Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.7 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.

5.2 Earthquake hits northwestern Siberia, Russia.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Ryukyu Islands off Japan.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.0 Earthquake hits Halmahera, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.1 Earthquake hits near the coast of Ecuador.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Bonin Islands off Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Chiapas, Mexico.

Nepal - A 4.0 magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning was the 437th aftershock of magnitude 4.0 or greater to hit Nepal after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.1 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.

5.1 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

7.9 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.

There were no reports of deaths or damage to buildings from Wednesday night's 7.8 magnitude quake, which caused panic in the Sumatran island port of Padang as people tried to reach higher ground when a tsunami warning was issued. No tsunami occurred. Tsunami alerts were cancelled within two hours of the tremor.

5.6 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.6 Earthquake hits East Timor.

5.5 Earthquake hits East Timor.

5.4 Earthquake hits the southwest Indian ridge.

5.3 Earthquake hits Kyushu, Japan.

5.2 Earthquake hits near the coast of southern Peru.

5.2 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.1 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:

No current tropical storms.

NewsBytes:

Japan - A snowstorm has claimed the life of one person in Obihiro city in Hokkaido, Japan. On Tuesday, at least 19 people were injured in traffic accidents in Hokkaido caused by low visibility amid the heavy snowfall. Hokkaido is expected to brace for its worst blizzard in years on Tuesday, and airlines and railways halted some operations.

Sumatra - Heavy rains since Friday (05/02) have caused severe landslides and flooding in several parts of West Sumatra, killing seven and forcing thousands to flee while also destroying key local infrastructure. The worst affected districts are Agam, South Solok, Lima Puluh Kota and Solok. On Monday, floods in various parts of the province reached up to one-and-a-half meters deep. At least 2,000 homes and 100 hectares of paddy fields in South Solok as well as 100 houses in Nagari Pangkalan subdistrict of Lima Puluh Kota were hit by the floods. In the latter subdistrict, one man was carried away by strong currents only to be found dead later on.

Peru - The authorities in Peru are sending the military to help areas affected by floods that have afflicted several parts of the country. Scientists blame El Niño, the warm ocean current, for the heavy rains that turned roads into rivers in Arequipa, setting cars adrift in the torrent. The southern province has been particularly badly hit; at least two people were reportedly killed. Local media reported that 3,000 people in the area had been left homeless, with 30,000 affected. The Andean nation has struggled for over a week to cope with violent weather that has also caused landslides and power cuts.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.

5.0 Earthquake hits the southwestern Ryukyu Islands off Japan.

Nepal - Indian scientists claim that extensive groundwater extraction in the Indo-Gangetic Plain over the last five decades has "significantly" contributed to the killer April 25, 2015, Nepal temblor and "probably all earthquakes" in the region beneath the Himalayan arc.

Japan - Three former executives at a Japanese power giant have been formally charged with negligence over the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The trio, formerly of Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), will be the first to go to court over the incident. A citizen's panel ruled last year they should face trial, forcing prosecutors to pursue the case. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a series of meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami. Prosecutors in Tokyo had twice decided against pressing charges, citing insufficient evidence. But in a rare legal move, the panel's ruling forced a compulsory indictment of the three. The panel said the three men did not take sufficient measures despite being warned of a risk of a tsunami near the Fukushima plant. They plan to plead not guilty on the grounds they could not have anticipated the size of the tsunami.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.0 Earthquake hits the Volcano Islands off Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.9 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

5.6 Earthquake hits the Volcano Islands off Japan.

5.5 Earthquake hits Nepal.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Strait of Gibraltar.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Xizang-Nepal border.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.1 Earthquake hits Seram, Indonesia.

5.1 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits southern Peru.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

Wildlife

Anti-whaling activists fail to find Japan fleet

Anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd says it has not been able to find the Japanese fleet which is hunting whales in the Southern Ocean.

Sea Shepherd sends its boats out every hunting season to try to interfere with the Japanese fleet and protect whales. But it said Japan had "greatly expanded their area of illegal operations" this year, making it hard to find them.

The statement called on Australia and New Zealand to help by passing on the co-ordinates of the fleet.

From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s whale meat was the single biggest source of meat in Japan. At its peak in 1964 Japan killed more than 24,000 whales in one year, most of them enormous fin whales and sperm whales.

Today Japan can afford to import meat from Australia and America. There is no deep-sea commercial whaling in Japan. The fleet that is now hunting in Antarctic waters is paid for by Japanese taxpayers to carry out what the Japanese government describes as "scientific research".

Japan's other justification is that it needs to kill hundreds of whales each year to study them. But the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has systematically dismantled that argument. In 2014 it ruled that there was no scientific case for Japan's programme of "lethal research" in the Southern Ocean, and ordered Tokyo to stop.

Japan resumed its annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean in December last year, after a one-year break, despite a global moratorium on whaling.

The four-vessel fleet is aiming to catch 333 Antarctic Minke whales - about one-third of previous targets - and Japan says the hunt is for scientific research, which is allowed under the ban.

But activists say the programme is inhumane, unsustainable and illegal.

Missing Antarctic Penguins - Update

The news was previously reported — that some 150,000 Adélie penguins have died in Antarctica because a colossal iceberg cut off their sea access.

