Earth ChangesS


Alarm Clock

USGS: Earthquake magnitude 6.0 - 87km NW of Iquique, Chile

Earthquake 6.0  Chile
© USGS
Event Time
2014-03-23 18:20:03 UTC
2014-03-23 13:20:03 UTC-05:00 at epicenter
2014-03-23 19:20:03 UTC+01:00 system time

Location

19.744°S 70.811°W depth=34.6km (21.5mi)

Nearby Cities
87km (54mi) NW of Iquique, Chile
150km (93mi) SSW of Arica, Chile
201km (125mi) SSW of Tacna, Peru
239km (149mi) SSE of Ilo, Peru
456km (283mi) SW of La Paz, Bolivia

Technical data

Chart Bar

Fracking: 14 earthquakes recorded in Oklahoma since Friday

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© Leonard Observatory/Google MapsQuakes this year in Oklahoma
The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded 14 earthquakes in Oklahoma since about 9:30 p.m. Friday, the largest being a magnitude 4.0.

The 4.0 magnitude quake was recorded at 10:05 p.m. Friday about seven miles south of Langston. Three other quakes of magnitude 2.9, 3.0 and 3.3 were recorded Saturday afternoon in the Medford area.

The other quakes ranged from magnitude 2.4 to 2.9. No injuries or damage are reported.

Geologists say earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3.0 are generally the smallest felt by humans.

Black Magic

'Fire-nado' forms during controlled burn near Denver, Colorado

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© KMGH
It's that time of year when firefighters around the state are conducting controlled burns to minimize the risk from wildfires later.

But sometimes a combination of wind and heat make strange things happen at fire scenes.

Thomas Rogers with South Metro Fire and Rescue was shooting video when a large whirlwind of tumbleweeds blew up 200 feet in the air a controlled burn at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge at midday on March 14.

"You don't see that very often," a firefighter says on the video.

"The whirlwind pulled the fire across the control line, causing burning tumbleweeds to start a spot fire," according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the Refuge.


Attention

Three killed by massive landslide in Oso, Washington state

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A large rescue operation began soon after the landslide struck on Saturday
At least three people have been killed and several badly injured in a huge landslide in a rural area of the north-western American state of Washington, officials say.

The landslide destroyed six houses and covered a road near the town of Oso, about 90km (55 miles) north of Seattle.

It was at least 41m (135ft) wide and 54m deep, local authorities said.

They say that two people were killed at the scene and one died in hospital. The injured included a six-month-old boy.

Bizarro Earth

Worm evolves to eat corn that was genetically engineered to kill it

Beetle
© The Independent, UK
Nature has fought back against biotechnology, with rootworms now being able to stomach corn that was genetically modified to poison the pests.

While an awe-inspiring demonstration of nature's endurance, the development could cause billions of dollars worth of damage to US crops.

Named after the pesticidal toxin-producing Bacillus thuringiensis it contains, Bt corn makes up 75% of the US's corn crop, but scientists' predictions that rootworms would evolve to overcome the poison were largely ignored by farmers, companies and regulatory bodies, who have been accused of "squandering the benefits of genetic modification."

Bt corn was first planted in 1996 as an alternative to insecticides which cause more ecological damage, and quickly caused the numbers of the voracious worm to plummet.

Alarm Clock

USGS: Magnitude 6.2 - 96km WNW of Iquique, Chile

Earthquake 6.2 Chile
© USGS
Event Time
2014-03-22 12:59:58 UTC
2014-03-22 07:59:58 UTC-05:00 at epicenter
2014-03-22 13:59:58 UTC+01:00 system time

Location

19.770°S 70.936°W depth=15.2km (9.4mi)

Nearby Cities
96km (60mi) WNW of Iquique, Chile
157km (98mi) SSW of Arica, Chile
208km (129mi) SSW of Tacna, Peru
239km (149mi) S of Ilo, Peru
466km (290mi) SW of La Paz, Bolivia

Technical data

Comet 2

Mysterious booms worry residents in Osceola and Polk counties, Florida

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It's the bump in the night that has Osceola County residents asking each other "Did you hear that?"

We've gotten email after email, not to mention Facebook posts, from people who say they're hearing a boom around the same time every night. Not even the Osceola County Sheriff's Office has an answer.

"It was like a 'BOOM!' Then, the windows kinda shook," said Kissimmee resident Daryl Mercado.

"A loud BOOM sound...like they throwed a bomb," explained young AJ.

His mother, Lori Chezem, said, "Loud booms. It reminds me of when the space shuttle used to come in -- the Sonic Boom."

Kids and adults alike are talking about it. But what exactly is it?

Chezem is in St. Cloud and was one of the people who emailed us about these mysterious booms. We're also hearing from people in Kissimmee and even as far away as Haines City in Polk County.

Phoenix

Massive dust devil forms during prescribed burn near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal


Adams County - A 150 acre, prescribed burn near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal grew out of control when a massive dust devil swept fire and tumble weeds in the firefighters direction.

The prescribed burn happened around noon, Friday, March 14.

Video captures the moment the dust devil began and shows hundreds of tumble weeds catching fire before several firefighters run for safety. From a safe distance, the filming resumes. The unexpected dust devil ended up burning an extra acre of land but no property was damaged and no one was injured.

Thomas Rogers, a firefighter with South Metro Fire & Rescue, is the man behind the camera. In the seven years he has spent fighting flames he has never seen anything quite like this.

"It was definitely interesting to see. I'm a fire buff as well as a weather buff and here I had a weather event and a fire event coming together and it was just really amazing to watch," Rogers said. "There's nothing you can do except get out of the way and wait for it to calm down."

What began completely in their control ended up serving as a reminder that fires can be incredible unpredictable.

"Fire can change at any time," explains Rogers, "even on a prescribed burn, where we're in very controlled conditions, the unexpected can happen."

Phoenix

Outbreak of multiple wildfires in central Oklahoma

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Authorities say about 300 acres of land has burned at this time.
Multiple fire crews in central Oklahoma are responding to wildfires, Thursday afternoon.

One fire is was burning near State Highway 105 and Indian Meridian Rd. in Logan County, Thursday afternoon. This fire was contained as of 5 p.m. Two mobile homes were destroyed.

The second was burning about seven miles to the southwest of the town of Mulhall, Okla., or to the northeast of the town of Crescent.

Authorities say about 300 acres of land has burned at this time. The second fire is the larger of the two and is headed in a northeast direction. One home is in the path of the blaze.

At around 5:30 p.m. multiple fire crews were called to assist in extinguishing at least five wildfires that sprung up along the westbound side of the Turner Turnpike, in the area of mile marker 142, near NE 150th St. and Hiwassee Rd. in Oklahoma County.

Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.5 - 113km E of Mohean, India

Mohean Quake_210314
© USGS
Event Time
2014-03-21 13:41:07 UTC
2014-03-21 19:41:07 UTC+06:00 at epicenter

Location
7.769°N 94.325°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

Nearby Cities
113km (70mi) E of Mohean, India
234km (145mi) NNW of Sabang, Indonesia
268km (167mi) NNW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
319km (198mi) NW of Sigli, Indonesia
946km (588mi) SW of Bangkok, Thailand

Technical Details