Earth ChangesS


Magic Hat

Hurricane season outlooks of little use

RALEIGH, N.C. - Each April, weather wizard William Gray emerges from his burrow near the Rocky Mountains to offer his forecast for the six-month hurricane season that starts June 1. And the news media are there, breathlessly awaiting his every word.

Image
©AP Photo/Logan Wallace
A solitary sunbather, a renourishment pipe and a condemned oceanfront home is shown in North Topsail Beach, N.C., Wednesday, May 14, 2008. The island has ongoing difficulties with erosion that may make it particularly vulnerable to hurricane strikes.

Attention

Dukono Volcano Alert

Dukono Volcano in Indonesia was upgraded to level 3 alert (out of maximum 4) on 30th May 2008. Volcanic explosion earthquakes increased from 32/day to 280/day between April and May 2008. On 25th May, ash emissions reached 800 m above the crater, and booming noises were heard coming from the summit. Ash emissions reached 1000 m above the summit on 29th May. Residents close to the volcano are warned to be alert for ashfall. A 3 km exclusion zone has been placed around the volcano. The volcano was on alert level 2 between January 2002 and May 2008.

Fish

Volcano erupts in Galapagos Islands, no threat to tortoises or people

QUITO, Ecuador: A volcano on the largest of the Galapagos Islands has begun erupting and authorities are evaluating possible dangers to the island's famed plant and animal life, officials said Friday.

Extinguisher

Volcano interrupts flights in Chile

The Chaiten Volcano in Chile has been erupting for almost a month now, and the ash that it has been emitting into the air has been causing some problems for incoming flights. Chile's national carrier, LAN was forced to cancel several flights to some of the region's smaller airports, like Temuco, Osorno, Valdivia and Puerto Montt. Authorities said that the shifting winds have blown the ash northwestwards within the Chilean border making it dangerous to fly, as the ash can clog a jet engine.

Cloud Lightning

Indonesian mud volcano could redirect rivers

LONDON - The collapse of the world's fastest-growing mud volcano could redirect nearby rivers and threaten villages in Indonesia, researchers said on Wednesday.

Bizarro Earth

Minor earthquakes continue to jostle Northern Nevada

RENO -- A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook Mineral County, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The temblor that struck shortly before 10 p.m. Friday was centered near the historic mining town of Rawhide about 115 miles southeast of Reno, officials with the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Bizarro Earth

6.4 Earthquake hits Philippines

A magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean off the northern Philippines Sunday morning and was felt as far as southeastern Taiwan, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicenter was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Basco, the capital of the Batan Islands in the Philippines and about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south of Taipei, Taiwan.

Bizarro Earth

China breathes more easily as quake-lake fears ebb

YINGXIU - Fears of a devastating flood from a lake formed by last month's Sichuan earthquake eased on Sunday after hundreds of soldiers and engineers successfully completed a channel to drain away the rising water.

Authorities had evacuated 197,000 people and drawn up plans to move as many as another 1.3 million because of the risks posed by a collapse of the Tangjiashan lake, one of 30 created by landslides touched off by the quake.

bridge over the Fujiang River
©REUTERS/Jason Lee
People pass a bridge over the Fujiang River which connects to the Tangjiashan quake-lake in Youxian district of Mianyang, Sichuan Province June 1, 2008.

Ambulance

Colombia landslide kills at least 6, more missing

BOGOTA - Colombian emergency workers and residents used spades and rescue dogs to hunt for victims on Saturday after rains trigged a landslide that killed at least six people when it swept over a poor Medellin neighborhood.

Colombian rescue workers
©REUTERS/Fredy Amariles
Colombian rescue workers search for victims after a flood in Medellin May 31, 2008. Floods triggered by rains destroyed at least 20 homes, killing six people and left 30 missing, authorities said.

Better Earth

China kicks off drive to kick plastic bag habit

BEIJING - China on Sunday became the latest country to declare war on plastic bags in a drive to save energy and protect the environment.

Under new regulations, flimsy bags under 0.025 millimeters thick are banned and shopkeepers must charge for carrier bags. Those found breaking the law face fines and could have their goods confiscated.

Chinese Shopper
©REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV
A shopper puts groceries he bought in his own bag after stores in China stopped giving free plastic bags at a supermarket in Beijing June 1, 2008. China is trying to kick a 3 billion-a-day plastic bag habit. The world's most populous nation on Sunday will join a growing list of countries, from Ireland to Bangladesh, that are aiming to change shoppers' habits when a ban on the production of plastic bags under 0.025 millimetres thick comes into force.