A shallow-undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 jolted Sumatra island earlier Sunday, however, suggested no potential danger of a tsunami, Xinhua quoted the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency as saying.
The quake, which struck at 00.07 a.m. (Jakarta time) Sunday (1707 GMT Saturday), had its epicentre at 119 km southwest Krui of Lampung province and a depth at 10 km under sea bed, an official of the agency stated.
Earth Changes
Philadelphia residents who were shocked to feel their homes shake from what they thought was an explosion learned Saturday that a minor earthquake had struck the area.
An earthquake registering magnitude 1.7 struck the Philadelphia area Friday night, the US Geological Service (USGS) said Saturday.
The quake struck at 9:33pm local time Friday in northeastern Philadelphia at a shallow depth of 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers).
The USGS initially said it had no seismological evidence of an earthquake or tremor as officials had no explanation earlier Saturday for residents who felt their homes rumble, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Police, firefighters and other emergency responders were dispatched to the area after hundreds of residents reported feeling the ground shake shortly before 10:00pm.
An earthquake registering magnitude 1.7 struck the Philadelphia area Friday night, the US Geological Service (USGS) said Saturday.
The quake struck at 9:33pm local time Friday in northeastern Philadelphia at a shallow depth of 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers).
The USGS initially said it had no seismological evidence of an earthquake or tremor as officials had no explanation earlier Saturday for residents who felt their homes rumble, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Police, firefighters and other emergency responders were dispatched to the area after hundreds of residents reported feeling the ground shake shortly before 10:00pm.
© The Associated Press / Bullit Marquez
A fish pond worker scoops up dead milkfish locally known as Bangus after thousands of them were found floating on Taal Lake in Batangas province, south of Manila, Philippines, Sunday May 29, 2011. The Government Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources are still investigating the cause of the fish kill. The damage of the fish, the most in-demand fishes in the country, is estimated at least 50 tons.
A fish pond worker scoops up dead milkfish locally known as Bangus after thousands of them were found floating on Taal Lake in Batangas province, south of Manila, Philippines, Sunday May 29, 2011. The Government Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources are still investigating the cause of the fish kill. The damage of the fish, the most in-demand fishes in the country, is estimated at least 50 tons.
The massive fish deaths started late last week but have eased. Officials have banned the sale of the rotting fish, which are being buried by the truckload in Talisay and four other towns in Batangas province, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources official Rose del Mundo said Sunday.
The deaths are unrelated to recent signs of restiveness in Taal volcano, which is surrounded by the lake where many villagers have grown milkfish and tilapia - staple food for many Filipinos, officials said. The volcano and lake are a popular tourist draw.
Talisay agricultural officer Zenaida Mendoza said an initial investigation showed the deaths may have been caused by the temperature change as the rainy season set in last week after a scorching summer, which also depleted the lake's oxygen levels.
© Earth Observatory, NASA
NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Land Atmosphere Near real time Capability for EOS (LANCE) archive. Acquired May 27, 2011.
NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Land Atmosphere Near real time Capability for EOS (LANCE) archive. Acquired May 27, 2011.
This photo-like image shows Songda roughly an hour prior to the JTWC wind speed measurement. The data were collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite at 1:10 p.m. local time (5:10 UTC) on May 27. The distinct, but cloud-filled eye of the super typhoon was well offshore from the major islands of Luzon and Taiwan, though spiral arms of the storm extended for hundreds of kilometers from the center, bringing severe weather to both places.
The storm's track was predicted to keep it offshore from Taiwan, curving eastward as it travels north. While the storm is quite intense, the fact it has stayed far offshore has kept casualties and damage light. One death in the Philippines had been ascribed to the storm, according to the Philippines disaster council. There has been some crop damage, but since the storm buffeted the islands past the date of harvest, agricultural yields have not been affected.
© n/a
Intense thunderstorms stalled over central Vermont, pushing rivers over their banks and ripping up streets. About 200 people were forced from their homes.
Churning brown water from the rising Winooski River and a tributary flooded into the streets of Vermont's capital city, Montpelier, sending business owners with inundated basements scurrying to move merchandise to higher ground.
"It looked like the river was right there on my porch," said Darlene Colby, 47, who was woken up by police around 1 a.m. She gathered a bag for belongings for herself and 25-year-old son and spent the rest of the night at a shelter.
© NASA/NOAA
Now the swollen Mississippi River is expected to deliver another heavy blow to a seafood industry already on the ropes: a massive flush of fertilizer, animal manure, treated sewage, pesticide and urban runoff.
