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USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - WNW of Raoul Island, New Zealand

Raoul Quake_260413
© USGS

Event Time

2013-04-26 06:53:28 UTC
2013-04-25 18:53:28 UTC-12:00 at epicenter

Location
28.736°S 178.916°W depth=349.0km (216.9mi)

Nearby Cities
115km (71mi) WNW of Raoul Island, New Zealand
921km (572mi) SSW of Nuku'alofa, Tonga
1003km (623mi) NE of Whangarei, New Zealand
1072km (666mi) NE of North Shore, New Zealand
1077km (669mi) NE of Auckland, New Zealand

Technical Details

Snowflake Cold

Global Cooling: Sudden European temperature plunge over the last decade... Are we on the brink of a Little Ice Age?

Temperature change in perspective

The UK Met Office long term Central England Temperature record has kept a continuous and consistent data set since the 1660s. It appears to be reliable and to have maintained its quality. It has not been adjusted as have so many other official temperature record.

Temp chart
© Met Office
Although the CET record covers only a small part of the northern hemisphere, it has shown a consistent rise since the end of the Little Ice Age in 1850 at a rate of about +0.45°C/century or about +0.67°C in the last 150 years. This rise accords well with other temperature records.

However since the year 2000, diminishing solar activity in solar cycle 24 (moving back towards little ice age patterns) appears to be having a real effect.
temp chart
© Unknown

Cloud Precipitation

Death toll from north Afghanistan flash flooding rises to 20

Afghanistan flood
© Unknown
The death toll from the latest devastating floods in northern Afghan following heavy rains in the area has climbed to 20 people, local officials say.

Zabihullah Akhtari, an official at Balkh governor's office, said on Thursday that nearly 2,000 households have been affected in the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif - located over 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Kabul - and three nearby towns.

He added that eight people were killed in Sholgara district, seven in Kishindih, four in Charkint and one in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Cloud Precipitation

Worst of U.S. Midwest flooding may not be over

Major river flooding this week

Many tributaries of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are forecast to reach, surpass or remain at major flood stage over the next several days. As of late Monday afternoon, more than 150 gauges were in flood stage across the USA, almost all of them in the upper Midwest.
Midwest flood map
© NOAA
As of Tuesday morning, more than 150 gauges were in flood stage across the USA, almost all of them in the upper Midwest.

Question

Minnesota man watches as waxwings began 'dropping out of the sky'

Image

Two off-course flights into downtown buildings this week resulted in the deaths of almost 30 Bohemian waxwings and the injury of several others.Wildwoods, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Duluth, is caring for three Bohemian waxwings that were injured downtown in the past two days, said Peggy Farr, a Wildwoods rehabilitator and board member. Five other Bohemian waxwings died in that incident, Farr said.

"We're on a major migration route," said Farr. "This is a good time of year to close the blinds so the birds don't get faked out by the windows."

Separately, about 25 Bohemian waxwings were found dead Monday, April 22, in the plaza area adjacent to the Minnesota Power building in downtown Duluth, said Amy Rutledge, manager of corporate communications for Minnesota Power. The birds apparently had flown into tinted glass partitions adjacent to the building as the birds were flying up to trees.

Rutledge said Minnesota Power plans to put stickers on the glass panels that the waxwings hit so birds will be more likely to see the panels.

"Something like this has never happened before," Rutledge said. "It seems to be an anomaly."

Snow Globe

UK: Hedgehogs emerging from hibernation very late in 2013

Hedgehogs emerging a month later than usual

Image

Hedgehog emergence is a month behind where it was in 2011 and 2012, suggesting that it is likely to have been a particularly difficult winter for this declining species.
April 2013. Latest results from the BTO Garden BirdWatch survey have revealed that British Hedgehogs are emerging from hibernation very late this spring. This weekly survey, which covers mammals as well as birds, shows that Hedgehog emergence is roughly a month behind what was seen in 2011 and 2012. The long winter may also have led to increased levels of overwinter mortality.

