Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Ohio, US: More rain expected as region surpasses April record

Mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely throughout much of the day.

Sound familiar?

Once again, local residents experienced more rain Monday, adding to the April record of 11.32 inches set over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The previous April record of 9.77 inches was set in 1998, and there are still five days remaining this month.

So far, this month has been the fifth-wettest in history and the area could break the all-time record of 13.86 set in January 1937, according to meteorologist Julie Reed.

Totals could approach 14 inches, Reed said, as heavy rains Tuesday night into Wednesday move in.

"It could be pretty volatile throughout the area into Wednesday evening," Reed said.

Cloud Lightning

Brazil: Dozen die in floods and landslides

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© Unknown
Landslides and floods in southern Brazil over the weekend are now known to have left a dozen people dead.

Some 40,000 people have been affected by the torrential rain and several hundred left homeless.

The authorities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency in seven cities.

Among the dead were seven family members whose homes in the town of Igrejinha were buried by a landslide.

Radar

Series of five tremors off Maltese coast

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© Malta Tourism Authority
A series of five earth tremors, with the first occurring at around midnight, were felt in various localities in Malta yesterday, as reports of shaking and objects moving on the shelves reached this newspaper.

The first earthquake, of magnitude 3.5, occurred early this morning at around eleven minutes past midnight, about 37 km east of Malta. This was followed by other events at approximately the same location.

The next quake, of magnitude 3.3, occurred at 3:34am, then at 4:44am a third quake of magnitude 2.5 occurred. The next one was at around 6:39am, and of magnitude 3.5 and the final one happened at around 11.30am. Another tremor, the strongest at 4.0 on the richter scale was felt just after 3pm. The tremor was located at a depth of 2km in the sea 25km off Zabbar. It was also felt in Italy.

Fish

Chilean scallop farms devastated by tsunami

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© UnknownChilean fishing boats in "Caleta Tumbes" cove, Concepcion,some 519 km south of Santiago, in 2009.
Underwater currents from the tsunami have ruined Tongoy's scallop beds

Thousands of miles from the shores of Japan across the Pacific Ocean, Chilean shellfish farmers are facing an uncertain future after a giant wave traveled the seas and washed away their scallop beds.

"I don't think I can carry on. Too much has been lost. I had all the scallops I could wish for, and now, look," said fisherman Patricio, shaking his head in despair.

Tongoy, some 450 kilometers (290 miles) north of the capital Santiago, stands on part of the scenic Chilean coast which was put on alert on March 11 after a catastrophic earthquake in Japan triggered a massive tsunami.

Radar

U.S. fears overdue 'megathrust' earthquake will trigger tsunami and decimate unprepared cities on north-west coast

Cascadia fault line has lain dormant for 300 years
Eruption could trigger tsunami, devastating seaside communities - and reach as far as Japan


The north-west coast of the U.S. could be devastated by a huge movement of undersea plates known as a 'megathrust' earthquake, scientists say.

A review of the dangers posed by the Juan de Fuca plate released in the wake of the Japanese quake has raised fears that the Pacific seaboard could be similarly ravaged.

The horrifying possibilities have been brought to light by data researched by the Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Laboratory at Oregon State University.

And the results are shown in a documentary, Megaquake: The Hour That Shook Japan, which is set to go out on the Discovery Channel in the UK this weekend.
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© UnknownDisaster zone? A huge 'megathrust' earthquake could spark a tsunami and devastate the U.S. northwest if the Juan de Fuca plate is forced further under the North America plate on the Cascadia fault line


Cloud Lightning

Indiana, US: Storms continue; floods forecast

The National Weather Service in northern Indiana has issued a number of flood watches and warnings for northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.

The flood warning continues for the following rivers:
  • St. Joseph River affecting Allen and DeKalb counties in Indiana and Defiance County in Ohio until Friday night. At 1 p.m. Monday, the river was 9.8 feet and falling in Fort Wayne. Flood stage is 12.0 feet, and the weather service said it is likely to rise above flood stage Tuesday morning and crest near 14.9 feet by 2 a.m. Wednesday. Minor flooding is forecast.
  • St. Joseph River near Newville was measured at 12.5 feet and steady at 3 p.m. Monday, with minor flooding. Flood stage is 12.0 feet. The river is expected to crest near 134.0 feet about 2 p.m. Thursday. Moderate flooding is forecast.
  • Wabash River near Bluffton affecting Huntington and Wells counties.
  • Tiffin River near Stryker affecting Defiance, Fulton and Williams counties in Ohio.

Bad Guys

US: Napolitano, Duncan Coming to St. Louis for Earthquake Drill

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© The Associated Press
Two members of President Barack Obama's cabinet will be in St. Louis this Thursday morning to lead the nation in a first of its kind multistate public earthquake drill.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will join Missouri Governor Jay Nixon at Carnahan High School of the Future for what has been called "the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut."

More than 2.7 million Americans across 2,016 schools and 82 colleges and universities will participate in the drill.

The drill will be conducted along the earthquake-prone region known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Scientists predict a major earthquake could hit this region in the next 50 years.

Bizarro Earth

Pakistan: 5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Jammu and Kashmir

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck Jammu and Kashmir Monday morning. The epicentre of the quake was located in Pakistan, the local disaster management authority said.

"The earthquake was of mild intensity with coordinates measuring 36.23 north and 72.17 east. It struck at 6.25 a.m. Its epicentre lay in Pakistan. No damage has been reported from anywhere so far," said Amir Ali, in-charge of the the disaster management cell at the provincial headquarters here.

It may be mentioned that more than half a dozen earthquakes have rocked the Valley during the last two months. Jammu and Kashmir is located in a highly seismic zone.

More than 40,000 people were killed in a massive quake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, that rocked this state in 2005.

Stop

Florida, US: Officials determine 'duck plague' is killing ducks at Crescent Lake

Walking along the edge of Crescent Lake this week, Mike Flanagan found something that has become a concern around this close-knit neighborhood: dead ducks.

In recent weeks, more than 25 Dave Bairam, a St. Petersburg environmental analyst, takes a water sample at Crescent Lake Park on Tuesday. He said tests are measuring the lake's oxygen levels.have died along the shores of the lake just north of downtown. Then on Sunday, fish started floating to the surface. Also dead.

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© Chris Zuppa | TimesA female mallard flies over her ducklings Tuesday at Crescent Lake Park, where residents have found more than 25 dead ducks as well as dead fish. A necropsy found duck virus enteritis, which spreads easily in droppings but not to humans.
"This is not normal," said Flanagan, president of the Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association. "Obviously our concern is, could we lose all the animals on the lake."

On Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission performed a necropsy on one of the dead ducks.

The culprit: duck virus enteritis. Also known as duck plague.

Cloud Lightning

US: Missouri flooding forces evacuations, closes airport

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© Curious Maps
Police were going house to house in part of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on Monday, ordering people to evacuate ahead of an imminent "catastrophic failure" of a levee on the Black River.

The city said the levee had been compromised after a week in which the area received more than eight inches of rain. Authorities ordered some residents most at risk to evacuate immediately. Other residents near the river were asked to closely monitor developments and water levels in their neighborhoods, the police department said.

"The levee is weakening by the minute and may fail at any time," the National Weather Service said in an alert Monday afternoon.

The weather service said the southeastern portion of the city would be inundated if the levee fails.The levee protects Poplar Bluff from the river, which is now more than four feet over flood stage, according to the weather service.