Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.4 Earthquake hits the Guam region.
5.3 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
5.2 Earthquake hits off the coast of northern Peru.
5.1 Earthquake hits off the coast of northern California.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits Myanmar.
Flash floods in Mauritius
Massive flash flooding in Mauritius has claimed eight lives. The floods have injured 82 others. Six people died in the flooding in Caudan underground tunnel.
Several accidents have been reported across Mauritius. Dozens of vehicles collided each other at Port Louis.
Lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh, India
Lightning strikes have claimed eight lives and injured nine others. Lightning claimed three lives in Chandauli and Meerut each, two in Ghazipur and one in Sambhal.
Avalanche close to the Glencoe Ski Centre, Scotland
One person is reported to be missing in an avalanche in the Etive Glades, close to Glencoe Ski Centre.
Around 30 people including Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team are involved in the search operation.
Other News
North Dakota Governor has declared a state wide flood emergency. The worst spring flooding is expected on the Red River in eastern North Dakota, USA.
Tornado in Hokitika, New Zealand has injured one person. The twister touched down about at 12.30am and tore off roofs from several houses including Railway Hotel Motel in Weld Street.
Bird Flu - China
Two people in Shanghai, one of China's largest cities, died this month after contracting a strain of avian influenza that had never been passed to humans before.
The two men, aged 87 and 27, became sick late February and died in early March. Another woman in nearby Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in a critical condition.
The strain of the bird flu virus found in all three people was identified as H7N9, which had not been transmitted to humans before.
Swine Flu - India
52-year-old woman succumbed to Swine-flu at civil hospital in Rajkot.
Civil hospital sources said that she was admitted into civil hospital three days ago as a suspected Swine-flu patient and her samples were sent for H1N1 laboratory test which came positive.
At least 49 people have succumbed to Swine flu in civil hospital in Rajkot since January 2013.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): Activity remains elevated. A small lava overflow has started from the NE crater, accompanied by relatively strong tremor and explosion signals visible on the seismic signal.
Etna (Sicily, Italy): A visit to the summit area and current tremor levels showed the volcano is currently calm. No explosive activity was heard or seen from any of the summit craters. The area of bomb impacts from the last New SE crater paroxysm on 16 March was impressive - the whole area between Torre del Filosofo, the 2002-03 craters and the area of Cisternazza NE of the Cono del Lago was littered with bombs of various sizes (20-50 cm mostly). The Belvedere was found totally covered with scoria and bombs.
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): The situation to the west of the island had not changed much and the islanders are in for an uneasy Easter weekend: the seismic swarm continues with frequent and increasingly strong earthquakes and tremor pulses. 15 quakes with magnitudes between 4-4.7 were recorded yesterday alone, the total number of quakes is in the hundreds. A further migration of the hypocenters to the south can be seen, and most quakes remain in the 18-20 km depth layer, with a few in the upper layer at about 10-12 km depth. Inflation has slowed down a bit, but reaches now 12 cm in the western part of the island itself.
Grozny (Iturup Island): Tokyo VAAC reported a possible eruption occurred yesterday around 11:00 GMT. A volcanic ash plume was observed at 7,000 ft (2.1 km) altitude and drifting eastwards.
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): The frequency of explosions has been comparably low, with 0-2 events recorded per day. Yesterday and today, two stronger ones occurred that produced ash plumes rising up to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude.
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): An ash plume rose to an altitude of 10,000 ft (3 km) earlier today, sign that sometimes strong explosions continue from the volcano, in permanent eruption for more than 6 years now.
Paluweh (off Flores Island, Indonesia): The lava dome remains very active and produces ash plumes (by a mix of effusive-explosive activity comprising ash venting, explosions, rockfalls and pyroclastic flows from the dome) on a daily basis. The height of the plumes varies mostly between 8-12,000 ft (2.4-3.6 km) altitude.
Colima (Western Mexico): The "Volcano of Fire" has become a tourist attraction with now up to 200 weak to moderate explosions per day, and frequent incandescent rockfalls / small pyroclastic flows that descend the flank of the volcano to a length of up to 1.5 km and are a spectacular view at night. Melchor Ursua Quiroz, director of the State's Civil Protection unit, said that the Fuego de Colima volcano is currently the most active of the country, and has recently increased its explosive activity. In an article in the El Universal newspaper, he "rules out" any risk for the population. A 8 km exclusion zone is in place around the volcano and the governments of Colima and Jalisco are on permanent alert.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.1 Earthquake hits the Philippine Islands region.
5.0 Earthquake hits southeast of Easter Island.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua, New Guinea.
Landslide in Tibet
Landslide in Tibet has trapped at least 83 mine workers in the gold mining area of Maizhokunggar county of Lhasa.
Drought in Brazil Intensifies
Brazil's northeast interior has been experiencing a severe drought in what should be the rainy season.
Private trucks are selling potable water. Some people travel 100km in search of drinkable water, though many cannot afford to pay the price.
"What falls from the sky does not fill a glass of water," Raimundo, a farmer, said. Natural vegetation, which would normally provide food for livestock, has dried up and many ranchers cannot afford to buy imported feed for their herds. Many farmers are on the brink of collapse, while others have given up on ranching and have moved to other parts of the country in search of work.
$1bn in aid to all of those affected by the drought has been announced by the Government, but many ranchers are having trouble feeding themselves and their cattle are dying in record numbers.
This river is normal full from bank to bank at this time of year:
Danger of New SARS Outbreak in Hong Kong
A few cases of a SARS like virus have been reported in Hong Kong. Hong Kong health officials are very concerned about another major outbreak of the disease; similar to the one that happened a decade ago.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): Another large quake of magnitude 4.6, which was widely felt on the island, just occurred at 08:14 GMT at 18 km depth about 10 km west of the island under the seabed.
Dieng (Central Java): VSI raised the alert level to the third highest level Siaga (3 out of 4), because significant changes were observed at the crater lake. The most spectacular was the change of the lake water color to dark brown on 24 March. In addition, a significant increase in CO2 concentration within 500 m from the Timbang crater was measured, from from 0.01% (by volume) in early March to 2.5% between 11 and 15 March. Also the emissions of the magmatic gas H2S increased. The now elevated gas concentrations are becoming a significant hazard (illustrated by a cat found suffocated by CO2).
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): An increase in activity occurred last night from 20:05 h local time. Small to moderate explosions with ash emissions started to become more frequent. Incandescent tephra was thrown to up to 400-700 m distances onto the northern and northeastern slope of the volcano (see picture). At 22:30 h, the number of explosions increased to become near continuous. Glowing bombs were ejected up to 700 m distance from the crater and an ash column drifted to the northeast. This process was accompanied by continuous volcanic tremor.
Pu'u O'o vent summit cone of Kilauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. © G. Brad Lewis.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.6 Earthquake hits northern Xinjiang, China.
5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Maule, Chile.
5.1 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua, New Guinea.
Hail in Far East
Hail damaged the roofs of more than 10,000 houses in Lao Cai, Vietnam. The hailstorms also injured 26 people. Hailstones were as large as 8-10 cm in diameter.
Several areas in northern Taiwan have experienced rare hailstorms Thursday evening. Hail is a rare occurrence in Taiwan. The Taiwan Weather Bureau had issued the first ever hailstorm warning for Taiwan.
Floods in Yemen
Six people have died in Hadramout governorate over a two-day period this week on Monday and Tuesday due to floods and heavy rains.
Interesting Images:
Fairy circles are circular patches of perennial grasses with a barren center that emerge in the deserts along the southwest coast of Africa. Dotting the Namibian deserts, these rings can persist for decades and occur in regular patterns. Now, research detailed in the March 29, 2013, issue of the journal Science suggests a species of sand termite (Psammotermes) may be the artists behind the grassy artwork.
Global Hottest and Coldest Temperatures
The week's hottest temperature was 112.1 degrees Fahrenheit (44.5 degrees Celsius) at Matam, Senegal.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 101.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 74.2 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.
Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.
Wildfires in Scotland
Firefighters have been tackling a number of large wildfires across the Highlands in Scotland. In one area the flames were two miles wide and were so close to the village, the residents were told to be on standby in case they needed evacuate their homes.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): The latest CO2 measurements show a significantly higher than normal level of gas emission, consistent with fresh magma arriving from deeper sources. Another strong pulse of tremor and earthquakes (including a felt 3.8 magnitude event a short time ago) is in progress. The hypocenters of quakes have "dived" to 18-20 km depth, which could suggest a new batch of magma arriving from depth.
