December 28, 2015 - UNITED STATES - A Christmas holiday weather-armageddon claimed the lives of over 40
people across the US over the weekend, with winter storms unleashing
deadly floods and tornadoes that created havoc for travelers.
Storms in the South, Southwest, and Midwest killed at least 43 people,
with severe weather conditions prompting Missouri and New Mexico to
declare states of emergency.
At least 13 people perished in flash flooding in Missouri and Illinois,
where up to six inches of rain fell over the weekend, while in Texas at
least 11 people were killed in the Dallas area by tornadoes.
Advisories from the National Weather Service are still in effect for the
central United States, and blizzard warnings remain for parts of New
Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Flash flood warnings have been announced in
a number of counties stretching from Texas to Indiana.
In North Texas, some 600 homes were damaged in the Dallas suburb
of Rowlett on Sunday as the result of a tornado, with as many as 1,450
houses destroyed by tornadoes in the state overall.
WATCH: Apocalyptic weather in the United States.
As many as a dozen
tornadoes were seen around northern Texas.
At least eight people suffered injuries in Oklahoma as a severe blizzard
pounded the state.
The Emergency Management Department says that snow
and powerful winds knocked out power to as many as 60,000 homes and
businesses.
In New Mexico, a massive winter storm slamming the southeastern part of
the state shut down Interstate 40's eastbound lanes from Albuquerque to
the Texas state line.
A state of emergency was declared on Sunday, with
the National Guard mobilized to rescue stranded drivers, as high winds
and blowing snow led to dangerous and life-threatening conditions.
As
many as 10,000 homes in eastern New Mexico were without power on Sunday.
According to tracking service FlightAware.com, more than 1,100 flights
were canceled nationwide on Sunday, about half of which were scheduled
to or from Dallas, a major US transit hub.
Prior to this weekend's disasters, at least 18 people, including 10 in
Mississippi, were killed just two days before Christmas. Bad weather is
expected to continue through Monday. - RT.
December 28, 2015 - MEXICO - Some roads remained closed in northern Mexico on Monday after the
biggest snow storm in more than half a century blanketed parts of the
region, authorities said.
The weekend snowfall covered 32 towns in the state of Chihuahua, which
borders the US states of Texas and New Mexico, with some places hit by
accumulations of 30 centimeters (12 inches) and temperatures of minus-18
Celsius (zero Fahrenheit).
"It's the most intense snowfall in the last 55 years," Efren Matamoros,
the civil protection director in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, told
AFP.
Seventeen roads were closed over the weekend, but 11 of them reopened on Monday.
The Ciudad Juarez airport resumed operations on Monday after it was shut down over the weekend. - Yahoo.
December 28, 2015 - MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES - Dark, cold water flowing from the Nokasippi River into Upper South Long
Lake created an unexpected form this weekend—a rotating circle of ice.
The ice disc forms as flowing water creates an eddy where ice is
forming. The water is more still in the middle of the eddy.
"So you get ice forming and it gets bigger as it gets colder and then
the water that is moving faster is not freezing up, so what you get in
the end is this big pancake of ice that is moving slowly around in a
circle," said Peter Boulay, DNR climatologist. "You see pancake ice on
water that's moving. When the lakes are trying to freeze up this past
weekend, I saw a lot of that kind of ice forming in circles. "It's a
sign of turbulent water and some stillness in the water in the middle."
Nearby residents were stopping to see the rotating ice circle after word
about it was passed via Facebook, from the lake association and between
neighbors. "It's amazing," said Upper South Long Lake resident Karen
Reil.
Sue Rolfs, who has been an Upper South Long Lake resident since 1957,
said she's never seen the phenomenon before. Residents who have lived on
the lake for 25 years or more echoed that sentiment. Monday they were
drawn to the water to watch the perfect circle swirl in the black water
at the inlet.
"We've all been coming and watching it," Marlene Kossila. "It's neat to
watch." Kossila said the residents have been coming to watch the ice not
knowing when the phenomenon will end. "It's getting smaller or the
opening around it is getting smaller," she said of the ice circle.
A spinning ice circle was reported on the Sheyenne River in North Dakota
in 2013, at which time it was noted such icy discs have been seen in
Canada, England and Sweden. Bill Kronstedt said after years of living in
the area this pattern, this perfect circle, was a new experience.
