A special geological assessment team will be sent to Aceh to see whether the strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake this month had significantly altered the geography of the area.
Ridwan Djamaluddin, director for mitigation and regional development at the State Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said on Sunday that a team of 15 researchers from the BPPT was expected to arrive in Aceh Singkil district on Wednesday.
Residents on Banyak Island, off Aceh Singkil, which was near the epicenter of the quake on April 7, have claimed that the seabed has risen dramatically since the temblor. Undersea fissures were also reportedly spewing out mud and rocks.
"We will be observing the area and the team will be coordinating with the local government as soon as they arrive, collecting the data they need and making their assessment," Ridwan said, adding that Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf had invited the agency to visit the site.
"The Acehnese governor tells us that local people are starting to get worried and they are thinking of moving to a safer place," he said. "We are going to tell them if it is actually dangerous or not after conducting a thorough analysis."
Earth Changes
© KYODO PHOTO
Out of season: Women in kimono walk in the snow among blooming cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden on Saturday as the mercury fell in the capital and many areas across the country.
Out of season: Women in kimono walk in the snow among blooming cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden on Saturday as the mercury fell in the capital and many areas across the country.
Snow also fell in other areas in the Kanto-Koshin regions, mainly in the early hours, with 16 cm accumulating in Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, 18 cm in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, and 3 cm in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, as of 5 a.m.
Saturday's snow in central Tokyo, Yokohama, Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, and some other areas matched the record for the latest snowfall logged April 17, 1969.
In Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, visitors enjoyed the cherry blossoms and snow, a rare view at this time of year.
© Harald Edens
To investigate, a team of researchers from New Mexico Tech has traveled to Iceland to monitor the Eyjafjallajokull volcano--and they have found it crackling with electricity.
"On the evening of April 16th, there were some small eruptions producing ash clouds up to about 6-7 km, with lightning," says photographer Harald Edens. "The sky was nice and clear, so I was able to photograph the bolts from the town of Hvolsvollur using my Nikon D700 and a 80-200/2.8 lens."
© USGS
Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 13:30:58 UTC
Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 07:30:58 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location:
14.523°N, 92.014°W
Depth:
64 km (39.8 miles) set by location program
Region:
GUATEMALA
Distances:
50 km (30 miles) SE of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
65 km (40 miles) WSW of Quezaltenango, Guatemala
160 km (100 miles) W of GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala
930 km (580 miles) SE of MEXICO CITY, D.F., Mexico
© USGS
Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 20:28:50 UTC
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 12:58:50 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location:
35.697°N, 67.654°E
Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region:
CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN
Distances:
125 km (75 miles) SSE of Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan
175 km (110 miles) SSE of Termiz (Termez), Uzbekistan
175 km (110 miles) SSW of Shaartuz, Tajikistan
190 km (120 miles) NW of KABUL, Afghanistan
© Petr David Josek/AP
Passengers look out from the windows of Krakow airport, Poland, Friday. A cloud of volcanic ash from an Iceland volcano caused cancellation of flights across Europe which kept leaders from attending the burial ceremony of late Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife, killed in a plane crash.
Passengers look out from the windows of Krakow airport, Poland, Friday. A cloud of volcanic ash from an Iceland volcano caused cancellation of flights across Europe which kept leaders from attending the burial ceremony of late Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife, killed in a plane crash.
The president's funeral took in the country's historical site, the Royal Wawel Castle in Krakow, where Polish kings and key statesmen have been buried, but ash from the Iceland volcano continues to ground planes over Europe, preventing many world leaders from paying their respects in person.
President Obama's Sunday visit to Poland was canceled at the last minute due to the volcanic ash cloud that has paralyzed Europe's air traffic. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and other guests have announced their absence at the ceremony for the same reason.
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, however, managed to get there.
"The tragedy of eight days ago and the sympathy and help extended by the Russians in these days give us hope for better relations between our two great nations," said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz during the funeral. "I direct those words to [Mr. Medvedev]."
© Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images
The airline crisis was deepening today as air traffic controllers extended the ban on UK flights until at least 1pm tomorrow and the government warned the crisis caused by the volcano eruption in Iceland could last well into Tuesday.
One weather forecaster was predicting problems until Friday as airlines continued to revise their plans with the lockdown on flights continuing across much of northern Europe. Over 20 countries have airspace restrictions, many banning all non-emergency flights.
Comment: Air traffic controllers in individual European countries did not make these decisions. Eurocontrol, the central air traffic control center for Europe, made the call based on the forecasts provided by the Volcanic Ash Centre in London.
Gordon Brown today sought to assure stranded passengers that British airspace would be reopened "as quickly as possible" and warned against rail, coach or ferry operators trying to exploit passengers desperate to find alternative methods of travel. He also said he would be seeking EU funds to help companies stricken by the disruption.
© Alfred Jin/Reuters
The quake also left 11,849 people injured, including 1,300 in serious condition.
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake, the strongest to strike the country in two years, hit an area in Qinghai, near Tibet, on the morning of April 14. The epicenter of the earthquake was registered at the depth of 33 km (20 miles) in Yushu county, in the south of Qinghai province.
Aftershocks complicated relief operations. Hundreds of people remain under the debris in Yushu, a Tibetan plateau county where more than 15,000 houses, or 90% of all homes, were destroyed by the quake.
© USGS
Earthquake Location
Earthquake Location
Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 23:15:24 UTC
Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 09:15:24 AM at epicenter
Location:
6.744°S, 147.259°E
Depth:
66.2 km (41.1 miles)
Distances:
30 km (20 miles) E of Lae, New Guinea, PNG
215 km (135 miles) NE of Kerema, New Guinea, PNG
300 km (185 miles) N of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea
2370 km (1470 miles) NNW of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia
A severe tropical storm struck the eastern Indian states of Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam, as well as neighbouring country Bangladesh, on Tuesday night, destroying an estimated 100,000 homes and killing at least 136 people. The death toll will almost certainly rise further, with others believed to be buried under debris. Many of the survivors are yet to receive assistance, triggering protests in several areas.
The Meteorological Department in Bihar reported winds of 100 kilometres per hour. Tornados also developed within the storm. Trees were uprooted, telephone and electricity lines snapped and mud huts swept away. The storm, which hit at night while most people were sleeping, was the deadliest in the region since Cyclone Aliya swept Bangladesh and eastern India in May last year. As many as 500,000 people are believed to have been affected by Tuesday's storm.
Bihar, India's poorest state, was the worst affected. The confirmed death toll has reached 83, and about 80,000 homes were destroyed in five of the state's districts. In Purnia, a rural area, 39 people were killed including 17 children. In Araria, another rural area, 33 died including 11 children. The district magistrate of Araria, Uday Kumar, told reporters that "while the exact number of people rendered homeless would be ascertained by Saturday, 25,000-30,000 people were affected".
The Meteorological Department in Bihar reported winds of 100 kilometres per hour. Tornados also developed within the storm. Trees were uprooted, telephone and electricity lines snapped and mud huts swept away. The storm, which hit at night while most people were sleeping, was the deadliest in the region since Cyclone Aliya swept Bangladesh and eastern India in May last year. As many as 500,000 people are believed to have been affected by Tuesday's storm.
Bihar, India's poorest state, was the worst affected. The confirmed death toll has reached 83, and about 80,000 homes were destroyed in five of the state's districts. In Purnia, a rural area, 39 people were killed including 17 children. In Araria, another rural area, 33 died including 11 children. The district magistrate of Araria, Uday Kumar, told reporters that "while the exact number of people rendered homeless would be ascertained by Saturday, 25,000-30,000 people were affected".
Comment: A Sott.net reader sent us this photo of the ash cloud above northern Europe: