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Bizarro Earth

Hurricane Katia whips up the surf as Britain is battered for a second day by high winds

At first glance it looks like a scene from a winter postcard but this is in fact the surf whipped up by Hurricane Katia.

These cars were photographed driving along North Promenade at Cleveleys near Blackpool, Lancashire, where high winds have caused the surf from the sea to almost close the promenade because of the danger it poses to motorists.

Image
© Cavendesh Press
Winter wonderland? Motorists battle their way through the surf at North Promenade at Cleveleys near Blackpool, Lancashire, where the high winds from Hurricane Katia have caused it to flood the road
The tail end of the hurricane battered Britain yesterday, bringing winds of up to 80mph and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.

A motorist died and an 11-year-old boy was taken to hospital after the remnants of the worst storm in 15 years hit the UK's shores.

But although further blustery conditions were expected, today's winds were not as strong as they were yesterday, forecasters said.

Thousands were left without power last night as gusty weather caused damage to buildings and resulted in travel disruption around the UK.

In County Durham, a driver died when a tree hit a car on the A688 at Dunhouse Quarry, between Staindrop and Barnard Castle.

Durham Police said a passenger in the car was taken to hospital in Darlington with injuries which are not thought to be life threatening following the incident at about 3pm.

Bizarro Earth

US: California - Earthquake Magnitude 3.6 Central Coast, near San Simeon

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 12:27:13 UTC

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 05:27:13 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
35.727°N, 121.109°W

Depth:
8 km (5.0 miles)

Region:
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Distances:
12 km (7 miles) NE (38°) from San Simeon, CA

19 km (12 miles) N (354°) from Cambria, CA

21 km (13 miles) W (267°) from Lake Nacimiento, CA

40 km (25 miles) WNW (286°) from Paso Robles, CA

193 km (120 miles) SSE (158°) from San Jose City Hall, CA

Cowboy Hat

US: New Mexico - Earthquake Magnitude 4.0 near New Mexico / Colorado border

Image
© USGS
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake has struck near the New Mexico-Colorado border, rattling residents in both states.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the light temblor hit at 11:24 p.m. Monday. It was centered 17 miles west of Raton, N.M., with a depth of 3.1 miles.

It came several hours after a magnitude 3.4 quake hit the area. The USGS says the smaller quake struck at 7:37 p.m. and it was centered 22 miles southwest of Trinidad, Colo.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

Bizarro Earth

US: Mystery surrounds what some say could be another gulf oil spill

Image
© Deepwater Horizon Response, via Flickr
A concentrated oil burn in the Gulf of Mexico, conducted in May 2010
Though the mainstream media has left the story alone, reports of a new slick of oil spotted about 40 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, near British Petroleum's Maconda well, have many concerned.

Though the theories are un-confirmed by BP, many worry that the oil might be the result of yet another BP spill. Several samples collected by the Mobile Press-Register in late August bore the same chemical footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil, according to chemists with Louisiana State University. But BP executives have reported finding no leaks in the seal on the Deepwater Horizon well or the relief well, after a survey by a submersible robot.

On April 20, 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded - killing 11 oil workers and injuring 17 others. The resulting spill, which took almost three months to be capped, caused severe damage to the environment and economies of coastal communities in the five Gulf Coast states.

Progress Florida's SpillBabySpill.com - a site initially set up after last year's disaster - has been reporting extensively on the new oil.

Phoenix

US, Minnesota: Residents being asked to evacuate as wind gusts fuel wildfire in northeastern Minnesota

Pagami Creek Fire
© Greg Seitz
Canoeists paddle through the narrows between Lake Four and Lake Three, looking south at the fire and the smoke on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011. "It really grew during the course of the day," said Greg Seitz, communications director for the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
Residents and campers near the Boundary Waters fire are being asked to evacuate as a wildfire burning in northeastern Minnesota continues to grow.

Fueled by dry trees and winds gusting to near 40 miles per hour, the Pagami Creek Fire has at least doubled in size, and some estimates say it may have tripled since the weekend.

It is now spreading south outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

"We're expecting higher winds again tomorrow coming out of the northwest," said Becca Manlove, public information officer with the Pagami Creek Fire Information. "We would rather people have a little time to think and gather things and move rather than asking them on very short notice.

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Rattles Big Country: What's Possibly Behind Them?


Snyder, Texas -- People from Abilene to Midland reported feeling an earthquake that was centered northeast of Snyder Sunday morning.

Earthquakes often occur near Snyder, but this was the second strongest on record behind the memorable 5.3 quake in 1978. Records go back to 1977.

"It was a really heavy loud rumble that came up out of nowhere," said Snyder resident Lance Soria.

"Just sitting there and the house started shaking so I looked up at the roof to see if anything was going to fall," said Snyder Resident Steve Mackey.

The 4.4 magnitude quake hit around 7:30 AM Sunday morning in northeast Scurry County. Residents of Snyder have experienced at least seven earthquakes since Sunday morning.

"To have them this close together is definitely a bit alarming," said Lisa Crump who was raised in Snyder.

Bizarro Earth

Near The North Coast of New Guinea, P.N.G. - Earthquake Magnitude 6.2

PNG Quake_120911
© USGS
Earthquake Location
Date-Time:
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 22:44:32 UTC

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 08:44:32 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
3.678°S, 144.050°E

Depth:
34.9 km (21.7 miles)

Region:
NEAR NORTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA, P.N.G.

Distances:
48 km (29 miles) ESE of Wewak, New Guinea, PNG

242 km (150 miles) N of Mount Hagen, New Guinea, PNG

728 km (452 miles) NNW of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

2803 km (1741 miles) NNW of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

Cloud Lightning

Severe Flooding in Santa Catarina, Brazil

Brazil Flood
© Recreation
The city of Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil.
Ten towns in the state of Santa Catarina in the South of Brazil are in an official state of emergency and a further 25 are on high alert, following several days of heavy rain and flooding. The situation looks likely to get worse, with more rain forecast for the coming days.

According to CIRAM (the Information Centre for Environmental Resources and Hydrometeorology in Santa Catarina), an average of more than 100mm of rain has fallen across the region in the last three days, causing rivers to rise dangerously and provoking landslides in several locations.

Cloud Lightning

'Huge Losses' as Pakistan Floods Kill 200

Pakistan flooding
© AFP/File, A. Majeed
Some 5.3 million people have been affected by this year's flooding in Pakistan
More than 200 people have been killed by devastating rains in Pakistan, which is still struggling to rebuild after last year's worst floods in living memory, officials said Monday.

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state suffering appalling levels of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked violence, saw 21 million people affected in the 2010 flooding that killed 1,750 people and cost the economy $10 billion.

Aid agencies have accused the government of failing to invest in adequate prevention measures and vast swathes of farmland have been inundated for a second year in the southern province of Sindh, the nation's breadbasket.

The situation this year was even worse than last year, one official said.

Cloud Lightning

Stormy Weather Across the UK as Remnants of Hurricane Katia Hit

As forecast, a deep area of low pressure which contains post-tropical storm Katia is bringing gales and heavy rain to parts of the UK.


All parts of the UK will see gusty conditions through the start of the week, with the highest wind speeds of 75 to 80 miles per hour expected over northern and western regions of the country.