A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.3 shook Indonesia's Sumatra island on Tuesday and was felt in Singapore and Malaysia as well, causing the evacuation of several buildings over 400km away.
Earth Changes
A heavy storm that hit the Primorye Territory in Russia's Far East Sunday has paralyzed the region and prompted local authorities to declare a state of emergency, the press office of the regional administration said Monday.
The snowstorm, the most powerful in more than 100 years of weather observations in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in March, disrupted transportation and power supplies in several areas in the region's south, leaving some 2,000 people without electricity, the regional authorities said.
First Deputy Governor Alexander Kostenko has been placed in charge of the regional administration's efforts to restore order in the snowstorm's wake, the administration's press office said.
"The main task for all of the region's essential services and the emergency ministry's teams is to clear the roads," the press office said.
The snowstorm, the most powerful in more than 100 years of weather observations in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in March, disrupted transportation and power supplies in several areas in the region's south, leaving some 2,000 people without electricity, the regional authorities said.
First Deputy Governor Alexander Kostenko has been placed in charge of the regional administration's efforts to restore order in the snowstorm's wake, the administration's press office said.
"The main task for all of the region's essential services and the emergency ministry's teams is to clear the roads," the press office said.
Tornadoes ripped across the Southern and Midwestern US on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, most of whom had been taking shelter in an Alabama high school when it collapsed.
Five people died when the school building was torn open by the twister in the town of Enterprise, according to Yasmie Richardson of the state's Emergency Management Agency. The agency had said earlier that 17 people had died in the town, but later lowered the state-wide toll to seven, blaming initial miscommunication among officials.
Five people died when the school building was torn open by the twister in the town of Enterprise, according to Yasmie Richardson of the state's Emergency Management Agency. The agency had said earlier that 17 people had died in the town, but later lowered the state-wide toll to seven, blaming initial miscommunication among officials.
The tornadoes that tore across the south-eastern US on Thursday, killing at least 19 people, were devastating but not unprecedented, say tornado experts. However, the twisters did strike unusually early in the year.
The tornado season in the US normally reaches its peak between mid-April and June. The tornadoes tend to get stronger as the year progresses because warming temperatures increase the amount of energy in the atmosphere.
The tornado season in the US normally reaches its peak between mid-April and June. The tornadoes tend to get stronger as the year progresses because warming temperatures increase the amount of energy in the atmosphere.
State College, PA - While wicked weather will not return to the nation early next week, arctic air will make a comeback across the Northeast. After a seasonable day on Monday, frigid air from the north Tuesday will send temperatures back to the brutally cold values of this past February.
Channel 4 Thursday 8 March at 9pm
In a polemical and thought-provoking documentary, film-maker Martin Durkin argues that the theory of man-made global warming has become such a powerful political force that other explanations for climate change are not being properly aired.
The film brings together the arguments of leading scientists who disagree with the prevailing consensus that a 'greenhouse effect' of carbon dioxide released by human activity is the cause of rising global temperatures.
In a polemical and thought-provoking documentary, film-maker Martin Durkin argues that the theory of man-made global warming has become such a powerful political force that other explanations for climate change are not being properly aired.
The film brings together the arguments of leading scientists who disagree with the prevailing consensus that a 'greenhouse effect' of carbon dioxide released by human activity is the cause of rising global temperatures.
Accepted theories about man causing global warming are "lies" claims a controversial new TV documentary.
'The Great Global Warming Swindle' - backed by eminent scientists - is set to rock the accepted consensus that climate change is being driven by humans.
The programme, to be screened on Channel 4 on Thursday March 8, will see a series of respected scientists attack the "propaganda" that they claim is killing the world's poor.
'The Great Global Warming Swindle' - backed by eminent scientists - is set to rock the accepted consensus that climate change is being driven by humans.
The programme, to be screened on Channel 4 on Thursday March 8, will see a series of respected scientists attack the "propaganda" that they claim is killing the world's poor.
High levels of pesticides are wafting into protected rain forests in Costa Rica, even though the lowland farms being sprayed with the chemicals are miles away, a recent study reports.
Vermont's maple syrup makers are seeing a change in their industry, as warmer winters and shorter seasons reduce the sap produced by their trees.
Tom Vogelmann, chairman of the plant biology department at the University of Vermont, told the New York Times that tapping technology can help sugar makers keep up syrup production for a while, but eventually it won't be worth it.
"It's within, well, probably my lifetime that you'll see this happen," Vogelmann told The Times. "How can you have the state of Vermont and not have maple syrup?"
Tom Vogelmann, chairman of the plant biology department at the University of Vermont, told the New York Times that tapping technology can help sugar makers keep up syrup production for a while, but eventually it won't be worth it.
"It's within, well, probably my lifetime that you'll see this happen," Vogelmann told The Times. "How can you have the state of Vermont and not have maple syrup?"
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| ©USGS |
| A map showing the average crust thickness on the Earth. The red dot marks the location of the exposed mantle that scientists aboard the RSS James Cook will study. |
There's a huge hole that extends over thousands of square miles in the Atlantic seafloor between the Cape Verdes Islands and the Caribbean nearly 2 miles below the ocean surface where Earth's deep interior is exposed without any crust covering and a team of scientists wants to find out why.
"It's quite a substantial area," said Chris MacLeod, a marine geologist at Cardiff University in the UK, who will be part of the expedition.
Comment: And then, there is the possibility of cometary impact...