Tolbachik (Kamchatka): Volcanic tremor increased slightly and lava continues to effuse from the fissure vent and feed two main flow fields. No changes were reported recently for the other volcanoes in Kamchatka: seismicity remains at a moderate level at both Sheveluch and Kizimen volcanoes (lava dome building), while Tolbachik's tremor overrides the seismic signals from Bezymianny, which also has been effusing its lava dome for years.
Paluweh (off Flores Island, Indonesia): The lava dome on the island remains very active with now more or less daily ash plumes observed rising to 10,000 ft (3 km) elevation,- sign that active dome growth continues along with associated rockfalls / pyroclastic flows and explosions / ash venting.
White Island (New Zealand): Volcanic tremor is continuous and at high levels. Strong steaming can be seen on the webcam. GNS reported increased CO2 emission (1,950 tons/day on 03 March vs 2,400 tons/day on 26 March), which likely indicates influx of fresh magma at depth.
Colima (Western Mexico): Explosions and incandescent rockfalls sometimes forming small pyroclastic flows on the flanks of the volcano remain frequent. The rockfalls from the growing dome provide a spectacular show at night.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): the current phase of elevated activity continues. Emissions of steam and gas and small to moderate explosions have risen to an average of 3 per hour and sometimes merged into continuous activity yesterday and today. Some of the stronger explosions ejected lava bombs to distances of 1 km from the crater and produced plumes of steam and ash rising up to 1.5 km. CENAPRED also recorded spasmodic tremor segments of high frequency and low amplitude.
Fuego (Guatemala): An increase in explosive activity is apparent from the volcano observatory's daily reports. For the past 24 hours between yesterday and today, 13 explosions (7 weak and 6 moderate in size) were reported with ash plume heights up to 1200 m above the crater. The plumes drifted 8-12 km to the west and southwest and caused light ash falls in the areas Panimaché I and II, Morelia and Santa Sofía.
Telica (Nicaragua): The earthquake swarm continues with high amplitude but less frequent quakes.
San Cristobal (Nicaragua): A phase of stronger tremor has occurred today.
Masaya (Nicaragua): Volcanic tremor has been fluctuating between elevated levels (such as yesterday and this morning) and normal background levels to which is has decreased again now.
Machin (Colombia): Seismic activity remains elevated with frequent earthquake swarms. A probably shallow swarm occurred yesterday, but has now eased again. INGEOMINAS locates most volcanic-tectonic earthquakes in an area SE of the dome at depths between 3.5 - 8 km. No surface activity has been observed (yet).
Galeras (Colombia): During clear days, steaming and occasional weak ash venting (on 22 and 25 March) was observed. Seismic activity has shown a decreasing trend recently, INGEOMINAS reported. Most earthquakes detected at the volcano recently were related to internal fluid movements and of weak energy.
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): No significant changes in activity have been reported in recent days. Small bursts of small volcanic-tectonic earthquakes, indicators of frequent small magma intrusions, continue to show up almost daily, and are clustered mostly in an area northeast and northwest of the Arenas crater at shallow depths between 0.5-8 km. Strong degassing accompanies this process at the surface. A large SO2 plume was visible on yesterday's NOAA satellite data.
Reventador (Ecuador): A steam column was seen rising 1 km above the crater yesterday. Seismic activity remains alternating between periods of calm and bursts of tremor / explosion signals.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.2 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Guatemala.
5.0 Earthquake hits Tonga.
Earthquake swarm continues around El Hierro in the Canary Islands. Around 230 earthquakes have been recorded west of Frontera, from yesterday (March 27) till today (08:00 GMT). Most of the earthquakes are less than magnitude 3.0.
Landslide in Washington State, USA.
A landslide thundered through a subdivision in Washington state's Whidbey Island north of Seattle on Wednesday, destroying one home and threatening more than 30 others.
Landslide in Puchong, Malaysia
A landslide in Puchong, Malaysia has displaced about 300 people. However no casualties have been reported.
Hailstorm in Assam, India
Hailstorm in Assam, India has injured six people and damaged more than 50 houses.
The hailstorm caused damage in the following areas: Titabor, Rajabahar, Madhupur, Tipomia, Majuli, Numaligarh and Bongaon.
Wind Gust in Australia Claims 2
A wall collapsed due to strong wind gust on Swanston Street in Melbourne has claimed the lives of two pedestrians. A 19-year-old woman was also injured.
Floods in Malawi
Thousands of residents have been rendered homeless in the area of Traditional Authority Kilupula in Karonga district following severe floods that have destroyed their houses.
Interesting Images:
An undersea volcano is seen erupting off the coast of Tonga, sending plumes of steam, ash and smoke hundreds of feet into the air on March 18, 2009.
Mount Fuji lenticular clouds.
Arctic Ice Loss May Drive Extreme Weather Patterns
Several researchers say that warming conditions in the Arctic may be weakening jet stream currents and causing extreme weather systems to linger in northern mid-latitudes.
Climate scientists have blamed melting sea ice for causing extreme winter in North America and Europe during this winter. Thickness of the ice is also a concern among the environmental scientists.
The jet stream is a band of very strong winds that blow from west to east, several miles above the earth's surface. Normally, these powerful winds push weather systems around, preventing them from staying in one place for very long.
However, the loss of sea ice in recent decades has allowed Arctic waters to absorb more heat energy from the sun, which has in turn heated the atmosphere above the water.
This heating influences atmospheric pressure and appears to be slowing the westerly jet stream. Instead of flowing quickly and in a relatively straight line, like a river down a mountain, the winds mimic a slower, meandering river.
Arctic sea ice is referred to as the planet's air conditioner, due to its influence on global temperatures. Last year, Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level in the satellite age.
This rate of sea ice loss is faster than what models predicted. Now, some experts say, the Arctic could experience a nearly ice-free summer by 2020.
Madagascar Hit By 'Severe' Plague Of Locusts
A severe plague of locusts has infested about half of Madagascar, threatening crops and raising concerns about food shortages. Billions of the plant-devouring insects could cause hunger for 60% of the population.
Currently, about half the country is infested by hoppers and flying swarms - each swarm made up of billions of plant-devouring insects. About two-thirds of the island country will be affected by the locust plague by September 2013 if no action is taken.
Two bushfires threaten Victoria towns
A fast-moving bushfire west of Melbourne has claimed several buildings, with at least 40 more houses under threat. Three firefighters and one resident have been reportedly injured.
An emergency warning was also issued for a separate bushfire at Hallston, east of Melbourne. The fast-moving, out-of-control fire was expected to threaten the communities of Hallston, Dickies Hill Junction, Allambee South, Berrys Creek.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): It seems that activity has shifted a bit from effusive to explosive. The tremor signal has shown an increase today and includes very powerful explosion signals. On the other hand, lava overflows from the NE vent have decreased during the past days.
Etna (Sicily, Italy): 10 days since the last paroxysm, tremor is still low and doesn't suggest a new eruption is imminent. Bad weather mostly prevented observations during the past days. No glow could be seen last night from any of the summit craters.
Askja (Central Iceland): Small earthquakes have also been more frequent under and near the Askja caldera and Bardabunga volcano (to the SW of Askja) in the past few days.
Krafla (Northeastern Iceland): A weak swarm of earthquakes has occurred at Krafla over the past days.
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): After a day of weakened activity, the seismic swarm has increased with higher energy tremor and stronger earthquakes than ever. Hundreds of earthquakes have occurred so far, including about 25 > magnitude 3 and no less than 4 above magnitude 4 (M4.1-4.6). It seems plausible that magma has once again built up pressure and has broken new fractures into the low crust beneath the NW part of the volcanic edifice. Many quakes are now at 11-15 km depth, i.e. the epicenters, or the likely present location of the intruding magma, has perhaps started to rise. The likelihood of a new eruption in a possible near future thus once again increased.
Manam (Papua New Guinea): A weak SO2 plume is visible today above Manam, indicating some ongoing activity. A hot spot at the summit is visible on MODIS data, likely indicating that a lava dome is growing there.
Paluweh (off Flores Island, Indonesia): Another ash plume was reported today rising to about 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude and drifting 20-30 nautical miles to the NE.