Scientists predict this polluted wash will give rise to the Gulf of Mexico's largest-ever "dead zone," a large swath of ocean devoid of fish, shellfish and other marine life.
"It's a disaster in the making," said Clint Guidry, a third-generation Louisiana fisherman and president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. "Everybody paid their taxes and fixed their boat up, and they were ready to go back to work this year. It's not looking good."
© Inside Costa Rica
Poas volcano.
Poas volcano.
The team visited the colossus on Wednesday where the recorded 18 "phreatic eruptions" in a three hour period, when normal is 1 or 2 per day.
The temperature of the crater is also increasing, which is causing the lagoon to dry up and possibly disappear.
Experts warn that this could bring more acid rain and ash in the area around the volcano.
However, the activity of Poas is not a danger to tourists and the national park will continue open.
A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion or ultravulcanian eruption, occurs when rising magma makes contact with ground or surface water.
The extreme temperature of the magma (anywhere from 600 to 1,170 °C (1,112 to 2,138 °F)) causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and volcanic bombs.
Cressona, Pennsylvania - For the second time this week, a tornado touched down in Schuylkill County.
Just three days after the "Lewistown Valley Tornado," a 95-mph EF-1, zoomed through Walker Township on Monday, the "Schuylkill Haven Tornado," a 110-mph EF-1, uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 20 homes along an 18-mile strip from Cressona to West Penn Township, according to the National Weather Service.
"Damage was pretty extensive. Four of those homes had major damage. There were a dozen barns and outbuildings that were also damaged," Greg DeVoir, a meteorologist with the NWS, State College, said Friday evening.
The tornado touched down in North Manheim Township, a half-mile west of Cressona, at 8:15 p.m. Thursday. It bobbed up and touched down numerous times as it continued east, DeVoir said. The tornado was 200 yards wide at its greatest width and its path ended at Leibeyville in West Penn Township at 8:35 p.m.
© Nick Meyer/Republican Herald
A tree lies across the front lawn of the property at 1035 Woodland Drive, North Manheim Township, on Friday after a tornado tore through the area Thursday night.
A tree lies across the front lawn of the property at 1035 Woodland Drive, North Manheim Township, on Friday after a tornado tore through the area Thursday night.
"Damage was pretty extensive. Four of those homes had major damage. There were a dozen barns and outbuildings that were also damaged," Greg DeVoir, a meteorologist with the NWS, State College, said Friday evening.
The tornado touched down in North Manheim Township, a half-mile west of Cressona, at 8:15 p.m. Thursday. It bobbed up and touched down numerous times as it continued east, DeVoir said. The tornado was 200 yards wide at its greatest width and its path ended at Leibeyville in West Penn Township at 8:35 p.m.
© Public Opinion/Markell DeLoatch
Tornado damage: Debris and uprooted trees litter a yard on Wayne Road in New Franklin. An F-1 tornado was confirmed for that area.
Tornado damage: Debris and uprooted trees litter a yard on Wayne Road in New Franklin. An F-1 tornado was confirmed for that area.
A tornado with maximum winds of 90 mph touched down briefly in New Franklin and caused little damage compared to widespread down bursts of wind.
The National Weather Service in State College confirmed that a tornado around 6:10 p.m. damaged a pine grove just east of Wayne Road (Pa. 316) in Guilford Township. The EF-1 tornado packed winds of 90 mph and barely missed Dwaine Martin's home and garage, and knocked down a dozen white pines behind his house.
The tornado cut a path 25 yards wide and 200 yards long, according to meteorological technician Tony Mach. The damage area was at the southern end of down burst wind damage that went from just west of Marion eastward through Brownsville, (southeast of Fayetteville).
Martin said the tornado apparently touched down on his driveway and hopped over the garage and came down in the woods. Two small outbuildings were damaged.
The tornado is the seventh confirmed tornado to hit Franklin County since 1974, according to the county Department of Emergency Services.
© Athit Perawongmetha/Getty
According to Keiji Miyazaki, professor emeritus of nuclear reactor engineering at Osaka University, the earthquake likely damaged the high pressure coolant injection system, part of the emergency core cooling system at Unit 3 (as we reported below, it already has been believed that Unit 1 suffered severe damage from the earthquake). This system is supposed to work to cool the reactor even if power is lost, but at Unit 3, it didn't. A review of pressure readings at Unit 3 indicate that there likely was a major steam leak that ultimately led to the speedy meltdown there. Article from Asahi.com here.
A rough translation of remarks by seismologist Katsuhiko Ishibashi (Emeritus Professor, Kobe University, which also suggest the earthquake itself heavily damaged the reactors, is available here.
