Recent Earthquake Teachable
Moments
Magnitude 7.1 Philippines Magnitude 7.0 Peru Magnitude
7.7 Pakistan Magnitude 7.0 Andreanof Islands, Alaska Magnitude 7.3 South
Sandwich Island Magnitude 7.2 Papua New Guinea Magnitude 8.3 Sea of Okhotsk
Magnitude 7.4 Tonga ETC.
Magnitude 7.1
earthquake hits near Papua New Guinea
Magnitude 7.1 earthquake
has rocked the Papua New Guinea area, according to the US Geological Survey. The
quake was located 65km west-southwest of Panguna in Papua New Guinea. It struck
at 8:31pm (10:31 GMT) Wednesday at a depth of 58km.
Philippine quake
relief under way as toll rises
More than 140 people are now
reported to have died in the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck the central
Philippines on Tuesday. Relief efforts are continuing on the island of Bohol,
which bore the brunt of the quake, and in neighbouring Cebu. President Benigno
Aquino arrived in the region on Wednesday to visit affected communities, many of
which saw buildings destroyed.
CRACKLING
SUNSPOT
Sunspot AR1865 is crackling with C- and M-class solar
flares, at least one every few hours. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured
the extreme UV flash from this M1-flare at 23:36 UT on Oct. 15th. Stronger
flares could be in the offing.
STORMS
NOAA Forecasters estimate a 20% chance of polar
geomagnetic storms on October 15th when a minor CME (movie) is expected to hit
Earth’s magnetic field. The cloud of plasma was hurled in our direction by an
M1-class eruption from sunspot AR1865.
evacuated as Typhoon Nari set to hit Vietnam
Typhoon Nari will
slam into central Vietnam tomorrow after the powerful storm left 13 dead in the
Philippines. The typhoon hit northern Philippines over the weekend ripping off
rooftops, toppling trees and triggering flash floods. Authorities in the central
provinces of Thien Hue and Da Nang are moving roughly 66,000 people in
vulnerable coastal areas to safety, according to the state-controlled Tuoi Tre
newspaper.
7.2 magnitude quake strikes Philippines: USGS
A major 7.2
magnitude earthquake struck near one of the Philippines key tourist hubs on
Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey reported. The quake struck at 08:12
local time (0012 GMT) some five kilometres (three miles) east of Balilihan, in
the Bohol region of the archipelago, at a depth of 56 kilometres, the agency
said.
Australia
to see worse drought thanks to intensifying El Niño
El Niño is a
complex interaction between air and sea in the tropical Pacific which controls
many of our weather patterns. The findings show that eastern Australia will see
worse droughts, while the central and eastern Pacific will see increased
rainfall.
Japan Typhoon
Wipha kills 14 people
At least 14 people have been killed after
a powerful typhoon passed close to the Japanese capital, reports say. Typhoon
Wipha caused landslides and flooding on Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo.
India’s
Cyclone Phailin: Thousands marooned by floods
Workers are
battling to rescue tens of thousands of people marooned by rising flood waters
in Orissa, after the state was hit by the strongest cyclone in 14 years. Flood
waters have left nearly 100,000 people stranded in Mayurbhanj and Balasore
districts, officials say. The death toll from the cyclone has risen to 27 in
Orissa, with four people killed in the floods.