Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii are looking at a swarm of small earthquakes that shook Kilauea Volcano last week.

There were at least 42 earthquakes in the area within a 24 hour period that started Thursday. Geophysicists said while the temblors have diminished, they are another clue in what may come next at the world's most active volcano.

"Kilauea's summit has been extending, meaning that more magma is coming up to the summit than is going out to the east rift zone," said Jim Kauahikaua, the observatory's scientist in charge. That means there's move lava underground that's headed toward the actual Kilauea caldera, rather than the zone where most of the activity has been in the volcano's 28 year long eruption.

According to Kauahikaua, the extension of the crater has been going on for a few months.

"This extension of the summit is also reflected in the rise in lava in the Halemaumau vent," he said.

"All of them are indications that pressure is increasing in the magma chamber below the summit."

With no let up in snowfall in the high altitude areas, including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg, and intermittent rains in the plains, the night temperatures across Kashmir valley dipped today after showing steady increase over the past three days, engulfing the region in a the fresh cold wave.

It is still snowing in the upper reaches of the valley, including Gulmarg, the main attraction for the tourists visiting Kashmir during winter, official sources said.

The snowfall started in Gulmarg and other high altitude areas early yesterday under the influence of western disturbance which is expected to hover over the region during the next few days.

"So far 10 inches of snow have accumulated in Gulmarg hill resort, while its peripheral areas, including Khilanmarg, Kangdoori and Apperwath, received heavy snowfall," sources said adding reports of heavy snowfall were also received from Sadna top, Z-Gali and Razdan top in north Kashmir, holy cave shrine of Amarnath and adjoining areas in the periphery of Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, Sonamarg and Zojilla Pass along Srinagar-Leh National highway and Yousmarg in Budgam district of Central Kashmir.

Heavy rains lashed major parts of Balochistan on Saturday, paralysing routine life by cutting power supplies. Heavy showers and snowfall also caused traffic disruption between different districts in the province.

The meteorological department said more rains may generate flash floods in the seasonal rivers of Mekran and Sibi divisions. Emergency control rooms have also been set up in these areas.

According to the meteorological office, Quetta received 18.8 millimetres of rain while Dalbandin received 20 millimetres, Nukundi 15 millimetres, Zhob eight millimetres and Kalat 10 millimetres of rain. The Met office predicted more rain in Balochistan over the next 24 hours. Khanmitarzai, Tuba Kakri received one and a half feet of snowfall.

"We have formed two teams and set up a control room in the Levies Thana, Turbat to monitor the situation in the Mekran division," Deputy Commissioner Kech Tariq Qamar Baloch said. He said that all precautionary measures have been adopted.

Date-Time:
Monday, February 14, 2011 at 03:40:10 UTC

Monday, February 14, 2011 at 12:40:10 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
35.433°S, 72.739°W

Depth
25.4 km (15.8 miles)

Region
OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE

Distances
70 km (45 miles) NNW of Cauquenes, Maule, Chile

95 km (60 miles) W of Talca, Maule, Chile

140 km (90 miles) NNW of Chillan, Bio-Bio, Chile

290 km (180 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile

Several areas in the higher reaches were cut off from the rest of Himachal Pradesh as the state experienced another spell of snowfall today reviving cold wave conditions. The hills and mountain passes including Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnuar have been experiencing moderate to heavy snowfall since last evening. Telecommunication services were badly disrupted in Lahaul and Spiti district, which was already cut off by road from rest of the state due to heavy snowfall.

Keylong in Lahaul recorded 45 cm of fresh snow while Killar in Pangi, Rohtang pass, Mari and Koksar recorded 70 cm to 90 cm of snow as snowfall was continuing. The key tourist resorts of Manali, Narkanada, Hatoo Peak, Sarahan and Sangla also experienced snowfall while Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Solan, Sirmaur and other hilly areas were experiencing heavy rains accompanied by high velocity icy winds.

