Earth Changes
A moderate earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 3.9 jolted southern Nagano Prefecture and surrounding areas in central Japan Saturday night, Kyodo News reported.
LONDON (Reuters) - The southern end of the San Andreas fault near Los Angeles, which has been still for more than two centuries, is under immense stress and could produce a massive earthquake at any moment, a scientist said on Wednesday.
Yuri Fialko, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at La Jolla, California, said that given average annual movement rates in other areas of the fault, there could be enough pent-up energy in the southern end to trigger a cataclysmic jolt of up to 10 meters (32 ft).
Yuri Fialko, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at La Jolla, California, said that given average annual movement rates in other areas of the fault, there could be enough pent-up energy in the southern end to trigger a cataclysmic jolt of up to 10 meters (32 ft).
June 20 (Bloomberg) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 jolted Tokyo and surrounding areas of eastern Japan at 6:47 this morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued.
The tremor was centered 80 kilometers (50 miles) underground in Chiba, east of Tokyo. It registered 3 on the Japanese agency's seismic intensity scale, the agency reported on its Web site.
The tremor was centered 80 kilometers (50 miles) underground in Chiba, east of Tokyo. It registered 3 on the Japanese agency's seismic intensity scale, the agency reported on its Web site.
Another outbreak of bird flu has been reported in China.
The latest outbreak is at poultry farms in the northern province of Shanxi.
The official Xinhua news agency reported Monday the local government has quarantined the area and experts and veterinarians have started disinfection and culling.
The latest outbreak is at poultry farms in the northern province of Shanxi.
The official Xinhua news agency reported Monday the local government has quarantined the area and experts and veterinarians have started disinfection and culling.
A severe thunderstorm swept through Ottawa Monday night, knocking out power to more than 24,000 homes.
DHAKA - Large swathes of northeastern Bangladesh were under water following heavy monsoon rains in neighbouring India.
Around 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) and an estimated 76,000 people were affected in seven sub-districts of the northeastern Sylhet region, said district relief officer Mohammed Mosao-Ir on Friday.
Around 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) and an estimated 76,000 people were affected in seven sub-districts of the northeastern Sylhet region, said district relief officer Mohammed Mosao-Ir on Friday.
WARSAW - Hundreds of people were evacuated from areas of Poland and Slovakia as torrential rain caused flooding, local authorities said.
Some 500 people were forced to leave their homes in the southeastern Polish town of Jaslo, mayor Andrzek Czarnecki said on Polish television station TVP.
Several farms and thousands of hectares of agricultural land were flooded when rivers burst their banks.
Some 500 people were forced to leave their homes in the southeastern Polish town of Jaslo, mayor Andrzek Czarnecki said on Polish television station TVP.
Several farms and thousands of hectares of agricultural land were flooded when rivers burst their banks.
Mumbai - Three people died and two were missing at sea as annual monsoon rains Tuesday caused floods in India's south that saw parts of Kerala state flooded and fishing in the Arabian Sea curtailed, reports said.
Two women were killed after a coconut trees uprooted by the heavy rains fell on them and a man was killed when a tree landed on a passenger bus in Kerala, Press Trust of India reported.
Elsewhere in the state, hundreds of families were moved to relief camps as villages in low-lying districts were flooded after the monsoon hit Friday, a week earlier than expected PTI said.
Two women were killed after a coconut trees uprooted by the heavy rains fell on them and a man was killed when a tree landed on a passenger bus in Kerala, Press Trust of India reported.
Elsewhere in the state, hundreds of families were moved to relief camps as villages in low-lying districts were flooded after the monsoon hit Friday, a week earlier than expected PTI said.
Indonesia has upped the death toll from the earthquake which hit the island of Java on Saturday to more than 5,800.
Large quantities of aid started flowing into affected areas, and the UN spoke of "enormous progress" being made.
But many survivors spent a fourth night without shelter or supplies, as congested roads hampered access to more remote areas.
Large quantities of aid started flowing into affected areas, and the UN spoke of "enormous progress" being made.
But many survivors spent a fourth night without shelter or supplies, as congested roads hampered access to more remote areas.
The Hague - Dutch authorities will have to boost their already significant flood protection measures to cope with increasingly warmer, wetter winters and summer droughts, according to forecasts released Tuesday.
Four possible future climate scenarios for 2050 presented by the official Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) show global warming continuing apace and sea levels rising.
For the Netherlands, the next four and a half decades will bring milder but wetter winters and drier summers interspersed with sudden extreme rainfall.
Four possible future climate scenarios for 2050 presented by the official Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) show global warming continuing apace and sea levels rising.
For the Netherlands, the next four and a half decades will bring milder but wetter winters and drier summers interspersed with sudden extreme rainfall.
