Earth ChangesS


Phoenix

US: Wildfire shuts Los Alamos lab, forces evacuations in New Mexico

Susan Montoya Bryan
Associated Press
Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:33 UTC
wildfire
© AP/Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New MexicanSmoke fills the sky from a wildfire in New Mexico about 12 miles southwest of Los Alamos, on June 26, 2011. A fast-moving wildfire has broken out in New Mexico and forced officials at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to close the site Monday as residents nearby evacuate their homes.
Thousands of residents calmly fled Monday from the mesa-top town that's home to the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory, ahead of an approaching wildfire that sent up towering plumes of smoke, rained down ash and sparked a spot fire on lab property where scientists 50 years ago conducted underground tests of radioactive explosives.

Los Alamos National Laboratory officials said that the spot fire was soon contained and no contamination was released. They also assured that radioactive materials stored in various spots elsewhere on the sprawling lab were safe from flames.

The wildfire, which began Sunday, had destroyed 30 structures south and west of Los Alamos by early Monday and forced the closure of the lab while stirring memories of a devastating blaze in May 2000 that destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings.

"The hair on the back of your neck goes up," Los Alamos County fire chief Doug Tucker said of first seeing the fire in the Santa Fe National Forest on Sunday. "I saw that plume and I thought, 'Oh my God here we go again.'"
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Scientists Say California Mega-Quake Imminent

Becky Kellogg
The Weather Channel
Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:57 UTC
San Andreas Fault
© The Weather ChannelThe San Andreas fault is highlighted in red. It strikes through the heart of Southern California, including the Salton Sea.

Like a steaming kettle with the top on, pressure is building beneath the surface of California that could unleash a monster earthquake at any time. That's according to a new study from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Geologists say Southern California is long overdue for a huge earthquake that could unleash widespread damage.

It all comes down to the Salton Sea, which lies to the east of San Diego. The Salton Sea lies directly on the San Andreas Fault and covers more than 350 square miles.

A big earthquake has hit the lake bed about every 180 years. But when officials started damming the Colorado River to reduce floods downstream (including in the Salton Sea), the moderate earthquakes stopped for the Salton.
Read More...
Phoenix

US: Wildfire threatens Los Alamos National-Security Research Facility


CNN
Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:44 UTC
The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico will be closed Monday as fire crews battle a wildfire raging nearby, a statement on the facility's website said.


"All laboratory facilities will be closed for all activities and nonessential employees are directed to remain off site," the statement said. "Employees are considered nonessential and should not report to work unless specifically directed by their line managers."

A spokesman for the New Mexico State Forestry Division, however, told CNN the order to evacuate Los Alamos was voluntary, and stressed that there is no immediate threat to the facility.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US: Groups Begin Planning for Flood Aftermath of Tree Die-Offs

Karen Herzog
The Bismarck Tribune
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 05:30 UTC
Image
© Tom Stromme/Tribune Bismarck city forester Jackson Bird says homeowners should aerate trees to allow the roots to breathe in areas where there is high ground water.
The evergreens will be first, yellowing needles signaling a dying tree.

The cottonwoods and box elders will hang on a bit longer, but they, too, will start to drop their leaves as the lack of oxygen begins to starve them.

People along the Missouri River have been focused for the last month on the immediate needs of sandbagging, evacuating, finding places to live, stripping their homes, plugging drains, monitoring pumps.

But as the summer goes on and the waters stay high, public groups must start planning for the time when the water recedes and leaves behind it acres and miles of dead vegetation and thousands upon thousands of dead and dying trees all along the river.

The tree-kill problem is going to be gigantic, said ElRoy Haadem, the Burleigh County NDSU extension agent.

Haadem said he has been asked by people who wonder what will happen to the tree-lined river that Bismarck-Mandan is accustomed to seeing.
Read More...
Umbrella

East China coast braces for tropical storm Meari


Xinhua
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:33 UTC
Image
© Xinhua/Yu Qibo High billows strike on the seashore of a park in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province, June 26, 2011. Strong winds and heavy rains are forecast to hit China's eastern coast as tropical storm Meari is moving northwest from the southern Yellow Sea waters, according to a statement issued by the nation's meteorological authority Sunday. The tropical storm Meari will shave off the eastern coasts of Shandong Peninsula or may make a landfall around the region between Sunday afternoon and evening, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC) of China Meteorological Administration in the statement.
East China coastal regions are bracing for strong gales and heavy rains as tropical storm Meari moves closer for landing.

Thousands of people have been evacuated amid storm-triggered floodings, authorities said Sunday.

The tropical storm is expected to make a landing near the city of Donggang, northeast Liaoning Province, or areas to the north of Democratic People's Republic of Korea at Monday dawn, the National Meteorological Center said in its latest bulletin.

The storm was projected at the Yellow Sea, about 35 kilometers southeast off the coast of eastern Shandong Province, at 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the bulletin. The storm is moving north at 20 to 25 kilometers per hour, packing sustained gusts of 23 meters per second near its center.

Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast near the coasts of Shandong, Liaoning and the province of Jilin. The strength of the storm will be reduced after landing, the meteorological authorities said.