But according to other experts, there's no proof yet that the birds are dead. No one has actually found 150,000 frozen penguins. In fact, some experts think there's a less horrific explanation for the missing birds: When the fishing gets tough, penguins simply pick up and move. It wouldn't be the first time Adélie penguins marched to new digs. When an iceberg grounded in the southern Ross Sea in 2001, penguins on Ross Island relocated to nearby colonies until the ice broke up.

While the Adélie population has dropped along the Antarctic Peninsula, the colonies in East Antarctica are growing. As of 2011, there were approximately 7 million Adélie penguins in Antarctica. Losing 150,000 birds — even if that were true — is hardly considered to be apocalyptic, according to the opposing experts.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.8 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

5.6 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.2 Earthquake hits off the east coast of North Island, New Zealand.

5.2 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:

Tropical cyclone 08s (Corentin), located approximately 1247 nm east-southeast of La Reunion, is tracking eastward at 07 knots.

NewsBytes:

USA - The massive snowstorm that affected most of the East Coast finally ended Sunday morning, leaving in its wake 1-3 feet of snow over major cities, at least 18 storm-associated casualties and severe coastal flooding.

While the snow has stopped, the weather warnings continue. High winds will create blowing and drifting snow in some areas, the National Weather Service warns. And while New York City lifted a police-enforced travel ban on Sunday morning, many authorities are asking citizens to refrain from driving for another day as efforts to clear off the roads continue.

The snowfall totals were striking, setting records in some jurisdictions. At the D.C. National Zoo, 22 inches of snow fell; at JFK airport in New York City, 30 inches; in the western suburbs of D.C., 36 inches were recorded; in Shepherdstown, W.V., more than 40 inches. The 26.8 inches recorded in New York's Central Park is the second-highest total ever recorded — falling short of the record by just 0.1 inches, CBS reports.

Farther south, the storm's greatest impact wasn't in inches of snowfall but quarter-inches of ice. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power as ice and high winds combined to rip down power lines, and many roads were made perilous by the icy conditions.

At least 29 deaths have been attributed to the storm by the Associated Press, including a Kentucky transportation worker who died while plowing highways, a teenager who was hit by a truck while sledding behind an all-terrain vehicle and two people who died of hypothermia in Virginia. Most of the deaths were from car crashes on snowy or icy roads. Four were caused by overexertion while shovelling snow.

Taiwan - Severe weather and snowstorms in Taiwan have claimed the lives of at least 85 people, mostly from hypothermia and the onset of cardiovascular diseases. Taipei recorded the lowest temperature in 44 years at -4°C. At least 41 people died in Taipei and 10 in New Taipei. Others 35 died in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan.

Japan - winter weather and heavy snowfalls have claims at least 5 lives in Japan and injured more than 100 others. Flights were cancelled and the speed of the bullet trains was reduced for safety. Amami Island, located some 380 kilometers southwest of Kagoshima City, received snowfall for the first time in 115 years.

China - China renewed its orange alert, its second most serious weather warning on Sunday, with at least four deaths reported. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the lowest temperatures could reach minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) from Sunday to Monday. Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces are forecasted to approach or even drop below the lowest levels on record while parts of central and eastern China were 6 to 8 degrees Celsius (11 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit) lower than the average historical level.

South Korea - An estimated 90,300 people were stranded on the southern island of Jeju, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and around 1,400 people are staying in the airport. Since Saturday about 1,200 flights were canceled although the airport resumed operations as of Monday noon local time. Its capital Seoul was hit Sunday by the coldest winter in 15 years, with the lowest temperature recorded at minus 18 degrees Celsius (minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Hong Kong - The typically subtropical Hong Kong experienced its coldest weather in nearly three decades, leading to the shut down of all kindergartens and primary schools on Monday. On Sunday, the average minimum temperature dropped to 3.3 degrees Celsius (38 degrees Fahrenheit) over the city, where there is no central heating in most buildings. Firefighters had to help over a hundred trapped people at the peaks, 64 of which were sent to the hospital with many exhibiting signs of hypothermia.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

7.1 Earthquake hits southern Alaska.

The earthquake was widely felt by residents of Anchorage, and there are reports of scattered power outages from the Matanuska Electric Association and Chugach Electric in the Anchorage area. But the Anchorage and Valdez police departments say they have not received any reports of injury or significant damage.

5.1 Earthquake hits Easter Island.

5.1 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.

5.1 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.4 Earthquake hits Kepulauan Talaud, Indonesia.

6.3 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.

5.7 Earthquake hits the southwest Indian ridge.

5.3 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

5.2 Earthquake hits Kapulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.4 Earthquake hits the Ryukyu Islands off Japan.

5.1 Earthquake hits Bio-Bio, Chile.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

5.2 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.1 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits Oaxaca, Mexico.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.9 Earthquake hits Kyrgyzstan.

5.4 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.

5.1 Earthquake hits Kyushu, Japan.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.6 Earthquake hits northwest of the Ryukyu Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Nicobar islands off India.

5.2 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

5.2 Earthquake hits Jujuy, Argentina.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of Tonga.

5.0 Earthquake hits Kyushu, Japan.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.9 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

6.6 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

5.7 Earthquake hits Java, Indonesia.

5.6 Earthquake hits the State of Yap, Micronesia.

5.5 Earthquake hits Antofagasta, Chile.

5.2 Earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.

Three 5.1 Earthquakes hit offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the coast of Costa Rica.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Honsu, Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.