores of the lake just north of downtown. Then on Sunday, fish started floating to the surface. Also dead.

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© Chris Zuppa | TimesA female mallard flies over her ducklings Tuesday at Crescent Lake Park, where residents have found more than 25 dead ducks as well as dead fish. A necropsy found duck virus enteritis, which spreads easily in droppings but not to humans.
"This is not normal," said Flanagan, president of the Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association. "Obviously our concern is, could we lose all the animals on the lake."

On Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission performed a necropsy on one of the dead ducks.

The culprit: duck virus enteritis. Also known as duck plague.

Cloud Lightning

US: Missouri flooding forces evacuations, closes airport

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© Curious Maps
Police were going house to house in part of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on Monday, ordering people to evacuate ahead of an imminent "catastrophic failure" of a levee on the Black River.

The city said the levee had been compromised after a week in which the area received more than eight inches of rain. Authorities ordered some residents most at risk to evacuate immediately. Other residents near the river were asked to closely monitor developments and water levels in their neighborhoods, the police department said.

"The levee is weakening by the minute and may fail at any time," the National Weather Service said in an alert Monday afternoon.

The weather service said the southeastern portion of the city would be inundated if the levee fails.The levee protects Poplar Bluff from the river, which is now more than four feet over flood stage, according to the weather service.

Cloud Lightning

USA - Winter returns: Wind, rain, snow

It's turn back the calendar week. Back to November.

A series of storms will rush into Western Washington from the Pacific this week, bringing dreadful weather.

Western Washington will be under a wind advisory from noon to 9 p.m. Monday. Expect winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 45 mph.

Expect rain Monday and through the week. The National Weather Service has forecast temperatures in the lower 50s through the week and a chance of rain each day.

No day looks to be dry, but Tuesday, with a 30 percent chance of rain, may be the least miserable.

The weather systems will bring more snow to the mountains, where there is a winter weather advisory until 5 a.m. Tuesday.

X

Landslide kills at least 10 in southern Philippines

The army took over rescue efforts Friday after a landslide swept through a small mountain village in the southern Philippines, killing at least 10 people and leaving dozens missing.

Inclement weather and rocky terrain made it difficult to reach the community, according to Lt. Ari Ben Hernaez, who said the death toll is expected to increase.

Bizarro Earth

Strong, shallow earthquake hits eastern Indonesia

A strong and shallow earthquake hit eastern Indonesia early Monday, sending residents, hotels guests and patients from a hospital fleeing in panic. Some homes were damaged, with windows shattered and walls cracked, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.2 quake was centered 45 miles (75 kilometers) southeast of Kendari, a town on Sulawesi island, at a depth of just 6 miles (9 kilometers). It was followed by three strong aftershocks.

Andre Wijaya, a geological official in Kendari, said the earth shook violently beneath his feet.

"Women and children were screaming as they ran from their homes and into nearby fields," said Lt. Laode Surachman, a police officer in Kendari, adding that hotels emptied out and patients in a hospital were evacuated to safety. "Even officers taking part in morning roll call scattered and fled."

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that make the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.

A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.