Colima (Western Mexico): Activity has continued to increase both internally and at the surface, with frequent explosions and glowing rockfalls and small pyroclastic flows traveling down the flank of the volcano.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): The rate of steam and sometimes ash emissions climbed to over 3 per hour yesterday. The larger emissions produced plumes with some ash content up to 1 km above the crater. SO2 emission remains elevated.
Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): Activity remains more or less unchanged, but relatively weak. The volcano observatory reported to have heard 5 explosions during the past night, and notes ongoing weak to moderate avalanches from the active lava flows on the flanks of the Caliente lava dome.
Pacaya (Guatemala): Weak explosions producing small plumes of steam and some ash and degassing were reported this morning.
Fuego (Guatemala): Activity remains at weak levels, with 9 small to moderate explosions generating ash plumes rising up to 800 m above the crater and drifting W and SW where fine ash fall occurred.
Telica (Nicaragua): The earthquake swarm still continues and appears to show a slow trend towards increasing magnitude earthquakes including a magnitude 3 event two days ago.
San Cristobal (Nicaragua): A series of probably volcanic earthquakes of magnitudes between 2.8 and 4.9 shock the volcano during last Sunday evening (local time), and INETERS has increased monitoring of the volcano.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
6.0 Earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.6 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.4 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.
Russian coal mine flooding disaster: 4 missing
At least four miners are missing in a coal mine flooding disaster in the Kemerovo region, Russia. The flooding was caused by construction work at the Osinnikovskaya.
139 other miners however, managed to escape the flooding. Three of the miners sustained minor injuries.
Europe money crisis leads to poor health
Harsh spending cuts by debt-crippled European governments are also being partly blamed for outbreaks of diseases not normally seen in Europe and a spike in suicides, new research shows.
Since the crisis struck in 2008, state-run welfare and health services across Europe have seen their budgets cut, medical treatments rationed and unpopular measures such as hospital user fees introduced.
Those countries that have slashed public spending the hardest - Greece, Spain and Portugal - have fared the worst medically.
"Austerity measures haven't solved the economic problems and they have also created big health problems," said Martin McKee, a professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the research.
He said worsening health was driven not just by unemployment, but by the lack of a welfare system to fall back on.
"People need to have hope that the government will help them through this difficult time," he said.
The paper was published online on Wednesday in a special series of the journal Lancet.
McKee said Greece in particular was struggling.
Based on government data, he and colleagues found suicides rose by 40 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year.
Last year, the country also reported an exponential rise in the number of HIV cases among drug users, due in part to addicts sharing contaminated syringes after needle exchange programs were dropped.
In recent years, Greece has also battled outbreaks of malaria, West Nile virus and dengue fever.
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Novel Coronavirus Infection - Update
The Robert Koch Institute has informed WHO of a new confirmed case of infection with the novel coronavirus (nCoV). The patient was a 73-year-old male from United Arab Emirates.
To date, WHO has been informed of a global total of 17 confirmed cases of human infection with nCoV, including 11 deaths.
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Newcastle Disease Outbreak in Israel
The Israeli veterinary authorities have reported an outbreak of Newcastle disease at a breeding farm in Hazafon.
Out of a total of 10680 susceptible birds, 30 deaths were reported. The remaining 10650 birds were destroyed.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Hekla (Iceland): The Icelandic Meteorological Office has informed authorities about unusual seismicity at Hekla volcano, which could be a precursor to a new eruption, and increased the volcanic alert level to yellow. Monitoring of the volcano will be intensified, as Hekla is not only one of the most active, but also one of the potentially most hazardous volcanoes of the country. The last eruption was in March 2000. On average, the volcano has been erupting about every 10 years, and it would statistically seen be due for a new one. "Uncertainty level" was declared by Civil Protection as the lowest of 3 alert levels in case of natural hazards.
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): Earthquakes (more than 120 > M2 today so far) and volcanic tremor continue to be intense, and inflation has reached 10 cm on stations (HI05) located in western El Hierro. The foci of the quakes remains at about 15 km depth 5-10 km NW off the western top of the island, i.e. at the boundary to the crust beneath the island, suggesting that the still moving magma is for now not rising siginficantly into the harder layers that compose the islands' edifice. Whether and when this changes, i.e. magma starts to move vertically towards an eruption, is impossible to day, but a real possibility. The situation has not changed much. The seismic swarm continues with pulsating medium to strong tremor and frequent earthquakes, in more or less the same area as yesterday, 5-10 km NW off the island at depths mostly between 13-20 km. The average magnitudes of quakes has continued to increase: yesterday alone, there were almost 50 earthquakes >magnitude 3 - probably a record number for El Hierro, including 2 quakes of M4 and 4.1. This trend is continuing today.
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): The volcano has again become a regular visitor in today's eruption list. A new ash plume rising to 7,000 ft (2.1 km) was spotted today on satellite data by VAAC Darwin.
White Island (New Zealand): In recent days, seismic activity including volcanic tremor have risen again. In its latest statement, GNS Science reported that "a pattern of repeating minor activity has become established at White Island over the last month." "Periods of passive steaming and degassing have been accompanied by very low levels of volcanic tremor. This activity has alternated with minor mud and steam explosions from the active crater when there has been strong volcanic tremor. Tremor episodes have lasted from less than one day to over a week.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Activity has been showing a weakly increasing trend. Yesterday, the rate of explosions climbs to almost 2 per hour, with the largest ejecting glowing bombs to up to 500 m distance and producing plumes of steam and some ash rising 1.5 km above the crater. Satellite data continue show significant degassing. Today's seismogram shows the strong trace of some of the regional M4-5 earthquakes that hit Mexico today.
Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): INSIVUMEH reports no significant changes in activity. The lava dome has been a little bit less explosive recently but continues to effuse blocky lava flows that descend its flanks and produce weak to moderate avalanches.
Pacaya (Guatemala): Weak strombolian activity continues at the McKenney crater.
Fuego (Guatemala): Activity is characterized by occasional weak to moderate strombolian explosions producing ash plumes rising 600-1000 m above the crater. Fine ash fall has been recorded in Panimaché I y II, Morelia and Santa Sofía.
Telica (Nicaragua): The earthquake swarm, presumably caused by a magmatic intrusion at shallow depth, still continues with hundreds of tiny quakes up to about magnitude 2 each day.
Reventador (Ecuador): Activity has remained stable at fluctuating moderate levels, but can rarely be observed directly due to near-constant cloud cover. Explosions and volcanic tremor, sometimes strong as earlier today, are visible on seismic recordings.
Tungurahua (Ecuador): The volcano has continued to calm down, both internally (seismicity) and externally. IG reported only weak steaming in recent days.
Heard (Australia, Southern Indian Ocean): The Smithsonian / GVP monthly Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network for Jan 2013 confirms that Heard Island volcano is in eruption. A series of satellite images compared side by side show that the volcano started to produce lava (over-)flows from the summit crater of the Mawson Peak on the SE flank since December past year.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
6.2 Earthquake hits Guatemala.
5.7 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
5.5 Earthquake hits the Sumba region, Indonesia.
5.4 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
5.3 Earthquake hits offshore Oaxaca, Mexico.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Oaxaca, Mexico.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Alaska peninsula.
5.0 Earthquake hits Antofagasta, Chile.
Waterspout in Maguindanao, Philippines
Waterspout in Liguasan River in Maguindanao region of Philippines has killed 10 people including two children when a passenger boat sank.
There were altogether 18 passengers in the boat. Six passengers managed to survive but two are still reported to be missing
Avalanche in Glacier National Park of Canada
An avalanche in Canada's Glacier National Park near Revelstoke has claimed the life of one skier.
Canadian Avalanche Centre has rated this avalanche 2.5 (from 1 to 5).
Interesting Image:
An extremely rare rainbow-colored pileus iridescent cloud over Ethiopia.
Photo credits - Esther Havens.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): The likelihood of a new submarine eruption in the near future is increasing. Earthquakes and pulsating strong tremor continued with little changes, indicators of magma intruding into new dikes in the western rift zone. There is also a trend towards stronger quakes (about 20 magnitude 3+ events including a M4 this morning) and shallower earthquakes (many at around 11-12 km depth today). This suggests that magma is slowly breaking pathways upwards, i.e. towards the seafloor. The area has remained about 5 km off shore NW from the western tip of the island, ie. under the submarine prolongation of the volcano's western rift zone. This is where now a new eruption should be expected, if the magma does not decide to migrate laterally once again.
