Global Disaster Watch - Natural Disasters

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Global Disaster Watch - Natural Disasters

Sunday, March 25, 2007 -

QUAKES -
World map of the quakes in the past 7 days.
Quake list.

Quakes this morning -
7.1 NEAR WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - the quake jolted the west coast of central Japan, killing one person, injuring more than 150 and damaging hundreds of homes. Landslides were triggered, roads buckled and at least 25 houses collapsed completely when the quake struck at 9:42 a.m. (0042 GMT). The tremor, which was felt in Tokyo, seriously damaged some 200 houses. Some trains were halted, people were trapped in elevators and there were reports of power outages in some areas. Water was cut off to 4,500 homes. A tsunami warning for waves of up to 50 cm (20 inches) issued for Ishikawa prefecture was later lifted after small tsunamis hit hit in some areas. (photos)
Fear of aftershocks and more landslides caused by the loosening of soil waterlogged by overnight rains continue to plague the quake zone. A small tsunami measuring 6 inches hit shore about 40 minutes after the quake. Television footage of the quake showed buildings shaking violently for about 30 seconds. Other shots showed collapsed buildings and shops with shattered windows, streets cluttered with roof tiles and roads with cracked pavement. Many of the injured people suffered burns or were hurt by falling objects and broken glass. The affected region was not considered a quake-prone area. The last major quake that caused deaths there was in 1933 when three people died. Potentially damaging aftershocks are expected.

6.0 & 7.2 VANUATU - the 7.2 occurred two minutes before the quake in central Japan. Vanuatu's second quake, at magnitude 6.0, came about half an hour later. Police said they were checking remote islands where the quake was closer to land areas.

Largest quakes yesterday -
3/24 -
5.7 TARAPACA, CHILE
5.5 WEST OF MACQUARIE ISLAND
5.3 PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS REGION
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
3/23 -
5.6 FIJI REGION
5.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
5.2 VANUATU

TAIWAN - Six mild earthquakes hit eastern Taiwan Saturday morning, with the strongest measured around 4.4 Richter scale. Among the six earthquakes, the epicenter of five were around the Taitung's Chenggong seismic station and all were measured above four Richter scale. Taiwan's meteorological authority promised to keep a close watch on subsequent development since the earthquakes were so frequent.

VOLCANOES -
INDONESIA - rumbling Mount Batutara volcano has triggered the evacuation of about 15,000 people, an official said Friday. The villagers have left their homes on Lembata island, which lies in the Flores sea close to the volcano. Groundwater in the two affected villages of Buyasuri and Omesuri had suddenly turned salty, and there were rougher seas around the smoking volcano's home on the nearby deserted island of Komba. Experts have raised Mount Batutara's alert level to the second of four possible levels, but say an eruption is not imminent.
The volcano had released hot lava and rocks over the last two days and shot clouds of hot air as high as 2,000 meters (6,600 feet).

PHILIPPINES - The Bulusan volcano in the province of Sorsogon renewed its threat of hazardous eruption as the seismic network detected two high frequency volcanic earthquakes in 24 hours on Friday. Moderate emission of steam was observed drifting southwest during times when the crater was visible. Government scientists confirmed its restive manifestations as early as Tuesday of last week. Ground deformation conducted this month showed slight inflation at the northest flank of the vocano. The sulfur dioxide emission rate is well above the baseline level. Residents near river and stream channels around the volcano were advised to be on alert against life-threatening volcanic flows of ash and other loose volcanic deposits from the upper slopes.

RUSSIA - Klyuchevskoi volcano on Friday was spewing lava to a height of 100-150 meters. "The volcano’s activity has sharply increased since it last erupted February 15. The size of the lava globs reaches several meters in diameter. We should expect lava flows to appear on the slope of the volcano anytime now.” Such eruptions have not taken place for more than 15 years.
Prior to its February eruption, Klyuchevskoi last came to life in January-May 2005. Following that eruption, the volcano "sank" by 50 meters (about 165 feet), from 4,800 meters (about 16,000 feet) to the current 4,750 meters (15,845 feet). Eruptions do not immediately threaten the Peninsula's settlements, but volcanic ash, consisting of magma particles with a diameter of up to 2 millimeters (.078 inches), can poison land and water, and they present a danger to aircraft.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Map.
Projected storm paths .
None.

FIJI - The chances of a cyclone developing from the tropical depression to the north-west of Fiji have lessened, but heavy rain and flash flooding can still be expected, officals said Friday. The tropical depression was about 480km north-west of Nadi and is slow moving. The Weather Office feared it would develop into a cyclone Friday morning but a change in conditions reduced the possibility when the weather system ran into strong vertical wind shear. However, it would still be closely monitored, and heavy rain was likely to continue for two days.

AUSTRALIA - The Bureau of Meteorology says a tropical cyclone may cross the central Pilbara coast in Western Australia, some time overnight or tomorrow morning. At last report, a tropical low was about 465 kilometres west-north-west of Broome and moving away from the coast. However the bureau expects the system may develop into a cyclone and curve back towards the coast. Gales are not expected today but could develop later tomorrow.

RUSSIA - A new cyclone has arrived at Russia's Pacific coast, where its first appearance pounded the Primorksy Maritime territory with cold showers, pouring 10 to 15 meters per second. On Saturday the cyclone was approaching strongly at the Khabarovsk territory, which stretches to the north of Primorsky. Weather forecasters says it will reach its peak when it drifts across the Sea of Japan and comes to the island of Sakhalin. Gales at 20 meters per second will likely grip Sakhalin's northern districts today. The cyclone will then shift to the Sea of Okhotsk and embrace the Kurile Islands and Kamchatka. Fleet forecasters say, however, this natural phenomenon will not be very harsh and no warnings have been issued to ships on high seas so far. At this moment, the cyclone is moving along the Pacific coastline at about 25 kilometers per hour.

HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING / LANDSLIDES / WIND -
LIBERIA - A very heavy tropical storm, blowing from the Nimba Mountain, on Wednesday evening shook the City of Ganta in Nimba County, leaving more than three hundred houses damaged, several individuals injured and over 1000 persons homeless. The storm came blowing at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, taking several individuals by surprise. The natural tragedy stormed over five communities and brought normal working and business activities in the City to a standstill for a little over 30 minutes. This is not the first time a heavy storm has blown in Ganta. Some residents in the areas say it is a common natural disaster in the region but none before have ever reached to this extent.

PAKISTAN - Three people were buried alive and three others injured when an avalanche fell on them in the Tirich village on Friday.The number of the dead and the injured is feared to be high as no firsthand information is being received due to the damaged communication system in the area. The injured have been admitted to the Health Centre, where the condition of one person is said to be critical. The local people were also trying to recover the body of one man who was buried under another avalanche that had fallen on him on March 20.
Sixty three people have been killed in landslides and avalanches incidents in the quake-hit areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the last week. The weather has now returned to normal after heavy rains and intense snowfall. Many roads are still blocked and the living position of thousands is threatened by expected landsliding in quake-hit areas.

BAHRAIN - A Bahraini officer was killed on Thursday when he fell into the sea in sudden gusty winds that struck the kingdom for several hours and caused havoc. He was trying to move from one boat onto the other in Salman Port when he fell under the impact of the wind. Two traditional boats and ten small boats were damaged in the winds that lashed the kingdom in late afternoon. Traffic was blocked in several areas by uprooted large trees and drivers had to manoeuvre their cars carefully to avoid the signposts littering the main avenues. The wall of a private school was dangerously fissured in the FREAK storm. "This brisk change of weather conditions is known locally as the "sarayat" and marks the transition from winter to spring."
A sudden dust storm, with wind speeds reaching 53 knots or more, caused havoc across Bahrain Thursday night. The weather deteriorated suddenly at around 6.30pm. Families reported windows shattering in their homes and emergency services had to deal with uprooted trees and other damage. Several people were reportedly injured by flying debris.

CANADA - Another drenching was expected Saturday in British Columbia's Lower Mainland, where heavy rains have triggered floods and mudslides.

U.S. - Dangerous weather stuck in a line from the Texas Panhandle up to the edge of Lake Michigan as storms came across the Midwest Friday night into early Saturday. At least 13 tornadoes swept along the New Mexico-Texas state line, destroying homes and other buildings and injuring at least 16 people, several critically. The tornadoes damaged several buildings in Clovis, toppled power lines and sparked fires. One of the tornadoes destroyed about two dozen mobile homes and campers in Logan. Tornadoes are common in eastern New Mexico but they have hit early this year.

SNOW / COLD -
ALASKA - With a record snowfall and spring thaw under way, residents of Juneau are sweating over avalanche danger. Experts have long said Juneau has the highest risk of an avalanche disaster in the country. That's because more than 60 homes and a busy boat harbor lie below at least a dozen avalanche chutes that sweep off the steep sides of Mount Juneau. This year the Juneau area has gotten more than 16 feet of snow and spring is a particularly dangerous time of year for avalanches. So far several small slides have occurred but none have reached any homes.

DISEASE THREATS -

RECALLS & ALERTS:
- RECALLED - The Food and Drug Administration is re-issuing its warning to consumers not to drink "Jermuk" brand mineral water due to the risk of exposure to arsenic, a toxic substance and a known cause of cancer in humans. The agency is providing this information again to consumers due to an expansion of the recall. "Jermuk" water is imported from Armenia and distributed under different labels in California.

PET FOOD RECALL - The pet food company is urging store owners in North America to remove ALL affected varieties of its recalled products from shelves, regardless of the date of manufacture, out of concern for pet safety.
Rat poison is said to be to blame for the pet food contamination.