"You've got to wonder how long it's going to be here," Kronstedt said.
"It's kinda cool. It is definitely neat."
Winter weather
Boulay said this start of the winter season is on track to be one of the
top five warmest on record for November and December. Many lakes have
yet to fully form ice with late ice-in records likely to be shattered
this December. There isn't a robust database for ice-ins compared to
highly anticipated ice-outs in the spring, but this year may rival
records set on area lakes including the latests ice-in on record of Dec.
22, 1998, on Gull Lake.
"We are going up against the latest we've ever seen for these lakes,"
Boulay said. "It is very late and it's more magnified because we had two
relatively early ice-ins the last two years. We are a month later than
last year in general."
On the negative side, this warmer weather—while not producing the frozen
pipes and septic systems of the last two harsh winters—is reducing time
people could have been out ice fishing, Boulay said. The odd ice and
late ice formation may serve as a reminder that ice can be tricky on the
best of years and should always be treated with healthy skepticism.
WATCH: Rare spinning ice disc draws attention near Brainerd.
"That's always our message, use extreme caution in any case and this
year especially maybe more than other years because we have not had the
cold weather to really make good ice," Boulay said.
There is cold air around it just isn't in Minnesota. Fairbanks, Alaska,
as a comparison, has had a colder than normal December. Boulay said the
cold air is bottled far to the north and so far lacks a conduit to reach
Minnesota. The Climate Prediction Center's outlook indicates there will
be a warmer than normal January, February and March to start the new
year.
"It's an El Nino pattern basically the polar jet stays way up in Canada
and we kind of stay on the mild side," Boulay said. There are storms
around, but they have to be able to tap into cold air to make a
difference for winter storms or traditional weather, Boulay said. "It
looks as if El Nino is definitely in control of our weather this winter
so far."
Even snow is in short supply across the state. While central Minnesota
will have a white Christmas, the snow line ends to the south. And the
Twin Cities is preparing for a snowless Christmas, which can't be
characterized as a brown one.
"It's like we are having a green Christmas," Boulay said. "It's strange." - Brainerd Dispatch.
December 28, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Animated satellite imagery shows a massive storm system dubbed
"Goliath," tracked over the course of two days, that brought severe
weather from Georgia to Michigan. Missouri and New Mexico declared a state of emergency and at least 11 people died in Texas.
The animated satellite recording released by NASA on Monday combines visible and infrared imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The GOES-East satellite caught the images and shows the eastward movement of the storm from December 26 to December 28.
The front has already brought snow, heavy rainfall, flooding and
tornadoes to the Southwest, leaving dozens dead and prompting hundreds
of flight cancellations.
Flood and flash flood warnings, watches
and advisories were in effect on Monday from northeast Texas across the
mid-Mississippi Valley into the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys.
Winter storm advisories extended from north-central Texas northeastward
through the Midwest and the Great Lakes. Winter weather advisories and
winter storm watches were issued for much of New England.
WATCH: GOES Satellite View of Southwest Storm System.
The low pressure system is expected to move to the Great Lakes region on
Tuesday, shifting the winter storm threat to Upstate New York and New
England.
Multiple tornadoes struck North Texas on Saturday, leaving at
least 11 people dead and dozens injured. Twisters swept through the
Dallas area and caused substantial damage to buildings, according to CNN.
In the NASA animation, during December 26, clouds can be seen containing
the line of severe thunderstorms that generated the multiple tornadoes
around Dallas.
The National Weather Service reported that a tornado with 175-miles-per-hour winds hit Garland, Texas.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency on
Sunday, mobilizing the National Guard to rescue stranded drivers after
the eastern part of the state was hit with snow.
"Someone may look [at] the winter in Albuquerque
or Santa Fe and say, 'It doesn't seem that bad,' but it is extremely
bad, "Martinez said, according
to KOAT. "I cannot express how serious the situation is. The
southeastern part of the state has 16 to 20 inches of snow with snow
drifts of 8 to 10 feet."
Over 10,000 homes were without power on Sunday, and 500 tractor
trailers were lined up along the Interstate-40 eastbound lane. There
were 300 reported crashes in New Mexico, with 50 in Albuquerque alone.
The storm system also generated heavy snow and flooding in parts of
Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Heavy rain fell in Missouri, Arkansas,
Mississippi Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Flooding in Missouri and Illinois left at least 13 dead. Missouri
Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency on Sunday as heavy
rain, flooding and flash flooding affected much of the state - and more
rain and additional flooding is expected through Monday. Rivers are
forecast to continue to rise over the next several days. Multiple roads
were closed and Missouri State Highway Patrol has conducted dozens of
water rescues.
"Multiple fatalities due to flash flooding have already been reported,
and I urge Missourians in flood-affected areas to stay alert, avoid
travel if possible and never drive into a flooded roadway," said
Governor Nixon, according to a press release."State emergency management personnel will be working around the clock to keep Missourians safe."
Illinois activated its emergency operations center due to the storm. Authorities in Georgia said they recovered the body of a man whose car was swept away by floodwaters.
December 28, 2015 - CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES - In what is being called the worst environmental disaster since the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill in 2010, methane
gas has been pouring into the air over California's Aliso Canyon, near
Los Angeles, at the rate of approximately 1200 tons each day since
October.
The massive leak is spewing 110,000 pounds of the gas per hour
from a cold-war era energy facility storage. Currently 1,700 homes have
had to be evacuated, and the Southern California Gas Company estimates
that they will not be able to stop the leak until "late February or late
March."
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) released footage taken with an
infrared camera showing massive amounts of the foul smelling gas
billowing from the leak and called it "one of the biggest leaks we've
ever seen reported" and "absolutely uncontained."
WATCH: Aerial footage of Aliso Canyon natural gas leak.
"Our efforts to stop the flow of gas by pumping fluids directly
down the well have not yet been successful, so we have shifted our focus
to stopping the leak through a relief well," Anne Silva, a spokesperson
for the Southern California Gas Company, told Motherboard. "The relief
well process is on schedule to be completed by late February or late
March."
Motherboard reported that the reason for the difficulty is that the well
is some 8,750 feet underground. Attempts at pumping fluids into it have
been unsuccessful. So far, emergency crews have only drilled down to
3,800 feet.
"It's worth noting that the type of gas involved in this leak is part of
what makes it so sinister. Methane, the main component of natural gas,
is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to climate
change impact," Melissa Cronin reported.
As of the end of December, over 150 million pounds of methane have been released in the Aliso Canyon gas leak. - Sputnik News.
December 28, 2015 - UNITED KINGDOM - An elderly woman has managed to escape without major injuries after a gas explosion reduced her detached house to rubble.
Emergency services rushed to the scene on Penn Road in Wolverhampton at 8.15am following the blast.
Firefighters found the 76-year-old pensioner had been trapped in the rubble of the gated £200,000 property.
The elderly woman was rescued from the wreckage almost two hours after
the blast. She was taken to New Cross Hospital and was found to have
suffered cuts and bruises and a broken ankle. Ambulance services say she
was 'extraordinarily lucky' not to have been more seriously injured.
Dramatic pictures show the house reduced to rubble in between two unaffected two-storey houses.
The explosion was so severe that two drivers who were passing the scene when it happened suffered minor injuries.
December 28, 2015 - ARGENTINA - Unprecedented - There is no history of snowfall recorded in El Calafate during this time of year.
It started snowing on Christmas eve in El Calafate and continued throughout the night and Saturday morning.
In one day they accumulated 38 mm of precipitation, three times the
average for the entire month of December, which is a little more than 12
millimeters
As Saturday dawned, the tourist village was completely snowed in.
"Looks like we're at the North Pole" joked a tourist early in the
morning while taking pictures of young poplars arched under the weight
of snow.
Posters saying "Welcome to El Calafate" framed by a white cityscape, are
preferred by the visitors, who do not stop sharing their pictures with
their families. The same goes for the residents of this town, where the
snowfall is all they're talking about.
Hail Storm causes dozens of birds to fall from sky
December 28, 2015 - ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES - Extreme weather battered the Jonesboro area Wednesday (Dec. 23), and
that weather is likely to blame for the untimely deaths of dozens of
waterfowl.
Nash Thomas said he and his friends gathered up 78 feathered victims after a storm producing large hail came through the area.
