Firefighters combat more than 100 blazes as gales blow across Greece.
Strong winds across Greece fanned more than 100 brush fires - some of which firefighters were still battling last night - and disrupted sea travel during one of the busiest times of the year for ferry companies.
Earth Changes
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A strong earthquake jolted northwestern Japan on Monday morning and caused buildings in the capital Tokyo to sway. The Meteorological Agency said small tsunamis as high as 20 inches were believed to have hit coasts in the area.
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| ©USGS |
Earthquakes measuring up to 5.5 on the Richter scale have been rattling northeastern Tanzania in the past four days and tremors were also felt in neighbouring Kenya, officials said Sunday.
Kenya Meteorological Department official Peter Ambenje said the tremors, which lasted about one minute, were last recorded in northeastern Tanzania at around 2:24 pm (1124 GMT) on Sunday.
Kenya Meteorological Department official Peter Ambenje said the tremors, which lasted about one minute, were last recorded in northeastern Tanzania at around 2:24 pm (1124 GMT) on Sunday.
Hurricanes can trigger swarms of weak earthquakes and even set the Earth vibrating, according to the first study of such effects.
When Hurricane Charley slammed into Florida in August 2004, physicist Randall Peters of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, had a seismometer ready to monitor any vibrations in the Earth's crust. He did so for over 36 hours as Charley travelled briefly over Florida, then slid back out into the Atlantic.
When Hurricane Charley slammed into Florida in August 2004, physicist Randall Peters of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, had a seismometer ready to monitor any vibrations in the Earth's crust. He did so for over 36 hours as Charley travelled briefly over Florida, then slid back out into the Atlantic.
A powerful typhoon lashed Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and killing one, a boy who fell and drowned in a swollen river.
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Firefighters tried to contain several dozen lightning-caused fires in Washington state on Saturday, as more thunderstorms swept through the region.
Close to 2,700 lightning strikes were reported in Washington and Oregon on Friday and early Saturday, sparking 212 fires, but firefighters quickly contained most of them. Three of the largest remaining fires had burned nearly 43 square miles of grass, sagebrush and farm fields in south-central Washington, and only one had been contained by early Saturday afternoon.
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| The red lights of fire trucks, right, are seen as firefighters prepare defend homes against a fast moving wildfire Friday night, July 13, 2007, in Asotin County, Wash. |
Close to 2,700 lightning strikes were reported in Washington and Oregon on Friday and early Saturday, sparking 212 fires, but firefighters quickly contained most of them. Three of the largest remaining fires had burned nearly 43 square miles of grass, sagebrush and farm fields in south-central Washington, and only one had been contained by early Saturday afternoon.
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| Vehicles run through flooded water in a street in Xiangfan, a city in central China's Hubei Province |
Zheng Xiaoling trekked in the knee-deep water, careful not to fall and be washed into a swollen river 500 meters away.
On Friday, the worst rainstorm to attack her home county of Jingshan in central China's Hubei Province since records began interrupted power and water supplies for six hours and inundated at least 140 homes in her community, including her own.
The government warned of the possibility that natural disasters could strike in several of the country's regions in the coming weeks. Senior government officials have asked the Indonesian people to brace for potential volcanic eruptions and huge waves expected to pound numerous coastal regions.
For the past 6 weeks Peru has been in the grip of extremly cold weather with temperatures ranging between -22º and -15º C (-8º and 5º F). The record breaking cold spell has already affected over 200,000 people, caused the death of 55 children under five and is responsible for over 6,000 cases of pneumonia.
A severe nine-day heat wave in Europe has broken 100-year temperature records. Throughout southern Europe and the Balkans, unusually high temperatures caused many deaths, including 29 in Romania where temperatures reached 113 degrees in Bucharest, the highest in 90 years.
Comment: Any connection to Typhoon Man-yi?