Manali recorded about 30 cm of snow this evening while the nearby Solang ski slopes were covered under 120 cm thick layer of snow bringing cheers to skiers.
Kalpa and Sangla in Kinnaur district recorded 30 cm of snow while Narkanada and Khara patthar in Shimla district had 20 cm of snow.

Heavy rains on Maui in the Waiehu area caused the ground to collapse, right next to a road's shoulder.

The huge hole is between Makaala Street and Wailupe Drive.

The sinkhole is 15 feet deep and up to 40 feet wide; it's big enough for a vehicle to fall into.

Sources say it's affecting drainage, fiber optics cables, and a sewer main.

State workers and county public officials will discuss repair efforts on Monday. Drivers are advised that authorities may close a lane along Waiehu Beach Road when repairs begin.

Madagascar is being lashed by heavy rains, and things are promising to get worse over the next few days.

Tropical Cyclone Bingiza is creeping ever closer. For the last few days it has been swirling a few hundred kilometers off-shore, with just the outer fringes of the storm thrown westwards towards the island. These outer bands have already brought a lot of rain, but the centre of the storm where the worst of the weather is, has not reached Madagascar yet.

Currently the eye of the storm has sustained winds of nearly 160kph, and gust of 195kph. This makes it the equivalent of a category 2 hurricane, but the storm is still expected to strengthen as it creeps slowly westwards.

The full force of Bingiza is expected to strike on Monday, near the town of Mananara Avaratra in the northeast. The town is home to over 30,000 people, with the majority relying on agriculature for their livelihood. A storm of this size will unleash damaging winds and flooding rains capable of tearing through the more rudimentary style of housing, as well as fields of crops.

Sunspot 1158 is growing rapidly (48 hour movie) and crackling with C-class solar flares.

The active region is now more than 100,000 km wide with at least a dozen Earth-sized dark cores scattered beneath its unstable magnetic canopy. Earth-directed eruptions are likely in the hours ahead.

In rows of benches with barely an inch between each other's crisp blue-and-red uniforms, the kids dutifully listen to their teacher's lesson. Once dismissed, they dash out, forming a bottleneck in the narrow passage that constitutes the hallway in this school in Kathmandu. Dozens of children fill each of the cramped rooms in the bare, crudely assembled three-story building. Most of the Nepalese capital's thousands of schools are housed in rudimentary, ill-maintained buildings, but this one happens to be uniquely sturdy. A few strategic vertical and horizontal strands of brick, fortified by steel-reinforced concrete, have been laid over the building's original adobe walls. It is among a small fraction of the South Asian nation's schools - or any private or public buildings, for that matter - designed to withstand a major earthquake.

This is not an abstract consideration. Nepal sits at the meeting point of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, and the same seismic power that long ago produced the Himalayan mountain range continues to make the country an earthquake hotspot. Geologists have identified the region as due soon for a major earthquake, putting millions of people in danger and the nation's fragile economy at further risk. "The Kathmandu valley, unfortunately, has everything that Port-au-Prince has and more," says Robert Piper, the head of UN humanitarian operations in Nepal.

Working against the clock and with limited resources, a local NGO has been retrofitting a few dozen schools and hospitals in Kathmandu, and providing emergency response training to a few hundred more. The strands of brick and steel installed on the walls of the buildings act "like a rubber band," holding the structure together even if it were to sway, says Surya Prasad Acharya, an engineer with the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET). Though not pretty, NSET's renovations are simple, quick and cost-effective, which is crucial. Nepal is among the world's poorest countries (per capital GDP is $467) and its government has been largely dysfunctional in recent years because of infighting and civil strife.

Date-Time:
Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 10:35:06 UTC

Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 07:35:06 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
36.623°S, 73.165°W

Depth
13.3 km (8.3 miles)

Region
BIO-BIO, CHILE

Distances
25 km (15 miles) NNW of Concepcion, Bio-Bio, Chile

95 km (60 miles) W of Chillan, Bio-Bio, Chile

105 km (65 miles) SW of Cauquenes, Maule, Chile

420 km (260 miles) SSW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile