Wildfires - New Zealand
One house and outbuildings were destroyed in wild fire west of Christchurch. Five homes – three in Coalgate in the Malvern Hills west of Christchurch and two near Mt Somers – were saved by firefighters on Thursday after wind-fuelled fires ripped across rural Canterbury.
Firefighting resources were spread thin as fire crews were fighting more than 30 separate fires in the area.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone 11p (Winston), located approximately 154 nm northwest of Niue, is tracking westward at 05 knots.
Tropical cyclone 13s (Uriah), located approximately 859 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking south-southwestward at 08 knots.
NewsBytes:
New Zealand - Torrential rain and high winds caused overnight havoc in the Nelson region, with flooded homes and roads, felled trees and swollen rivers. Civil Defence said the rain-swollen Wairoa River at Brightwater caused extensive surface flooding, including over State Highway 6 at Brightwater bridge. Police alerted residents in the worst-hit areas, but there were no evacuations. The Tasman District Council said with more than 300mm recorded in the Upper Lee Catchment, the Wairoa River at the Irvines site above Brightwater reached 1300 cubic metre/sec, the second largest flood at this location since recording commenced in 1957. River berms were flooded down much of the lower Waimea River.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits off the coast of Michoacan, Mexico.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Auckland Islands, New Zealand.
5.0 Earthquake hits central California.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 Earthquake hits the southern east Pacific rise.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.2 Earthquake hits the Aukland Islands, New Zealand.
5.7 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.4 Earthquake hits near the coast of southern Peru.
5.2 Earthquake hits southern Greece.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits South Island, New Zealand.
Cliffs have collapsed in New Zealand during an earthquake in the city of Christchurch on the South Island. Beaches to the east of Christchurch were busy with swimmers and surfers when rocks began to fall into the sea. No serious damage or fatalities were reported in the Valentine's Day quake that struck at 13:13 local time (00.13 GMT).
5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.1 Earthquake hits Oklahoma, USA.
5.1 Earthquake hits south of Java, Indonesia.
5.1 Earthquake hits Leyte, Philippines.
5.0 Earthquake hits Lake Baykal, Russia.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.3 Earthquake hits the Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea.
5.4 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.3 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.3 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.2 Earthquake hits South Island, New Zealand.
5.1 Earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.0 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.0 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Bismarck Sea.
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.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits southeast of Shikoku, Japan.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines.
5.1 Earthquake hits North Island, New Zealand.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Oaxaca, Mexico.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical depression 28w (Melor), located approximately 177 nm southeast of Manila, Philippines, is tracking westward at 11 knots.
NewsBytes:
Swaziland - A severe hailstorm damaged hundreds of homes in the Hluti and Lavumisa areas of Swaziland on Saturday.
Philippines - As many as 700 000 people have been evacuated as Typhoon Melor (known locally as Nona) made landfall around 11 a.m. over Batag, Northern Samar. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Typhoon Melor is expected to cause flooding, landslides and storm surges of up to four metres. Typhoon Melor is expected to make a second landfall by Monday night in Sorsogon province. Melor has maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and gusts of up to 185 kph moving west at 17 kph.
South Island, New Zealand - Hail, heavy rain and several tornadoes battered parts of the South Island on Sunday. One tornado lifted a silage wagon off the ground and threw it onto a nearby tractor in Carew, near Geraldine, while hail stones the size of large pebbles had people across the region ducking for cover.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits eastern Turkey.
5.2 Earthquake hits the southern east Pacific rise.
5.1 Earthquake hits Taiwan.
5.1 Earthquake hits off the east coast of North island, New Zealand.
5.1 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the southern east Pacific rise.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits North Island, New Zealand.
5.1 Earthquake hits Albania.
5.1 Earthquake hits Araucania, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits Hokkaido, Japan.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits the Prince Edward Islands.
5.5 Earthquake hits the Bouvet Islands.
5.3 Earthquake hits Pakistan.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of North Island, New Zealand.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.
5.4 Earthquake hits North island, New Zealand.
5.4 Earthquake hits Coquimbo, Chile.
5.2 Earthquake hits the Owen fracture Zone.
5.1 Earthquake hits southern Qinghai, China.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Panama-Colombia border.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.
Wildfires - New Zealand
Fire crews are fighting several large wildfires in Otago and South Canterbury as gale force winds hit the south.
The Dunback fire, located between Palmerston and Ranfurly, spread across 90 hectares of vegetation. It has since been contained.
Police have confirmed that three houses have been damaged in blaze that is raging out of control just out of Mosgiel in Otago. High winds are fanning the blaze, but because they are so strong helicopters have not been able to be put into action to douse the flames with monsoon buckets.
Canterbury fire crews have also been kept busy this morning, with vegetation fires near Waimumu, Wallacetown and Akaroa.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits near the coast of southern Peru.
5.2 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of North Island, New Zealand.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Bali Sea.
5.0 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.
New Zealand creates an ocean sanctuary twice its size
New Zealand is creating one of the world's largest fully protected ocean sanctuaries, twice the size of the nation itself, the country's prime minister announced on Monday.
"This is an area twice the size of our land mass and 50 times the size of our largest national park. It is truly a special place and we want to keep it that way," prime minister John Key said at a United Nations summit on Monday.
The 620,000 square kilometre (about 240,000 square miles) ocean sanctuary is in the Kermadec region, to the northeast of New Zealand.
The area is 35 times larger than the country's existing marine reserves and includes the world's longest chain of submerged volcanoes and the second deepest ocean trench, the New Zealand government said.
It's also home to several endangered sea turtle species, and serves as an important breeding and feeding ground for seabirds, whales and dolphins.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits North Island, New Zealand.
5.1 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.4 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.
Two 5.6 Earthquakes hit east of North Island, New Zealand.
5.4 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
5.2 Earthquake hits Metropolitana, Chile.
5.2 Earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.
5.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.0 Earthquake hits Lake Baykal, Russia.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits southern Alaska.
5.3 Earthquake hits South Africa.
5.1 Earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Panama-Costa Rica border.
5.0 Earthquake hits Oaxaca, Mexico.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Bio-Bio, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits east of North Island, New Zealand.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits the Bonin islands off Japan.
5.3 Earthquake hits offshore O’Higgins, Chile.
Two 5.0 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Auckland Islands off New Zealand.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