WATCH: Hail kill dozens of birds.
Thomas said in all, they found 68 geese and 10 ducks.
The birds were all found within a 25-mile area Jonesboro.
Thomas said he
and his friends plan to prepare the geese and ducks and give them to
the needy. - 5News KFSM.
500 people from the community of Daly River have been evacuated to Darwin.
December 28, 2015 - AUSTRALIA - Floods in Australia's Northern Territory have forced hundreds to
evacuate, closed roads and there are reports of crocodiles moving in to
the towns.
One woman is so far reported as dead and one man still missing in
floodwaters, and 500 people from the community of Daly River have been
evacuated to Darwin, with 390 currently being housed at the showgrounds.
Residents of the remote Nauiyu community reported saltwater
crocodiles had made their way into town in the floodwaters. The
crocodiles were seen on the local football field and the NT News
reported one had been seen taking two dogs.
The Daly River is still above major flood levels at 14.68m, and is expected to remain so for several more days.
The
water at Dorisvale Crossing near Pine Creek has reached 23.3m, which
Commissioner Kershaw said was expected to drop over coming days - which
may alleviate pressure on the Daly River - but until then roads into the
community will be closed so police can secure pets, homes and
valuables.
Police are still searching by air and land for a 28-year-old man from
Peppimenarti, whose friends saw him swept away in floodwaters on
Christmas Day.
"We do hold grave concerns but we remain ever hopeful that we'll find
him safe and well, and that's why we'll continue to search,"
Commissioner Kershaw said.
Near Beswick, 100km south of Katherine, a woman aged in her 50s drowned
on Sunday when she was unable to escape the car she was travelling in
with four others when it got stuck near a creek crossing.
WATCH: Flooding in the Northern Territory.
Emergency services have since airlifted several other groups of
people across the top end to safety, and Commissioner Kershaw said it
was frustrating that Territorians didn't appear to be heeding flood
warnings.
"People underestimate, we see it all the time ... you're better off not
trying to cross fast-flowing water because you can't beat mother
nature," he said.
"Conditions are still very dangerous out there, and as we've sadly seen,
it's important that people behave responsibly and do not enter
floodwaters in vehicles or on foot."
More than 600ml of rain has fallen over the past few days and the Victoria, Daly and Roper Rivers are under 24-hour watch.
People in flood-prone areas need to keep alert to the threat of
crocodiles, following reports of two dogs being taken at Daly River,
said Andrew Warton, NT Emergency Services director.
"That's a paramount consideration: not to play in floodwaters, not to
enter the waters where not necessary, and just to be crocwise," he said.
"We are in the Territory, and unfortunately that's just another risk we face."
Authorities say it will likely be several days before residents can return home and salvage what remains. - The New Zealand Herald.
December 28, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Travel problems will occur across the south-central United States this
weekend as a major storm brings everything from blizzard conditions to
tornadoes. In terms of travel through the South Central states, the
problems from the storm will range from minor inconveniences to
life-threatening conditions.
This storm will slowly track northeastward across the South
Central states into Monday with the likelihood of closed roads and
flight cancellations. This storm will not only impact the South Central
states. The Midwest and Northeast will be at risk for areas of ice, rain
and snow on Monday. Blizzard unfolds across New Mexico, southern High Plains
"The storm diving into New Mexico and Texas will not only bring snow,
but also strong winds," AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey said. The
combination of strong winds and heavy snow will continue to create
blizzard conditions from Roswell, New Mexico, to Lubbock and Amarillo,
Texas.
"The worst of the blizzard will occur from eastern New Mexico to
western Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle, where white-out conditions
will likely halt road travel and ground planes," Duffey said. Drivers are urged to never pass a snowplow as the road ahead could be extremely dangerous and covered in snow. Snowfall rates could exceed 2 inches per hour at times.
Visibilities may be measured in feet.
Over a foot of snow will fall from portions of eastern New Mexico into western Texas.
This storm will move into portions of the Oklahoma panhandle into
southwestern Kansas into Sunday night with blizzard conditions.
