Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Quake jolts New Zealand South Island

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake has shaken New Zealand's lower South Island, but no casualties or damage from the quake have been reported.

Cloud Lightning

Philippines: Strong Batanes quake hardly felt by people

What was recorded as a magnitude 6 earthquake, considered strong by scientific standards, was hardly felt in Batanes when it struck Sunday night.

Cloud Lightning

Indonesia: Earthquake rattles Aceh on Monday

An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted Aceh waters on Monday at 11.44 am Western Indonesian Time (WIB), according to information of the national meteorological and geophysics office.

Cloud Lightning

US: Lightning strikes at Blue Angels air show

Four people were injured by lightning at a Blue Angels air show at Pensacola Beach on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

Gulf Breeze Hospital spokeswoman Candy McGuyre said 10 people were taken to the hospital from the show with various injuries, including four people injured by lightning. None of those injuries were considered life-threatening.

Bizarro Earth

California fighting wildfires and mudslides

SAN FRANCISCO -- Violent thunderstorms brought rain bursts that modestly helped firefighting efforts Sunday, but the downpours also triggered mudslides that complicated California's unfolding wildfire disaster.

Better Earth

Flashback Tropical ocean sucks up vast amounts of ozone

An important mechanism for sucking ozone and methane out of the atmosphere has been discovered over the tropical Atlantic. The finding reveals how the two greenhouse gasses are kept in check by natural chemical reactions.

Researchers warn, however, that there is a risk the process could be overpowered by rising industrial pollution.

The data collected in Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa, suggests that 50% more ozone is being destroyed above the tropical Atlantic Ocean than previously thought, because of halogens released by the seawater.

Cloud Lightning

Strong earthquake hits Taiwan region

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Taiwan region at 11:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Sunday, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

Cloud Lightning

Mild earthquake in Bulgaria

An earthquake with magnitude 2.6 by Richter scale had been registered in Bulgarian town Strazhitsa at 13.23 on Sunday, officer of the day in the Ministry of Emergency situation told FOCUS News Agency.

Cloud Lightning

Mild earthquake in Malaysia

A mild earthquake measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale occurred around Tawau and Kunak, Sabah tonight.

Phoenix

US: Alaska volcano erupts; island residents evacuated

A volcano in Alaska's Aleutian chain erupted on Saturday, sending a cloud of ash 35,000 feet (10.7 kilometres) into the air and prompting the evacuation of the 10 people who live on the eastern side of the island, officials said.

Okmok Volcano, located on Umnak Island, had an explosive eruption that started just before noon and was continuing through Saturday night, reported the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the joint state-federal agency that monitors Alaska's volcanoes.