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): (25 Mar) Our friend Rainer Albiez just sent us the following report from Sakurajima, which is currently in a comparably lower phase of activity: "... just to give you short eruption update from Sakuajima volcano. Thursday it had 2 eruptions (according to visitor center info) in the period from Friday to Sunday 9 pm no eruption. Just mild strombolian activity in the crater, very few times 2-3 stones came over the rim. Very loud degassing and severe ash emissions. Weather conditions were not good (very misty, often cloudy partly raining) With high iso camera a a glow was visible within the crater (orange reflections in the clouds) but with eyes it was nearly not possible to see the glow (very light shine sometimes). Observation position was east of the crater."
Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): An explosion produced an ash plume rising to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude which drifted 25 nautical miles to the east. (VAAC Darwin)
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): More explosions have been recorded by satellite data. This morning, an ash plume rose to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude and drifted 25 nautical miles to the east. (VAAC Darwin)
Paluweh (off Flores Island, Indonesia): The lava dome remains active and regularly produces explosions and collapses with possible pyroclastic flows. VAAC Darwin reported an ash plume to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude and extending 30 nautical miles to the west this morning.
Lokon-Empung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): A series of 3 moderately large explosions occurred this morning between 05:12 and 07:30 local time, and was followed by small ash emissions during the whole morning. The largest eruption produced an ash column rising about 2 km above the crater.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Activity has remained similar to previous weeks. The number of small explosions has risen a bit yesterday (1-2 per hour), and some of them were strong enough to eject glowing bombs to up to 500 m distance from the crater and creating ash plumes rising to about 23,000 ft (7 km) altitude or 1-1.5 km above the crater, drifting east. At night, glow continues to be visible, and a significant SO2 emission, both of which confirm that fresh magma is rising into the growing lava dome.
Telica (Nicaragua): Earthquake activity in the ongoing seismic swarm remains very high and there have been a few magnitude 2+ quakes at shallow depths today as well. There has not been any report from INETER yet.
Heard (Australia, Southern Indian Ocean): A significant heat source continues to show up on MODIS satellite data. A recent (9 March) EO1-Hyperion (NASA) satellite picture shows what could be a lava lake in the summit crater of Mawson Peak. This would be something in the line of the little what is known about the typical activity of Heard volcano, which has now been in eruption probably since end of September 2012.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.2 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.
5.2 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.2 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits south of Sumbawa, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Sumbawa, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Sangihe, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Landslide in West Bandung, Indonesia
Landslide in west Bandung region of Indonesia has claimed six lives. 18 villagers are reported to be still missing.
The landslide buried nine houses in Cililin village of West Bandung, Java.
Flooding in Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania
Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Dar city in Tanzania. The worst hit area is Kigogo.
The rain also destroyed bridges in Kinyerezi and Vingunguti.
Interesting Images:
Dramatic shot of a wave over lava. Photographer braved 110 degree F waters and magma to get the shot.
A remarkable photo showing a deadly twister in action as it rips up the ground and anything in its path of destruction.
Amazing Rainbow Clouds. Unfortunately no location was disclosed.
Forest fire in San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Forest fire in San Luis Potosi, Mexico has killed one woman. The victim couldn't successfully fight the fire and died due to carbon monoxide poisoning in Tamuin.
Around 11 forest fires are currently burning across San Luis Potosi.
Multiples forest fires have burned 2,500 hectares and displaced more than 400 people.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): The earthquake swarm continues with little changes. Most epicenters have remained in an area at about 15-17 km depth a few km NW off the western tip of the island. Volcanic tremor, suggesting magma movements, is continuous with strong pulses every few hours. Earthquake count today (only magnitudes >2): 111 A strong pulse of volcanic tremor has started, accompanied by a 3.2 magnitude quake at 15 km depth at 09:40 GMT. It seems that magma is continuing to move, and the scenario of a possible new eruption is becoming more and more likely.
Lokon-Empung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): A series of 3 moderately large explosions occurred this morning between 05:12 and 07:30 local time, and was followed by small ash emissions during the whole morning. The largest eruption produced an ash column rising about 2 km above the crater.
Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): (23 Mar) A strong SO2 plume today suggests increased activity at the volcano.
Ulawun (New Britain, Papua New Guinea): (23 Mar) Increased SO2 emissions from Ulawun and Bagana volcanoes are visible today on satellite data.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
6.1 Earthquake hits east of the Kuril islands off Kamchatka.
6,0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Snowstorm in Kiev, Ukraine
A state of emergency has been declared due to heavy snowfall in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine.
Kiev received 20 inches of snow in a 24-hour period. This is what Kiev usually receives per month during this season.
Winter Storm in Britain Continues.
Numerous roads in many regions became impassable after snow on Friday and Saturday. For Sunday the Met Office has warned that lying snow in many areas will melt on roads and pavements by day, refreezing by night to give icy patches. Some places, mainly in eastern England, will continue to get light snow, possibly up to a couple of inches. Also, snow blowing off fields in strong to gale force winds will affect some roads, especially over high ground.
Up to 18,000 properties in Northern Ireland, 10,000 in Scotland and 2,000 in Wales have been without power overnight despite efforts by energy firms to reconnect them. Weather warnings also remain in place across much of the UK after two days of wintery conditions. Two people are known to have died - one in Lancashire and one in Cornwall.
U.S. Snowstorm takes aim at Plains, Midwest
Baseball-sized hail and an early spring snowstorm forced the cancellation of more than 100 flights at Denver International Airport and closed several roads Saturday as it moved eastward, dumping more than a foot of snow in some places.
The major early spring storm brought heavy snow, severe thunderstorms and floods as it moved east across the United States on Saturday, closing highways, forcing flight cancellations and causing a pileup involving dozens of vehicles. Blowing and drifting snow closed several roads in Colorado, including Interstate 70 in both directions east of Denver to the Kansas state line.
Other News:
Three soldiers have died after struck by lightning Saturday afternoon at Upper Orakzi agency in Pakistan. Five others were injured.
19 Whales Beach In Cape Town, South Africa
Nineteen pilot whales were beached at Noordhoek Beach in Cape Town on Sunday morning. Five of the whales had died, but police, sea rescue and other services were on scene trying to hose down the 14 surviving whales.
The National Sea Rescue Institute said attempts were being made to help rescue the surviving whales.
"The option being looked at, if possible, is to try and refloat them or to have them driven to the naval base in Simonstown and have them taken out to sea".
"At this stage we are keeping them alive on the beach using water and blankets."
Veld Fire Season Starts Early - South Africa
A wildfire broke out on Bultfontein north of Johannesburg today in dry conditions. The fire burned approximately 100 acres and did not damage any structures.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): An increase in activity has occurred today. Lava overspills wide area of the rims of the NE crater, causing lava overflows and numerous rockfalls descending down the Sciara del Fuoco. Tremor and explosion signals have increased in strength.
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): The scenario of an eruption in the near future is becoming increasingly likely: Volcanic tremor continues, suggesting magma is still moving although mostly laterally for the time being to an area just north off the western tip of the island.
Tolbachik (Kamchatka): Activity continues essentially unchanged: strombolian explosions accompany the effusion of fluid lava flows from the southern fissure of Tolbachinsky Dol. The flows spread into 2 distinct fields to the west and the east and are well visible on satellite data. KVERT reports that the tremor amplitude remains oscillating between medium to high levels, at about 1/3 of their level during the start of the eruption.
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): For several days in a row, ash plumes have been spotted at 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude. The volcano, in near-continuous strombolian activity since 2006, has apparently stepped up the frequency of larger explosions although perhaps part of this might be explained by better meteorologic conditions allowing to detect ash plumes.
Colima (Western Mexico): Small explosions from the growing dome, associated rockfalls and volcanic earthquakes have continued to increase in amplitude and frequency during the past days and weeks.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): No big changes in activity have occurred. Emissions of gas-steam-sometimes small amounts of ash have remained less than 1 per hour on average (yesterday). The today's seismogram shows tiny volcano-tectonic earthquakes and what seems to be a phase of slightly elevated tremor. A hot spot is visible on recent MODIS satellite imagery, corresponding to the growing lava dome, which continues to produce visible glow at night as well.