Drivers that become trapped or stranded in snow should never leave your
vehicle to look for help. Stay in your car, run your flashers and call
911. Be sure to have an emergency kit prepared if you have to travel.
Ice to coat central Texas to northern Missouri
As a shallow layer of cold air races into the southern Plains, the
result will be a period of freezing rain and sleet from north-central
Texas into northern Missouri. Oklahoma City; Kansas City; and Wichita,
Kansas, are some of the cities at risk for ice accumulations between
0.10 and 0.50 of an inch into Monday. Sleet can accumulate over 1 inch.
Central Oklahoma into south-central Kansas will likely have the worst of
the freezing rain and sleet accumulations. "The heaviest ice with this
winter storm is projected to fall between Wichita Falls, Texas and
Wichita, Kansas," Duffey said.
Some locations at risk for ice from this storm recently dealt with a significant ice storm during Thanksgiving weekend.
The areas having more freezing rain versus sleet are more prone for
downed trees and power lines causing power outages. Nonetheless, travel
will be dangerous regardless of whether sleet or freezing rain falls.
"With almost 2 million people in the impacted area, power outages could be significant,"Duffey said. Prior to the end of the event, precipitation will likely change over to snow across many areas.Some locations could receive several inches of snow on top of any ice or sleet accumulation. Overnight low temperatures will take a nose dive during Monday night causing any wet roads to freeze.
Major flooding to threaten eastern Oklahoma to Missouri
On the warmer side of this system, heavy rainfall will lead to
life-threatening flooding from portions of northeastern Texas into the
Ohio Valley. A band of heavy rain will be slow moving across the region
and could produce rainfall rates between 1 to 2 inches per hour at times.
The heaviest rain will set up from Muskogee, Oklahoma and Fort Smith, Arkansas, to St. Louis into Monday. Rainfall totals have already exceeded 6 inches in some areas.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Springfield, Missouri, are also at risk for
widespread flooding and road closures. "Storm drains will become
overwhelmed, water will fill up basements and creeks and rivers will
rise out of their banks," AccuWeather Meteorologist Michael Doll said.
Residents should be prepared for possible evacuations, roads to become impassable and bridges to be washed out.
Several rivers may rise to major flood stage early this week across
Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas.
National Weather Service hydrologists anticipate that the Arkansas River
at the Ozark-Jetta Taylor Lock and Dam will rise to "the highest stage
experienced since the completion of the navigation system in 1969. Even
after the rain ends later Monday, rivers within the lower Mississippi
River Basin will continue to rise as the water flows downstream," Doll
said.
Never drive through a flooded roadway. Less than 1 foot of water can wash away vehicles.
Severe thunderstorms to roll across Texas, lower Mississippi Valley
"The combination of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and unseasonably
warm air in place will be enough fuel for strong-to-severe thunderstorms
to erupt this weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde
said.
"The biggest threat will be heavy rain and damaging winds with these
storms, but the strongest storms can produce tornadoes," Rinde said.
As this storm tracks eastward, severe thunderstorms will focus across
eastern Texas, Louisiana, central and eastern Arkansas, western
Tennessee and Mississippi into Sunday night.
Houston; Alexandria and New Orleans, Louisiana, Little Rock,
Pine Bluff and Jonesboro, Arkansas; Jackson and Tupelo, Mississippi; and
Memphis, Tennessee, will be under the gun for severe thunderstorms
during Sunday night.
Those traveling across interstates 10, 20, 30, 35, 40, 49 and 55 should
keep an eye to the sky and try to seek shelter should a storm approach
your area.
The severe threat will shift into the Deep South during Monday and
Monday night with the potential for severe thunderstorms across
Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Tennessee. - Accuweather.
December 28, 2015 - TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES - A sinkhole opened up in one West Knox County family's front yard off
Hickory Creek Road. Carrie Abernathy told WATE 6 On Your Side that it's
around 13 feet deep.
One of Abernathy's neighbors came over to tell her about it and she was shocked when she saw the sinkhole.
"It's scary because of the kids, the dogs, you know, mainly the kids and my house," Abernathy said.
She has three kids and worries because they like to play outside often.
She has warned them to stay away from the sinkhole until the problem is
fixed.
WATCH: Sinkhole opens in West Knox County.
"It's a lot deeper than what I thought it was," Abernathy said.
One of the biggest concerns the family has if it rains again and the sinkhole becomes bigger.