Difficult winter

The latest results from the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Garden BirdWatch show that Hedgehog emergence is a month behind where it was in 2011 and 2012, suggesting that it is likely to have been a particularly difficult winter for this declining species. The weekly 'reporting rate' graph (below) shows how the cold weather of February and March held emergence back, underlining that Hedgehogs are only now emerging from hibernation.
Image

Fish

Hawaii: Kaua'i coral disease worsening, says doctor

USGS specialist: 'The reefs are dying'

Lihu'e - The outbreak of deadly coral disease along Kaua'i's North Shore may be targeting more than one species of Montipora coral

The spread of the disease was described as an "epidemic" in a November 2012 report by the U.S. Geological Survey

Until recently, the cyanobacterial disease was thought to be exclusive to the common rice coral. But after returning to Kaua'i this week, Dr. Thierry Work, head of infectious disease for USGS, said the blue rice coral species is also in trouble.

"The blue rice coral definitely has lesions on it," he said. "Of course, we'll have to do the analysis to see if it's the same (disease)."

He said the lesions look similar to what he saw at 'Anini and Tunnels beaches.

Work spent Monday and Tuesday diving at several locations along Kauai's North Shore, including reefs near Ha'ena, Wainiha and Waipa. He collected 30 coral tissue samples, which he took back to the lab in Honolulu for DNA testing.
Image
© Terry Lilley/Contributed photo
Dr. Thierry Work, a wildlife disease specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey, collects tissue samples Monday from a diseased blue rice coral at Wainiha on Kaua‘i’s North Shore.

Question

Bizarre whirlpool appears in Latvian river sucking everything in its path into watery vortex

Seven-minute clip apparently captured after a river burst its banks

It captures huge blocks of ice and mud heading towards whirlpool


A monstrous whirlpool has appeared in the Baltic state of Latvia swallowing everything dragged towards it.

The bizarre phenomenon looks as if a plug has been pulled from the ground beneath as it sucks water down.

A seven-minute clip of what looks like a vortex in action was apparently captured after a river burst its banks in the south-east of the country.
Image

Bizarre phenomenon: The monstrous whirlpool that has appeared in the Baltic state of Latvia

It captures huge blocks of ice and mud heading towards the whirlpool before disappearing underneath the water's surface.

More than 220,000 people have already watched the video in less than 48 hours on YouTube.

Windsock

Scotland: Believe it or not, this is no beautiful sandy beach - it's a farmer's field! Crop of barley ruined by tons of sand blown across land

Scotland battered again by second round of sandstorms devastating crops

Farmer Cameron MacIver in Moray says the sand is so high 'the only thing showing is top of fences'


Scotland was hit by a second bout of freak sandstorms today, causing an estimated £50,000 damage to crops.

Farmers in Elgin, Moray, had just spent a week clearing up after freak winds created 4ft high sand drifts on Tuesday when more gales swept in, whipping up further sandstorms and devastating crops.

Barley farmer Cameron MacIver said: 'There's parts around my farm where the only thing showing above the sand is the top bit of the fence.'
Image

Freak weather: Farmer Cameron MacIver, from Forres in Moray, walking on one of his sand covered barley fields

Snow Globe

Colorado avalanche: Deadliest in 50 years

On Saturday afternoon, the wet snow piled in the mountains of the Loveland Pass gave way, creating a fatal avalanche.

Adding to the already 19 deaths by avalanches during the 2012-13 winter season, five people were trapped and killed on Saturday.

A sixth snowboarder managed to escape the snow and go to get help.

Despite now being in the latter half of April, the slopes definitely don't look like it out in Colorado.
Image
© Colorado Avalanche Information Center
The eastern flank of an avalanche in Colorado that killed several people in April 2013.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center executive director Ethan Greene said "We are very much in a winter snowpack right now. The calendar may say it's April, but the snowpack looks more like February..."

That is due to the heavy snow that Colorado has seen for the start of spring, making it still feel like winter.

Gusting winds following the heavy, wet snow of these storms has risen the avalanche danger in the central Rockies, which is typically uncommon for this time of the year.

The last avalanche to cause this many deaths was back in 1962, when seven people were killed at Twin Lakes in January.