Image
© Xinhua/Li ZihengTaxi drives on the roads covered with rain water in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, June 26, 2011. Strong winds and heavy rains are forecast to hit China's eastern coast as tropical storm Meari is moving northwest from the southern Yellow Sea waters, according to a statement issued by the nation's meteorological authority Sunday. The tropical storm Meari will shave off the eastern coasts of Shandong Peninsula or may make a landfall around the region between Sunday afternoon and evening, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC) of China Meteorological Administration in the statement.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: The Nation's Weather - June 25, 2011


NECN
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:29 UTC
The main weather feature in the country on Sunday will continue to be a storm that will roll through the western Plains and into the Tennessee Valley. Behind this, another storm will move through the Plains. All of this activity will translate to more thunderstorms with associated rain in the Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley. In the Plains, expect more rain in the Dakotas, potentially bad news for the flooded town of Minot, N.D. This excess rain will add water to the already raging Souris River. There is a slight chance of severe weather in the Middle Mississippi Valley and the Dakotas, meaning large hail and strong winds are possible. No strong tornades are anticipated from either of the aforementioned storms.

The Southern Plains will not receive any rain on Sunday, prolonging a devastating drought that has spread from Arizona through Louisiana.

In the West, a high pressure system will remain dominant for one more day before an unseasonably strong storm from the Pacific Ocean begins to weak the high pressure system to begin the workweek. Warm inland temperatures will give way to cool and cloudy conditions closer to the coast in California, while typical warm desert temperatures are expected in the Southwest.
Read More...
Attention

Chile Cloud May Halt Winter Escape

Shannon Deery
Herald Sun
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:00 UTC
Image
© Getty ImagesExperts are unable to rule out the return of volcanic ash cloud to Australian skies and further disruption to travel.
The plans of thousands of school holiday travellers could be thrown into chaos, with experts unable to rule out the return of volcanic ash cloud to Australian skies.

Almost all services have resumed as the ash from the Puyehue Cordon-Caulle volcano in Chile moves south over the Tasman.

But with the volcano still erupting, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Committee is unable to say whether an ash cloud could return in time to disrupt school-holiday flights from Friday.

Forecaster Steph Bond said it was impossible to predict if and when the cloud would return.

"We can't really say what will happen beyond the next 36 hours," Ms Bond said.

"At the moment, we have it all south of the Australian continent and we don't expect the ash to affect us for the next 24 to 36 hours."

Ms Bond said the ash cloud had broken up significantly and looked like it would dissipate over the southern oceans.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Fear and Trembling in Saudi Arabia

David Rosenberg
The Jeruslam Post
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:02 UTC
Image
© John Pallister, United States Geological SurveyHarrat Lunayyir basalt cinder cones and lava flows in Saudi Arabia seen from an aerial perspective. Deposits from the cinder cones cover nearby ridges and form fans at the base of the older non-volcanic ridge in the background. These well-preserved geomorphic forms indicate the relative youth of this northern part of the volcanic field.
Media warn of imminent earthquake, volcano, but geologists discount risk; correctly or not, many Saudis worry about Harrat Lunayyir.

Saudi Arabia's Harrat Lunayyir lava field doesn't seem the kind of place that would generate much concern from anyone. Rocky where it isn't covered by sand, the area is bereft of vegetation and human habitation. Summer temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. True, it is pockmarked with cones formed by eruptions, but those were formed quite a long time ago.

But, correctly or not, many Saudis worry about Harrat Lunayyir. Two years ago the area was shaken by a so-called swarm of over 30,000 mini-earthquakes, which geologists say was caused by magma flows deep underground. The swarm left a five-mile long fissure and forced some 40,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Six Strong Quakes Strike at Ring of Fire in the Past Week


International Buisiness Times
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 07:26 UTC
Image
© USGSAbout 6 strong earthquakes, the latest in Indonesia, have been recorded in the past week
In March, a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake, now known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, hit Japan. One of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world overall since modern record-keeping began, the quake created a tsunami, killed more than 15,000, destroyed billions worth of infrastructure and caused a number of nuclear accidents.

On Sunday, a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck near the coast of Indonesia's Papua province. There were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings issued.

Aside from Indonesia, during the past week moderate to strong earthquakes have hit Japan; nations in the Pacific like Fiji; Latin American countries like Chile and Argentina; Alaska in the United States; and even Antartica.

The Irish Weather Online reported that 2011 is on target to record the largest number of earthquakes in a single year for at least 12 years.
Read More...
Nuke

US: Flood Berm Collapses at Nebraska Nuclear Plant

Josh Funk & Timberly Ross
Victoria Advocate
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:52 UTC
The Fort Calhoun nuclear power station in Fort Calhoun, Neb.
© AP Photo/Nati HarnikThe Fort Calhoun nuclear power station in Fort Calhoun, Neb., currently shut down for refueling, is surrounded by flood waters from the Missouri River, Tuesday, June 14, 2011. On Tuesday, the releases at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota hit the maximum planned amount of 150,000 cubic feet of water per second, which are expected to raise the Missouri River 5 to 7 feet above flood stage in most of Nebraska and Iowa.
A berm holding the flooded Missouri River back from a Nebraska nuclear power station collapsed early Sunday, but federal regulators said they were monitoring the situation and there was no danger.

The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station shut down in early April for refueling, and there is no water inside the plant, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. Also, the river is not expected to rise higher than the level the plant was designed to handle. NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said the plant remains safe.

The federal commission had inspectors at the plant 20 miles north of Omaha when the 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Water surrounded the auxiliary and containment buildings at the plant, it said in a statement.

The Omaha Public Power District has said the complex will not be reactivated until the flooding subsides. Its spokesman, Jeff Hanson, said the berm wasn't critical to protecting the plant but a crew will look at whether it can be patched.
Read More...