Telica (Nicaragua): The seismic swarm continues with no changes. Hundreds of tiny quakes up to magnitudes around 2 have been occurring for the past days, but no reports have become available (so far).
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.2 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.2 Earthquake hits the south-western Atlantic Ocean.
5.0 Earthquake hits Guam.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.
Tornado in Bangladesh
A tornado has claimed 20 lives in Bangladesh, injuring more than 500 others.
The tornado overturned a bus, damaged houses and buildings and uprooted trees and destroyed crops. Affected areas are Sadar, Bijoynagar and Akhaura Upazilas of Brahmanbaria districts.
Heavy snow and rainfall in England
The Met Office has issued amber warning for heavy rain in south-west England and snow in Wales and Northern Ireland.
There are currently 12 flood warnings in the South West of England.
A woman is said to be trapped in a landslide in Looe, Cornwall.
Other News:
Sandstorms have shut four Seaports in Egypt. The Egypt Meteorological Authority (EMA) recorded wind speed at 35 km/hr.
Nine districts of Tak, Thailand have been declared as drought disaster zones.
Meteor Shower - USA
More than 500 people from along the Atlantic coast ranging from Maine to North Carolina have reported a bright meteor in east of United States.
The sky flash was spotted as far south as Florida and as far north as New England.
Heat map of witness sightings: [American Meteor Society]
About Asteroids, meteors and meteorites
Asteroids orbit the Sun. They are small bodies.
Planetoids or minor planets are also called large Asteroids.
Once these Asteroids enter our planet's atmosphere, they become Meteors.
If any any of these Meteors impact the Earth, they become Meteorites.
Global Alert Over Deadly Bat Virus
Experts on infectious diseases have warned people to stay away from bats worldwide after the recent death of an eight-year-old boy bitten in Australia.
The boy last month became the third person in the country to die of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV), for which there is no effective treatment.
The boy was bitten during a family holiday to Queensland in December 2012, but did not tell his parents.
Three weeks later he began to suffer convulsions, abdominal pain and fever, followed by progressive brain problems.
Doctors frantically tried to establish what was wrong and on day 10 of his admission the lyssavirus was detected.
He fell into a coma and died on February 22.
The warning to avoid bats around the world was issued not just because of the danger posed by the animals themselves, but due to the risk, however remote, that the virus could be spread between humans.
Human to human transmission of lyssaviruses has not been well documented, but it is theoretically possible.
Novel Coronavirus Infection - Update
The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia has informed the WHO of another new confirmed case of infection with the novel coronavirus (nCoV).
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): Earthquakes and tremor have continued through the day, and continued to migrate a bit to the NW off the NW tip of the island. So far, 62 quakes above magnitude 2 have been recorded today. In addition, the average depth of the latest earthquakes has become a bit shallower and is now around 13 km (compared to 17-20 km before). This suggests that magma is still moving and has risen a bit closer to the surface, and, thus, a possible eruption. A third, intense pulse of quakes and harmonic tremor started late last night and is going on at the moment. A magnitude 3.8 quake early today marks the so far largest event. The location of the latest quakes moved again a bit further to the west, and is now clustered at about 15-17 km depth beneath the western tip of the island.
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): Activity remains elevated. Another explosion today produced an ash plume rising to 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude, VAAC Darwin reported.
Ambrym (Vanuatu): Elevated SO2 emissions remain elevated, suggesting that the lava lakes remain active.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): The volcano's activity has stayed rather calm and not changed much. Yesterday, the rate of emissions was down to less than 1 per hour, but seems to have increased a bit today, as the current seismic signal suggests.
Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): Activity at the dome has decreased compared to last week. INSIVUMEH reported only weak explosions with ash rising 400 m, and few and small avalanches from the lava flows today.
Fuego (Guatemala): The volcano has been considerably calmer today, with only 5 mostly weak explosions detected, which produced ash plumes rising 400-800 m above the craters. The (mostly now cooling) lava flow erupted two days ago still produces frequent rock falls and small avalanches.
Telica (Nicaragua): The seismic swarm at the volcano continues, with many small tremors registered beneath the eastern sector of the volcano. There has not been any apparent surface activity reported (so far).
Nyiragongo (DRCongo): A strong SO2 plume is drifting westwards from Nyiragongo volcano, which contains the world's largest active lava lake.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
No Earthquakes 5.0 or higher.
Another moderate Earthquake cluster hits the Canary Islands.
Tropical Cyclone Tim
Ex-tropical Cyclone Tim has crossed the coast near Innisfail in far north Queensland overnight Wednesday. Up to 300 millimetres of rain could be dumped across the Cassowary Coast over the next couple of days.
Tornadoes in Victoria, Australia
Two tornadoes hit Victoria, injuring 17 people, three in critical condition. The tornadoes hit along the Murray river and damaged several buildings in Yarrawonga, Bundalong, Rutherglen, Koonoomoo and Mulwala.
Lightning in Nepal
At least five people have died in lightning strikes in Nepal. Lightning claimed lives in Sindhupalchowk, Sindhuli, Kaski and Gorkha districts.
Strong winds and scattered rain were reported across Nepal throughout the day.
Extreme Weather in Britain
Severe flooding has hit towns in west Cornwall as heavy rainfall sweeps across the county. The worst affected areas were Newlyn, Penzance, Mevagissy and St Ives.
Much of Britain faces a white weekend with widespread snow storms and strong winds, with Wales and Scotland expected to be most affected.
Record Manatee Deaths Spread in Florida
A new wave of manatee deaths has struck Florida following a string of fatalities among the marine mammals due to red tide algae blooms along the state’s southwestern beaches. But marine biologists say they don’t know exactly what’s killing the manatees along the eastern coast since there have not been any reports of red tide there, and the weather hasn’t been cold enough to account for the deaths.
Nearly 200 manatees have died due to red tide along Florida’s Gulf Coast so far this year.
While lacking physical evidence to prove it, wildlife experts believe the deaths in eastern Florida are due to different types of algae blooms that have killed off vast amounts of sea grass the manatees typically feed on.
That may have caused the lumbering sea animals to instead ingest large amounts of macroalgae, which sent them into fatal toxic shock.
The east coast algae blooms were due to storm runoff that flushed fertilizers and other manmade nutrients into waterways.
State biologists are also trying to determine what has killed about 100 brown pelicans so far this year in the same area where the Atlantic coast manatees perished. The birds were found emaciated and full of parasites.
There is so far no connection between the pelican deaths and those of the manatees.
Global Hottest and Coldest Temperatures
The week's hottest temperature was 113.9 degrees Fahrenheit (45.5 degrees Celsius) at Matam, Senegal.
The week's coldest temperature was minus 90.9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 68.3 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.
Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.
Drought to Continue in USA
Lingering snow and colder-than-normal temperatures in much of the United States will give way to warmer-than-average weather and continued drought in areas that need moisture most, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's spring outlook.
Fifty-one percent of the continental United States is already in moderate to exceptional drought and that is expected to continue in California, the Southwest, the southern Rocky Mountain states, Texas and Florida, NOAA said.
The Midwest, the northern and central Great Plains, Georgia, the Carolinas and northern Alaska may see some relief from drought during April, May and June.
That could be an improvement over 2012, when two-thirds of the country experienced drought conditions and the vast majority of the United States saw record-high temperatures.
Forest Wildfire in China
A forest fire broke out in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of SW China. Firefighters are currently fighting the fire in Wuzhou city.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): Magma levels inside the conduit of the NE vent remain very high, shown by frequent small overspills. Tremor is elevated and mixed with small to moderate explosion signals.
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): A second, but weaker pulse of earthquakes combined with harmonic tremor started today. The quakes were located in the same area as the last quakes from the first swarm, i.e. at around 17 km depth just north of the western tip of the island below the El Golfo valley. At the moment, it seems that this pulse also is ending.
Tolbachik (Kamchatka): KVERT reports no significant changes, but apparently the tremor amplitude has risen again a bit (by about 20% compared to previous days). Lava flows continue to be fed from the active vent on the southern fissure. For the other volcanoes in Kamchatka, there is not much new is to report: Moderate seismicity accompanies ongoing lava extrusion and dome building at Sheveluch and Kizimen. Low seismic activity was reported from Karymski and Klyuchevskoi volcano remains currently calm at green level.
White Island (New Zealand): The strong tremor has suddenly dropped. A possible explanation might be that the conduit below the vent area has "dried out", with less water entering the system to produce the previous "loud" tremor and possible deep-seated phreatic explosions.
Kilauea (Hawai'i): Activity has remained essentially unchanged and stable. At the summit, the Halema'uma'u lava lake is very active, and rises and falls during alternating inflation and deflation cycles. On the east rift zone, activity continues from the Pu'u O'o vent where 4 hornitos are active from time to time (less than some weaks ago). Most lava is being diverted into lava tubes feeding two main flow fields: The most recent (Kahauale'a) is spreading from the northeast base of Pu'u O'o and currently covering the flows from 1983 to 1986 (i.e. the oldest of this eruption). Its most advanced lobe is 4 km from its source.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Not much has changed overall. Emissions decreased again somewhat (about 2 per hour yesterday), and seismic activity has been weaker today as well.
Fuego (Guatemala): Activity has calmed down a bit again. INSIVUMEH reported 18 explosions (10 weak and 8 moderate) with ash plumes reaching 600-1200 m above the crater and drifting S and SE. The lava flow that emerged on 19 March had split into two lobes towards the Ceniza and Taniluya canyons and advanced to a total length of 1500 m. It was still weakly active this morning and had produced weak to moderate avalanches.
Telica (Nicaragua): The seismic swarm continues to increase in intensity. The earthquakes are still small (below magnitude 3), but some already show up on INETERS country-wide earthquake list, and are mostly located 5-10 km east of the volcano. No updates about unusual activity have been posted by INETER, so it is likely that this is (so far) only an intrusion at some depth with no significant surface activity.
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): An impressive SO2 plume was visible on the latest NOAA satellite image, suggesting that degassing activity has remained elevated.
Reventador (Ecuador): Strong steaming was observed during a window of clear weather. The seismic activity remains moderately high, with numerous moderate long period earthquakes, harmonic tremor pulses and signs of moderate explosions.
Tungurahua (Ecuador): Activity has remained relatively low. IG reported small explosions seen during the night 19-20 March and emissions of steam and minor ash amounts rising up to about 1 km.
Soufriere Hills (Montserrat, West Indies (UK)): MVO reported that during 8-15 March activity at the Soufrière Hills lava dome was at a low level. During a helicopter overflight on 8 March, scientists observed a large fissure in the cliff on the E side of the lava dome, part of which had existed since 2007. This fissure was the result of slow cooling and erosion of the dome. It was parallel to the cliff face and estimated to be 2 m wide, suggesting that a large slab was slowing moving away from the dome. The Hazard Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-5).
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.4 Earthquake hits Reykjanes Ridge.
5.2 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
Tornado in China - Update
The death toll from yesterday's tornado in Dongguan City, Hunan Province has risen to 8 with at least 136 people injured.
Rainstorm in Walewale, Ghana
A heavy rainstorm in Walewale in Mamprusi district of Ghana has killed four and injured 41 others.
Wave of Prawn Deaths Baffles Chile City of Coronel
Thousands of dead prawns have washed up on a beach in Chile, sparking an investigation.
Hundreds of dead crabs were also washed ashore in Coronel city, about 530km (330 miles) from the capital, Santiago.
Fishermen suggested the deaths may have been caused by local power stations that use seawater as a cooling agent. The power firms have not commented.
Experts are looking into water temperature and oxygen levels and other details to explain the deaths.
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On a lighter note:
A Rat May Have Caused Outage at Fukushima
A rat may have been to blame for a power cut that knocked out cooling systems at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, in an episode that highlighted the jerry-rigged nature of the fix.
Equipment keeping used nuclear fuel at a safe temperature in four different pools was out for up to 39 hours from Monday, with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) admitting their recovery work was sometimes less than perfect.
The incident served as a reminder of the precarious state of the plant two years after the tsunami which sparked meltdowns in three reactors, spewing radiation over the land and sea and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
"We suspect a small animal may have caused a short circuit in a switchboard" leading to the outage and disabling cooling systems for spent fuel pools, a spokesman for TEPCO said.
Helicopters Collide - Germany
Two helicopters have clipped each other in a mid-air collision near Berlin's Olympic Stadium, leaving one of the pilots dead and at least four people injured.
According to reports the helicopters hit each other during a police exercise.
Footage from the scene showed one black helicopter on its side in the snow. Reports say police were conducting football violence training when the accident happened in snowy weather.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): Activity has dropped progressively during yesterday and has been almost zero today. This probably means that the intrusion (or whatever caused the quakes) has already stopped, and formed just another couple of basaltic dikes deep (16-20 km) under the island.
Kizimen (Kamchatka): KVERT reports no changes: moderate seismic activity, continuing lava dome growth at the summit, visible incandescence, hot avalanches on the western and eastern flanks, and strong gas-steam activity.
Shiveluch (Kamchatka): The growth of the lava dome continues, accompanied by moderate seismic activity, and is visible as a large hot spot on MODIS satellite data.
Tolbachik (Kamchatka): No changes were reported by KVERT about the ongoing eruption: tremor accompanying the lava flow effusion and strong degassing remains strong. A big thermal anomaly on satellite images corresponds to the fresh lava flow field.
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): After some days with less explosions, activity has once again picked up with no less than 6 explosions during the past 24 hours. The largest produced an ash plume rising to 3 km altitude.
Manam (Papua New Guinea): An important SO2 plume was detected on today's satellite image, suggesting a phase of increased lava emission. No ash plume have been alerted of (so far).
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): An larger explosion again produced an ash plume rising to approx. 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude and drifting 60 nautical miles northwest today.
Paluweh (off Flores Island, Indonesia): The lava dome continues to grow and produce avalanches and explosions. Another ash plume was seen rising to about 3 km altitude (10,000 ft) and drifting 40 nautical miles to the northwest today.
Lokon-Empung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): Just after we had mentioned that there has not been an eruption for some time, the volcano erupted again this morning around 7am local time. An explosion produced an ash column rising 2 km above the crater, easily visible from Manado, the regional capital to the NE, and was heard in up to 6 km distance. The description of the ash being dark brown and black in local news suggests that it contains fresh magma, i.e. a new batch of magma has just surfaced at the volcano. The official volcano alert level and aviation color code have been raised to orange.
White Island (New Zealand): Continuous volcanic tremor mixed with frequent earthquakes remains high, suggesting strong degassing and perhaps minor phreatic activity. In addition, a magnitude 3.5 quake occurred yesterday at 16:33 local time 10 km east of White Island.
Long Valley (California): Small earthquakes continue to occur clustered near the SW margin of the caldera and Mammoth Mountain. The earthquake are tiny to small (less than magnitude 2) and show nothing unsual going on.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Activity increased yesterday. CENAPRED reported 95 small to moderate gas-steam-sometimes ash emissions, a 5 times steep increase compared to the previous day. Some explosions ejected incandescent material to up to 500 m distance from the crater, and created ash plumes rising up to about 1 km drifting east.
Pacaya (Guatemala): The volcano continues to wake up progressively and "shows symptoms typical of generating new explosions and opening a new effusive vent for a lava flow" (INSIVUMEH) in the near future. In the last 48 hours, there have been a series of small explosions within the active crater, and constant degassing sustaining a white-gray plume reaching between 2700-2800 m above sea level and drifting south. Fine ash of fragmented rock is contained in this plume, suggesting that magma rising within the volcanic edifice is breaking its way upwards.
Fuego (Guatemala): The volcano has once again entered a (brief?) phase of stronger effusive and explosive activity. The Activity has increased since yesterday 14h20 local time, INSIVUMEH reports. A new lava flow has started to descend from the summit crater towards the Ceniza drainage and has reached a length of 1300 m. Weather conditions did not allow direct observations, but it seems that associated explosions and/or possibly pyroclastic flows (which often are triggered by collapses of Fuego's steep lava flows) have created an ash plume rising to 5 km altitude. So far, however, no evidence of actual pyroclastic flows have been found, although they could (and likely will) happen any time.
Telica (Nicaragua): The seismic swarm has intensified a bit. Some of the quakes are now listed by INETER on their earthquake list. The largest is apparently a magnitude 2 earthquake at 1.2 km depth a few km to the east of the summit.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.4 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.
5.3 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Mauritius-Reunion region.
4.7 Earthquake hits Poland causing a tunnel in a copper mine to collapse, trapping 19 miners 600 metres underground. The incident occurred in the Rudna mine in the western region of Lower Silesia located 400 km southwest of Warsaw. Update: Emergency services have recused all 19 miners.
Flooding in Central Bulgaria
The Danube River in Bulgaria has reached critically high level.
Code yellow has been declared for dangerous weather over the whole of Bulgarian.
Emergency situation is still effective in Gabrovo, and the towns of Dryanovo and Tryavna.
Severe Storms in the United States
A tornado in Rutherford County in Tennessee destroyed several mobile houses.
Lightning caused fire on the roof of Fairview Middle School in Franklin but it didn't harm students.
Large hail stones injured two people in Mississippi.
Lightning Strike - New York City.
Snowstorms in Quebec, Canada
Heavy snowstorms have hit Quebec and the Maritimes in Canada.
More than 50 schools are closed due to severe weather in Quebec.
Other News:
A tornado hit Hunan Province in China early Wednesday and has claimed three lives and injured thirty others.
Death toll from landslide north of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil has risen to 24.
Floods in Leicestershire, England continue after heavy rains with many roads remaining closed.
World's Largest Solar Plant Goes Online
The Shams 1 solar plant outside Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is the world's largest solar power facility. It started producing electricity this month and will produce 100 megawatts of electricity at full capacity.
That's enough energy to electrify 20,000 homes and could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 175,000 tons each year — roughly the equivalent of taking 35,000 cars off the road, according to EPA emission estimates.
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US Pushes for Antarctic Marine Protections
The US and New Zealand are to push for a marine protected area (or MPA) in Antarctica's Ross Sea. If created, it would be the largest MPA in the world.
The Ross Sea is teaming with life, as the home to more than 1 million pairs of Adélie penguins; 28,850 pairs of emperor penguins; 30,000 to 50,000 Weddell seals; 5.5 million Antarctic petrels and 21,000 minke whales. And like many parts of the Antarctic ocean environment, the Ross Sea has been left relatively unscathed by human activities, with fewer pollutants and invasive species and less large-scale fishing than in other parts of the Earth's oceans.
But global warming and increasing interest in the rich fisheries found in the Southern Ocean are putting pressure on this environment, those calling for the MPA have warned.
Anthrax in Australia
An outbreak of anthrax in New South Wales, Australia, has killed up to 40 cattle and several farms in the area have been quarantined to stop the spread of the bacterial disease.
Beached Giant Squid
Giant squid are almost never observed in the wild, but beached specimens have taught scientists about their anatomy.
Scientists estimate that giant squid can grow up to about 60 feet (18 meters) long, including their massive tentacles.
These are images of squid washed up in Australia/Tasmania:
Wheat Stocks Set to Recover
Farmers from Australia to Europe to the U.S. are poised to reap the second-largest wheat crop on record as fields recover from drought and heat waves, boosting global stockpiles for the first time in four years.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Etna (Sicily, Italy): Beautiful snow-clad Etna remains restless. While the wait is on for a new SE crater paroxysm (which is likely to occur anywhere between days or few weeks from now), a few pronounced tremor spikes show up on the tremor graph. These probably correspond to strombolian activity from one of the summit craters, likely the Voragine.
El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain): So far, there have been more than 80 quakes >M2 and 4 quakes above >M3 today. A clear trend of westward migration is visible, possibly corresponding to magma moving horizontally into new areas. At the moment, the seismic swarm has considerably decreased in energy. Whether this is a pause or already a sign of an end is impossible to say. IF a magmatic intrusion is the cause (there is no proof for this, after all), a plausible scenario could be the build-up of energy while pathways are temporarily blocked. Then, some larger quakes should be expected along with re-appearance of tremor when magma starts moving again. The seismic crisis continues with little changes. A westward lateral migration of epicenters is visible, assumed to correspond to magma movements underground. Depths remain mostly at 15-18 km, with perhaps a slight upwards trend towards shallower areas, but this is not very significant if any. Volcanic tremor waxes and wanes but remains continuous.
Kliuchevskoi (Kamchatka): After some time with no new indications of continuing activity, KVERT lowered the alert status to green. The volcano has been showing low seismicity during the past weeks, after a phase of strombolian activity late 2012-earlier this year had ended.
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): Explosions that send ash plumes large enough to be detected on satellite are increasingly frequent. Another eruption today was spotted on Meteosat with an estimated ash plume height of 8,000 ft (2.4 km).
Tangkubanparahu (West Java): The alert level was back to normal (1 out of 4) yesterday. VSI reports that the recent monitoring have shown a significant decrease in seismicity since 9 March and no significant variations in ground deformation. Various other measurements undertaken by volcanologists (gas analysis, temperature measurements) also showed trends towards normal behavior.
White Island (New Zealand): Internal unrest in the form of continuous volcanic tremor has further risen and numerous earthquakes have appeared as well during the past hours. A possibility is that some phreatic activity is taking place near the surface, but we cannot verify this at the moment. So far no eruption reports or new statements from GNS about this activity have become available.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Compared to yesterday, when some explosions were large enough to eject incandescent bombs to 200 m above the crater, accompanied by eruption tremor of moderate intensity, activity has been lower today. Steaming has decreased although the numbers of small volcanic quakes remains high.
Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): A phase of increased ash emissions or a relatively large seems to have taken place at Santiaguito today (INSIVUMEH will likely report about this in tomorrow's report). VAAC Washington alerts about an ash plume at 16,000 ft (about 5 km) altitude drifting east from the volcano. If the altitude is right, the eruption column reached 2.5 km in height above the dome, more than twice as much as during the larger "normal" explosions regularly observed.
Pacaya (Guatemala): Since last night, Pacaya volcano has been showing small strombolian activity, INSIVUMEH reports. The activity is from Mackenney crater and consists in weak explosions that throw incandescent bombs to up to 15 m above the crater. According to INSIVUMEH, based on past similar activity cycles, a likely evolution of the volcano's behavior might be a gradual increase of this activity and the effusion of a new lava flow.
Telica (Nicaragua): The seismic swarm continued until this morning, then waned a bit, but has now resumed with increased apparent strength (perhaps because quakes are now nearer to the surface). In contrast to Telica, the other 2 Nicaraguan volcanoes San Cristobal and Masaya continue to be quiet.
San Miguel (El Salvador): The volcano has been relatively quiet recently. Only few volcanic quakes, weak tremor and (probably) rockfall signals show up now and then.
Machin (Colombia): Seismic unrest continues, but there is no surface activity. A swarm of low-frequency volcanic quakes during the night 17-18 March, Machin volcano has been quiet again today.
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): A phase of increased seismic activity with volcanic quakes and rockfalls occurred today. SO2 emission from the volcano remains high.
Reventador (Ecuador): Seismic activity has been moderate.
Tungurahua (Ecuador): The volcano continued to remain relatively quiet with only small explosions and much reduced seismic activity.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
6.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Valparaiso, Chile,
5.0 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.
Swarm of low magnitude earthquakes hits the Canary Islands.
Floods and landslides in Brazil
At least 16 people have been killed in landslides in a mountainous area north of Rio de Janeiro, after heavy rains. The landslides hit the city of Petropolis, about 40 miles (65km) north of Rio, after a river burst its banks and flooded the city centre. A baby and two emergency workers are among the victims.
Winds with speed of 100 km/hr uprooted roofs of houses along with many trees and electric poles. Heavy damage has been reported in Kantapada, Jaguleipada, Koilipur, Lahuni, Siko, Olaver, Balarampur, and Baghaboda areas.
Thunderstorm and tornado in Odisha, India
A thunderstorm and tornado in Odisha, India injured at least 12 people.
The tornado destroyed more than 200 houses in Aul and Rajkanika areas of Kendrapara district of Odisha. Winds with speeds of 100 km/hr uprooted roofs of houses along with many trees and electric poles. Heavy damage has been reported in Kantapada, Jaguleipada, Koilipur, Lahuni, Siko, Olaver, Balarampur, and Baghaboda areas. The area is still without power.
A boat capsized in river Kharasrota with 40 persons including 10 women and eight children in it but all of them were rescued by local villagers.
Tornado touches down in Tennessee, USA
A tornado touched down Monday afternoon in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The tornado was on the ground for about 4 1/2 miles.
Wildfire in Tennessee, USA
A wildfire outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee has burned more than 30 large rental cabins.
The wildfire near the resort town of Pigeon Forge has burned 230 acres. About 150 evacuated people are having shelter at the Pigeon Forge Community Centre.
Wildfires in South Carolina, USA
Dry and windy weather across South Carolina resulted in more than 100 wildfires over the weekend.
Brunei
A forest fire has occurred in Telamba village of Brunei.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): Tremor remains elevated and small amounts of lava continues to spill over the rims of the NE crater. The big question is when a larger breach will occur and larger amounts of lava can exit to form a flow until the sea.
Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): The past few days, activity has been calmer with only 1-2 weak to moderate explosions per day (ash plume heights 5-8,000 ft / 1.5-2.4 km).
Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): An ash plume was observed again today, rising 8000 ft (2.4 km), caused by what is likely a larger-than-normal explosion at the volcano.
Paluweh (off Flores Island, Indonesia): The lava dome remains very active. A new explosion or dome collapse last evening produced an ash plume rising to approximately 12,000 ft (3.7 km) observers from Flores' north coast reported to VAAC Darwin.
Lokon-Empung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): No recent reports of explosions have become available, suggesting that the volcano has quieted down considerably compared to Nov-Jan when it produced almost daily eruptions.
White Island (New Zealand): After showing a very slow and gradual increase during the past days, tremor has jumped to some of the highest levels recorded since increased unrest and minor explosive activity has started last August.
Kamchatka: There are no significant changes in activity at any of the volcanoes in Kamchatka: lava continues to erupt from Tolbachik volcano, accompanied by stable, still relatively high tremor levels. Moderate seismicity suggests ongoing lava extrusion and dome building at Sheveluch and Kizimen. Low seismic activity was reported from Karymski and Klyuchevskoi volcano. The strong seismicity from Tolbachik obscures the signals from Bezymianny, which also continues to slowly build a lava dome. Gorely continues to show medium levels of tremor caused by fluid movements and strong degassing.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): After being relatively quiet yesterday, activity has picked up today again. VAAC Washington has just received information about a probable explosion that generated an ash plume of unknown height. Volcanic tremor has also shown an increased phase earlier today. At the moment, a significant steam plume can be seen on webcam images. SO2 emissions remain high as the latest NOAA satellite image shows.
Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): No significant changes occurred. Explosions of small and moderate size up to about 1 km height continue frequently and produce an ash plume drifting 15 km to the East and Northeast. Ash fall occurred in some parts of the city of Quetzaltenango where also faint odor of sulfur was noted. The lava flows on the sides of the dome remain active as well.
Pacaya (Guatemala): Weak gas and ash emissions continue. The seismic signal shows small superficial explosion signals and pulses of tremor lasting up to about 30 minutes.
Fuego (Guatemala): The volcano has been calmer today, with only 10 mostly weak strombolian explosions registered, and maximum ash plume heights of 600 m. Incandescent tephra was seen ejected to 100 m above the crater and rolling down towards the Ceniza canyon. Strong degassing with turbine-like noises lasting up to 3 minutes were heard.
Telica (Nicaragua): Another relatively strong seismic swarm has been in progress at the volcano since this morning. (The large signal is the regional magnitude 4.3 quake off the west coast and has nothing to do with the volcano).
San Cristobal (Nicaragua): Seismic activity has decreased. The large signal is the recent 4.3 quake off the west coast of Nicaragua.
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): A cluster of stronger earthquakes occurred today.
Reventador (Ecuador): Seismicity has declined a bit today.
Tungurahua (Ecuador): Today and yesterday, the volcano has been taking a pause, but until the the evening of 16 March, eruptive activity had continued to increase gradually. IG reported a large explosion at 18:00 local time on 16 March, creating an ash column rising 4 km, accompanied by load roars. During this energetic phase, large bombs and blocks were ejected as well and a pyroclastic flow descended into the Mandur gully on the northwest flank in the axis of the Potato River.
Heard (Australia, Southern Indian Ocean): A significant hot spot continues to be detected at the summit crater of Heard volcano. A recent Terra / Modis satellite image of parts of the volcano (which usually is completely hidden under clouds) shows a dark area immediately to the west of Mawson Peak. This could correspond to a fresh lava flow.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global
5.5 Earthquake hits off the coast of Ecuador.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.
5.1 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Tanimbar, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits Iraq.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Antofagasto, Chile.
Deadly Lightning in India
At least twelve people have died in lightning strikes in Madhya Pradesh, India. Five people were killed by lightning strikes in Sagar district while they were working in their farm. Among them is a 11 years old boy from Semra Gond village.
Two other were killed in lightning strikes in Rajgarh and Berasia tehsil areas each. One each were killed by lightning strikes in Damoh, Tikamgarh and Begumganj tehsil areas.
Interesting Image:
Clouds rolling past the base of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): No lasting new larger lava flows have occurred over the past days, but it is obvious that the craters, in particular the NE vents, are literally "filled to the rim", and often produce small overflows from the crater. A strong tremor signal accompanies this process. Strombolian explosions in turn occur as well, but are comparably weak (in contrast to the elevated phase of activity in early Jan).
Etna (Sicily, Italy): A pronounced tremor spike showed up this morning, leading perhaps to the suspicion of a follow-up paroxysm (as Etna has sometimes done in the past). However, looking at webcam images from that time, it seems that an explosion and/or a collapse event (more likely) occurred from Voragine crater and produced a marked tremor spike. An ash plume and minor amounts of hot material can be seen rising a few 100 meters at around 04:51 local time. Typical for Etna's paroxysms, activity has ended quickly after reaching an impressive climax with lava fountains around and perhaps even above 1 km in height.
Marapi (Western Sumatra, Indonesia): A small explosive eruption occurred this morning at around 08:05 local time, generating a small ash plume rising a few hundred meters above the crater. Marapi volcano, one of Sumatra's most active, has been producing intermittent explosions with ash plumes up to 1 km high frequently since August 2011. For Indonesian standards, this is no big activity, and Indonesia's Volcanological Survey maintains alert level II only.
Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Snow-covered Popo is taking a probably short rest with only 5 weak emissions of gas and steam and probably no ash having been observed during 24 hours since yesterday.
Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): The rate of explosions seems to have increased,- INSIVUMEH mentions "abundant" small and moderate explosions with ash plumes rising up to about 1 km above the dome and drifting 13 km to the west. Effusive activity continues as well, with moderate near constant block avalanches from the several active flows on the dome's flanks.
Pacaya (Guatemala): The volcano continues to wake up. Small gas and ash emissions were observed from the crater yesterday. The seismic signal shows volcanic tremor and volcanic quakes related to internal fluid movements and the degassing/ash venting at the surface.
Fuego (Guatemala): Compared to the previous days, activity has a bit decreased. INSIVUMEH reports few weak to moderate explosions, and small glowing avalanches from the crater towards the Ceniza drainage visible at night. A new lava flow is predicted to re-appear in the coming days. The seismic signal showed relatively strong degassing tremor yesterday that decreased again. There are now discrete explosion signals mixed with some periods of weak volcanic tremor.
Telica (Nicaragua): An earthquake swarm has occurred last night at the volcano.
San Cristobal (Nicaragua): Banded volcanic tremor and some higher magnitude volcanic earthquakes have returned to show up on the seismic records.
Masaya (Nicaragua): A phase of increased tremor occurred yesterday. Today, it has eased again to normal levels.
Turrialba (Costa Rica): Increased degassing appears to have occurred yesterday. A weak SO2 plume is visible on yesterday's NOAA satellite image, and the seismic signal shows a phase of weakly increased tremor.
Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): Seismic activity has been generally low. INGEOMINAS published some photos showing strong degassing from the volcano. The seismic recordings show small clusters of higher amplitude volcano-tectonic and volcanic earthquakes as well as continuous low-level tremor during the recent days.
Reventador (Ecuador): A thermal anomaly at the summit and continuing explosion earthquakes mixed with low-level volcanic tremor suggest that lava extrusion at the summit crater has resumed (or rather continues more vigorously) these days.
Tungurahua (Ecuador): The volcano alternates between strong activity with ash emissions and explosions and pauses. The corresponding seismic signal shows this with phases of frequent earthquakes and explosion signals merging into strong eruption tremor followed by rather quiet periods.
