Earth Changes

Earthquake Relief Pakistan

Malteser International - Germany
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:21 UTC

In consolation with other humanitarian agencies, PHF and NDMA/ PDMA, Malteser International decided to assist Earthquake badly affected communities in Kuch UC, Ziarat District in Baluchistan Province; as one of most affected areas in this humanitarian crisis, and with the minimal assistance received in the first weeks after the earthquake of 28-29 October 2008.

Distribution of assistance should take place between 8th and 24th November 2008, in 7-10 remote villages and hamlets/ kilies in Kuch UC (area of Gogi, Tungi, Chungi Ahmadoon and Ahmadoon), when planned assistance to 500 families should be provided to the all identified beneficiaries.

Comment: The United Nations Children's Fund has estimated that the earthquake left 70,000 people homeless and more than 300 people dead. You can read more about it here and here

Update: Hurricane Paloma weakens as it lashes Cuba

Agence France-Presse
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:21 UTC

Camaguey, Cuba - Hurricane Paloma weakened as it passed over southeastern Cuba early Sunday, lashing the island with rain, gale-force winds and massive sea waves -- and forcing more than half a million people to leave their homes.

After making landfall on Cuba's southeast coast earlier in the day as a powerful Category Three storm, Paloma weakened to Category Two, displaying winds of 175 kilometers (108 miles) an hour, the national Institute of Meteorology said.

"It is now a Category Two storm," Jose Rubiera, the institute's director, said in a statement.

The US National Hurricane Center said Paloma packed winds measuring 155 kilometers (100 miles) an hour.

At 0600 GMT, the center of Paloma was about 45 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Camaguey, the Miami-based center said.

Update: Powerful Hurricane Paloma slams into Cuba

Michael Christie
Reuters
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 01:01 UTC

Miami - Dangerous Hurricane Paloma made landfall near Santa Cruz del Sur in southeastern Cuba on Saturday as a Category 3 storm with 125 mile-per-hour (200-kph) winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

© REUTERS/Enrique De La Osa
People carry their belongings on the back of a cart ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Paloma in Camaguey, Cuba November 8, 2008.

Overfishing Threatens European Bluefin Tuna

Science Daily
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:34 UTC

Bluefin tuna disappeared from Danish waters in the 1960s. Now the species could become depleted throughout the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, according to analyses by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Aqua) and University of New Hampshire. The species is highly valued as sushi.

Bluefin tuna is a treasured delicacy. A kilo of its much sought after meat can bring in prices reaching 130 Euros at fish auctions. The species in the Mediterranean Sea and northeast Atlantic is caught by fishermen from many countries, particularly France, Spain and Italy.

Tale Of Two Snails Reveals Secrets About The Biochemistry Of Evolution

Science Daily
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:06 UTC

Researchers in Spain are reporting deep new insights into how evolution changes the biochemistry of living things, helping them to adapt to new environments. Their study, based on an analysis of proteins produced by two populations of marine snails, reveals chemical differences that give one population a survival-of-the fittest edge for life in its cold, wave-exposed environment.

© American Chemical Society
A study of two populations of marine snails provides new insights into how evolutionary changes works on the chemical level.

In the new study, Emilio Rolán-Alvarez and colleagues note that scientists long have known that animals of the same species can have different physical characteristics enabling them to survive in different habitats. One famous example is the different beak sizes and shapes that evolved in Darwin's finches, enabling the birds to live on different foods in different habitats on the Galapagos Islands. Until now, however, scientists knew little about the invisible biochemical changes behind such adaptations.

Sea Snakes Seek Out Freshwater To Slake Thirst

Science Daily
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:02 UTC

Sea snakes may slither in saltwater, but they sip the sweet stuff. So concludes a University of Florida zoologist in a paper appearing this month in the online edition of the November/December issue of the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.

Harvey Lillywhite says it has been the "long-standing dogma" that the roughly 60 species of venomous sea snakes worldwide satisfy their drinking needs by drinking seawater, with internal salt glands filtering and excreting the salt. Experiments with three species of captive sea kraits captured near Taiwan, however, found that the snakes refused to drink saltwater even if thirsty - and then would drink only freshwater or heavily diluted saltwater.

Paloma becomes Category 4 storm, heads toward Cuba

Associated Press
Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:43 UTC

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - Paloma became an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane early Saturday, dumping wind and rain on the Cayman Islands and threatening to strike hurricane-ravaged Cuba as a major storm, forecasters said.

Hurricane Paloma heads to Cayman Islands

Associated Press
Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:58 UTC

GEORGE TOWN - Late-season Hurricane Paloma strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it lashed the Cayman Islands with wind and rain Friday, knocking down trees and signs.

Mild earthquake jolts Catanduanes province, Philippines

Gerard Lorbes
ABS-CBN
Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:30 UTC

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake rocked Virac town in Catanduanes province, Thursday morning.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Legazpi City traced the earthquake epicenter was 54 kilometers southeast of Virac town. It was felt around 9 a.m.

Intensity three was felt in Sorsogon and Legazpi City, Catarman and Samar and intensity two in Can-avid, Eastern Samar.

There were no reported injuries after the tremor.

Pakistan Sends Quake Aid as Survivors Face Freezing Conditions

Michael Heath
Bloomberg
Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:25 UTC

Pakistan's government ordered extra aid be shipped to the country's earthquake-devastated southwest as survivors faced icy conditions with the approach of winter.

The United Nations Children's Fund has estimated that 70,000 people were made homeless after the powerful quake struck Oct. 29 in the Ziarat and Pishin districts of Baluchistan province.