© USGS

Event Time:
2012-06-06 14:04:17 UTC
2012-06-06 22:04:17 UTC+08:00 at epicenter
2012-06-06 07:04:17 UTC-07:00 system time

Nearby Cities:
36km (22mi) NE of Saryg-Sep, Russia
88km (55mi) E of Kaa-Khem, Russia
108km (67mi) E of Kyzyl, Russia
223km (139mi) E of Shagonar, Russia
887km (551mi) WNW of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

© USGS

Event Time:
2012-06-06 07:58:13 UTC
2012-06-06 06:58:13 UTC-01:00 at epicenter
2012-06-06 00:58:13 UTC-07:00 system time

Nearby Cities:
94km (58mi) NW of Clifden, Ireland
110km (68mi) WNW of Castlebar, Ireland
113km (70mi) W of Beal An Atha, Ireland
156km (97mi) NW of Galway, Ireland
318km (198mi) WNW of Dublin, Ireland

The British Geological Survey has confirmed a magnitude 4 earthquake off the west coast of Ireland.

It occurred shortly before 9am, 60km off the Mayo coast.

A spokesperson for the British Geological Survey said it was a "rare and unusual" event.

But he said that it has happened before and added that around 200 small earthquakes happen around Ireland every year.

Locals in a number of areas on the west coast reported feeling earth tremors this morning.

There have been reports of some structural damage but this has not been confirmed.

Somethingterribly fishy is going on at the fishing port of Ohara (pronounced Oh-hara) in Isumi City of Chiba Prefecture, and it has nothing to do with espionage or political corruption. There are tons and tons of dead sardines washing up on the shore, and not only is the sight disturbing, but the huge amount of dead fish is literally smelling up the entire surrounding area.

According to the news, the dead fish started washing up around noon of June 3rd, and as of early afternoon on June 4th, the situation still remained pretty much out of control. The amount of dead sardines that has washed up is thought to total several dozen metrics tons, so you can imagine how bad the smell of rotting fish must be.

We've seen the pictures uploaded onto Twitter, and the port looks completely filled with fish - it almost looks like a carpet of sardines. It doesn't seem likely that any fishing boats will be setting sail from this port soon.

There are also, of course, the usual posts and comments on the internet on how this could be an omen, a sign of a coming great natural disaster.

When we inquired with a local inn, we were told that the port was scheduled to be closed from June 1st to 5th, but given the emergency, local fishermen are currently out in full force trying to resolve the situation. Already more than 2 full days into the bizarre occurrence, the smell has to be almost unbearable, but the people of Ohara still have no idea when they will be able to get rid of all the sardines. We sincerely hope they will be able to solve the problem quickly.

The Daily Telegraph fishing columnist Al McGlashan discovered the remains of the ocean titan - so fresh it still carried its ruby red colouring - about 50km off Jervis Bay.

The carcass of the giant measured about 3m long, even though most of its tentacles had been bitten off, possibly in a fight to the death with its only known predator, a sperm whale, hundreds of metres below the surface.

"It must have died not that long before we found it because it didn't smell at all and its colours were still strong - most giant squid remains are smelly and rotten and just off-white by the time someone finds them," Mr McGlashan said.

Hardly a day goes by in Sochi, Russia's picturesque Black Sea resort, without a dead dolphin washing up on the beach. With the tourist season just kicking off, the unexplained deaths have yet to draw much scrutiny. But environmentalists are increasingly alarmed. The dolphin carcasses are also turning into a real holiday spoiler for vacationers drawn to the region's scenic beaches and pristine vistas. Russian tourist Aida Kobzh was shocked to discover a group of dead dolphins last week at her local beach in Sochi.

"Everyone stood there and stared at the dead little dolphins lying belly up. Poor creatures!" Kobzh says. "There were some on the beach but also in the water, they were floating there, dead." The dolphins started washing up along Russia's Black Sea coast several weeks ago. They have also been spotted on Ukrainian shores. Environmentalists are now talking about the biggest dolphin die-off to date in the region, with an estimated 300 animals dead so far. Local authorities have made no serious attempt to investigate the deaths, saying the animals are too decayed by the time they reach the shore for laboratory tests to be conducted.

Jakarta, Indonesia - , Indonesia - A strong earthquake swayed tall buildings in Indonesia's capital Monday afternoon but caused no tsunami or apparent damage.

Office workers said the swaying was felt for about 10 seconds in high-rise buildings around the city of 9 million people. Even two-story homes shook strongly.

No damage or casualties have been reported. Earthquakes occur frequently across the sprawling archipelago nation, but it is uncommon for tremors to be felt in Jakarta.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 5.9-magnitude quake hit in the Indian Ocean 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Sukabumi, a town in West Java province. It was about 171 kilometers (106 miles) from Jakarta and 67 kilometers (41 miles) beneath the ocean floor.

A plan to disperse the waste to incineration facilities across the country, meant to instill national unity, is doing the opposite, and further delaying Japan's ability to move beyond Fukushima.

Disposing the more than 20 million tons of rubble caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is proving to be a difficult problem for Japan, not least because much of the rubble has been irradiated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The government's plan -- to destroy 4 million tons of potentially radioactive earthquake debris in garbage incinerators around the country -- is dividing the nation and further delaying the country's ability to put Fukushima behind it.

More than a year after the disaster, over 90 percent of the debris from disaster-stricken areas is still sitting around, waiting for disposal. Under a government pledge to clear the rubble entirely by 2014, the Ministry of the Environment is leading an effort to distribute the rubble to municipalities around Japan for speedy incineration and burial. But people across the country have met the plan with strong opposition, objecting that it needlessly spreads radiation to unaffected areas.

Last week, trucks carrying earthquake debris from northeastern Japan arrived in the south-western island of Kyushu, as part of the national government's plan to disperse and destroy debris. Protestors blocked the road for 8 hours over fears that incinerating the debris would spread radiation to areas that have not yet been contaminated by the nuclear disaster. The waste was burned last Thursday in the first "trial burn" of radioactive tsunami debris to be conducted in this part of Japan.

The protest in front of the main gate of Hiagari Incineration Facility in Kita Kyushu City was the latest in a divisive debate over the effort to ship roughly 20 percent of earthquake debris from the Tohoku region (where Fukushima is located) to municipalities around Japan for incineration. The plan, which calls for shipping the debris as far as the southern most island of Okinawa, has been promoted as a symbol of Japan's national unity and collective reconstruction effort.

US, Florida - A Naples church and daycare were forced to be held outside on Sunday. The pastor of Faith Community Church says a growing sinkhole underneath the building is to blame.

"It's heartbreaking. There's nothing we can do about it," says Pastor Roy Shuck.

Shuck says the sinkhole may be shifting tiles near the church's nursery and splitting walls where they pray.
The ground has shifted so much that Shuck says it now slopes four inches down.

On Thursday, Collier County officials deemed the church unsafe for the congregation. That forced Sunday services to be held outside.

Date-Time
Monday, June 04, 2012 at 03:15:25 UTC

Sunday, June 03, 2012 at 10:15:25 PM at epicenterTime of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
5.508°N, 82.468°W

Depth
9.7 km (6.0 miles)

Region
SOUTH OF PANAMA

Distances
323 km (200 miles) S of David, Panama

330 km (205 miles) SSW of Santiago, Panama

347 km (215 miles) SW of Las Tablas, Panama

501 km (311 miles) SW of PANAMA CITY, Panama