Northeastern Afghanistan, already suffering from recent floods and avalanches, has been struck by a strong earthquake.
RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent was in the capital of Badakhshan Province today when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the area.
Dayan Ahmadi says he felt the ground shaking for about two minutes.
Earth Changes
In the wake of yesterday's tsunami in the Solomon Islands, National Geographic News looks at how the killer waves are caused, what the warning signs are, and how to respond when a tsunami threatens.
- A tsunami is a series of great sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.
Scientists have found traces of an asteroid-collision event that they say would have created a giant tsunami that swept around the Earth several times, inundating everything except the tallest mountains 3.5 billion years ago. The coastline of the continents was changed drastically and almost all life on land was exterminated.
- A tsunami is a series of great sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.
Scientists have found traces of an asteroid-collision event that they say would have created a giant tsunami that swept around the Earth several times, inundating everything except the tallest mountains 3.5 billion years ago. The coastline of the continents was changed drastically and almost all life on land was exterminated.
Aid is desperately needed for people scared to return to homes
Emergency aid supplies are being stepped up to thousands of people stranded after a devastating tsunami struck parts of the Solomon Islands.
Emergency aid supplies are being stepped up to thousands of people stranded after a devastating tsunami struck parts of the Solomon Islands.
450,000 people already affected. Natural disasters continue hitting Madagascar, affecting hundreds of thousands of people with another cyclone, Jaya, on the way.
Since December 2006, approximately 450,000 people have become the victims of natural disasters across Madagascar. These families urgently require shelter, food, potable water, medication and school supplies.
Since December 2006, approximately 450,000 people have become the victims of natural disasters across Madagascar. These families urgently require shelter, food, potable water, medication and school supplies.
The death toll from avalanches in northwestern Pakistan rose to 38 after rescue workers found more bodies yesterday in the rubble of demolished homes in a remote village, police said.
The weekend avalanches struck Pakistan's rugged Chitral district, near the border with Afghanistan. Flooding and avalanches have killed more than 50 people over the past 10 days in the region.
The weekend avalanches struck Pakistan's rugged Chitral district, near the border with Afghanistan. Flooding and avalanches have killed more than 50 people over the past 10 days in the region.
HONIARA, Solomon Islands - Tsunami waves churned by an undersea earthquake crashed ashore in the Solomon Islands on Monday, wiping away entire villages and triggering alerts from Australia to Hawaii, officials said. At least 13 people were killed, and the prime minister warned that the toll would likely grow.
Comment: If entire villages were wiped away, expect the number of death people to rise significantly.
Even with the vast Atlantic Ocean lapping at its shores and more yearly rainfall than most of the country, South Florida once again finds itself wanting for water.
South Florida typically gets 52 inches of rain a year -- 14 inches more than soggy Seattle -- but doesn't have the storage capacity to capture enough water to quench the thirst of a growing population.
South Florida typically gets 52 inches of rain a year -- 14 inches more than soggy Seattle -- but doesn't have the storage capacity to capture enough water to quench the thirst of a growing population.
Comment: A simple solution utilized in many other tropical areas, and formerly a standard feature in old Florida, is for each home to have a cistern that captures rainwater for bathing and watering plants.
Los Angeles is going through its longest dry spell in at least 130 years, the National Weather Service said Sunday, fueling fears of rampant wildfires which have plagued the US west coast in recent years.
"The rain season is currently the driest to date in downtown Los Angeles since records began in 1877," the weather service said in a statement.
"The rain season is currently the driest to date in downtown Los Angeles since records began in 1877," the weather service said in a statement.
UPDATE: Quake upgraded to 8.0
HONIARA, Solomon Islands - A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands on Monday, sending a tsunami wave crashing into the country's west coast and prompting region-wide disaster warnings, officials said.
Sgt. Godfrey Abiah said police in the capital, Honiara, reported a wave several yards high had crashed ashore in the western town of Gizo shortly before communication lines with the region were cut.
HONIARA, Solomon Islands - A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands on Monday, sending a tsunami wave crashing into the country's west coast and prompting region-wide disaster warnings, officials said.
Sgt. Godfrey Abiah said police in the capital, Honiara, reported a wave several yards high had crashed ashore in the western town of Gizo shortly before communication lines with the region were cut.
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The precipitous decline in large predator sharks in the Atlantic Ocean in the past decade has made ecologists worry about a trickle-down effect on the ocean ecosystem.
A new study supports the case. With the large predators gone, their prey - smaller sharks and rays - are free to feast on lower organisms like scallops and clams, depleting valuable commercial stocks.
A new study supports the case. With the large predators gone, their prey - smaller sharks and rays - are free to feast on lower organisms like scallops and clams, depleting valuable commercial stocks.
Comment: First Somalia, now the Solomons. Something is going on in that part of the world.