"This is our home. Yeah, we have family, but they're an hour away, so,
it would be an upheaval if anything happened to our home," Abernathy
said.
This is the first time Abernathy has ever seen a sinkhole on her
property. Neighbors told her there was one before she moved into the
home in 2009 and that has her nervous.
"If it happened once and obviously a second time, my concern is that it's going to continue to happen," Abernathy said.
Abernathy is also worried a pile of wood next to the sinkhole could make
the problem even worse. She's contacted her landlord in hopes of
getting the sinkhole filled and they plan to address the issue in the
next few days. - WATE.
December 28, 2015 - INDONESIA - At least 4,300 earthquakes measuring more than 3 in Richter scale happened in Indonesia in 2015, according to a report.
As many as 360 earthquakes among them were felt and 7 of them were destructive.
A seismologist from the Bandung Institute of Technology Irwan Meilano
said that on average, in Indonesia, earthquakes happened every day.
Irwan also said that the data was taken from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
"Ironically, almost all destructive earthquake happen in areas not
included in the earthquake map," Irwan said on Sunday (27/12). - Tempo.
Seismotectonics of the New Guinea Region and Vicinity
The Australia-Pacific plate boundary is over 4000 km long on the
northern margin, from the Sunda (Java) trench in the west to the
Solomon Islands in the east. The eastern section is over 2300 km long,
extending west from northeast of the Australian continent and the Coral
Sea until it intersects the east coast of Papua New Guinea. The
boundary is dominated by the general northward subduction of the
Australia plate.
Along the South Solomon trench, the Australia plate converges with the
Pacific plate at a rate of approximately 95 mm/yr towards the
east-northeast. Seismicity along the trench is dominantly related to
subduction tectonics and large earthquakes are common: there have been
13 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded since 1900. On April 1, 2007, a M8.1
interplate megathrust earthquake occurred at the western end of the
trench, generating a tsunami and killing at least 40 people. This was
the third M8.1 megathrust event associated with this subduction zone in
the past century; the other two occurred in 1939 and 1977.
Further east at the New Britain trench, the relative motions of several
microplates surrounding the Australia-Pacific boundary, including
north-south oriented seafloor spreading in the Woodlark Basin south of
the Solomon Islands, maintain the general northward subduction of
Australia-affiliated lithosphere beneath Pacific-affiliated lithosphere.
Most of the large and great earthquakes east of New Guinea are related
to this subduction; such earthquakes are particularly concentrated at
the cusp of the trench south of New Ireland. 33 M7.5+ earthquakes have
been recorded since 1900, including three shallow thrust fault M8.1
events in 1906, 1919, and 2007.
USGS plate tectonics for the region.
The western end of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary is perhaps the
most complex portion of this boundary, extending 2000 km from Indonesia
and the Banda Sea to eastern New Guinea. The boundary is dominantly
convergent along an arc-continent collision segment spanning the width
of New Guinea, but the regions near the edges of the impinging Australia
continental margin also include relatively short segments of
extensional, strike-slip and convergent deformation. The dominant
convergence is accommodated by shortening and uplift across a 250-350
km-wide band of northern New Guinea, as well as by slow
southward-verging subduction of the Pacific plate north of New Guinea at
the New Guinea trench. Here, the Australia-Pacific plate relative
velocity is approximately 110 mm/yr towards the northeast, leading to
the 2-8 mm/yr uplift of the New Guinea Highlands.
Whereas the northern band of deformation is relatively diffuse east of
the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border, in western New Guinea there are
at least two small (less than 100,000 km²) blocks of relatively
undeformed lithosphere. The westernmost of these is the Birds Head
Peninsula microplate in Indonesia's West Papua province, bounded on the
south by the Seram trench. The Seram trench was originally interpreted
as an extreme bend in the Sunda subduction zone, but is now thought to
represent a southward-verging subduction zone between Birds Head and the
Banda Sea.
There have been 22 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded in the New Guinea region
since 1900. The dominant earthquake mechanisms are thrust and strike
slip, associated with the arc-continent collision and the relative
motions between numerous local microplates. The largest earthquake in
the region was a M8.2 shallow thrust fault event in the northern Papua
province of Indonesia that killed 166 people in 1996.
The western portion of the northern Australia plate boundary extends
approximately 4800 km from New Guinea to Sumatra and primarily separates
Australia from the Eurasia plate, including the Sunda block. This
portion is dominantly convergent and includes subduction at the Sunda
(Java) trench, and a young arc-continent collision.
In the east, this boundary extends from the Kai Islands to Sumba along
the Timor trough, offset from the Sunda trench by 250 km south of Sumba.
Contrary to earlier tectonic models in which this trough was
interpreted as a subduction feature continuous with the Sunda subduction
zone, it is now thought to represent a subsiding deformational feature
related to the collision of the Australia plate continental margin and
the volcanic arc of the Eurasia plate, initiating in the last 5-8 Myr.
Before collision began, the Sunda subduction zone extended eastward to
at least the Kai Islands, evidenced by the presence of a
northward-dipping zone of seismicity beneath Timor Leste. A more
detailed examination of the seismic zone along it's eastern segment
reveals a gap in intermediate depth seismicity under Timor and seismic
mechanisms that indicate an eastward propagating tear in the descending
slab as the negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere detaches from
positively buoyant continental lithosphere. On the surface, GPS
measurements indicate that the region around Timor is currently no
longer connected to the Eurasia plate, but instead is moving at nearly
the same velocity as the Australia plate, another consequence of
collision.
Large earthquakes in eastern Indonesia occur frequently but interplate
megathrust events related to subduction are rare; this is likely due to
the disconnection of the descending oceanic slab from the continental
margin. There have been 9 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded from the Kai
Islands to Sumba since 1900. The largest was the great Banda Sea
earthquake of 1938 (M8.5) an intermediate depth thrust faulting event
that did not cause significant loss of life.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck 26 north-northwest of Barstow on Dec. 27, 2015. (Credit: USGS)
December 28, 2015 - CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES - A preliminary magnitude-4.2 earthquake that struck 26 miles
north-northwest of Barstow, in the Mojave Desert area, was reportedly
felt by some in Los Angeles Sunday morning.
The quake hit around 10:31 a.m. with a depth of .4 miles, the U.S. Geological Service reported.
It was located 23 miles east-southeast of Johannesburg, 36 miles southeast of Ridgecrest and 62 miles northeast of Lancaster.
Multiple KTLA viewers and several tweets indicated people felt it in the Hollywood, Northridge and Pasadena areas.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
- KTLA.
The whale carcass that had washed up on the Kommetjie beach.
December 28, 2015 - SOUTH AFRICA - Another humpback whale carcass had to be removed from a Cape Town beach
after its body washed up onto the shore, this time at Kommetjie.
Another dead humpback whale found in Kommetjie in Cape Town. City says it will be removed tomorrow pic.twitter.com/XItrdvMrWj
— Bonga Dlulane (@BongaDlulane) December 25, 2015
The city's environmental spokesperson, Greg Oelofse, said the 9 metre mammal washed up on Christmas Day.
"The carcass was successfully removed yesterday [Saturday]," he said.
Oelofse said it was not unusual to see the whales wash up.
"In recent months we had a large number of whales feeding next to the
coastline. It not unusual to have a few carcasses left behind," he said.
It was the second whale to wash up on a Cape Town beach in less than a week.
On Wednesday, a 25-ton whale carcass had to be removed from Strand beach.
It attracted hundreds of spectators and the beach had to be closed while environmentalists transported it on a flatbed truck. - Times Live.
December 28, 2015 - PHILIPPINES - A 5.2 magnitude earthquake rattled Siargao Island residents including
vacationing tourists, particularly villagers residing along the islands'
coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean, Sunday morning.
The strong quake occurred at 6:11 a.m. with its epicenter traced at 29
kilometers (km) northeast of San Isidro town, Siargao Island, Surigao
del Norte, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
(Phivolcs), said in its bulletin.
The tremor was tectonic in origin, with a depth of 51 km. The quake was also felt in the cities of Surigao and Butuan.
It was caused by movements along a local fault in Surigao Island, Phivolcs said.
No aftershock was registered and no tsunami alert was raised by the state agency.
The action center of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (PDRRMC) in Surigao del Norte said there were no
casualties or damages reported when the earthquake hit the tourist
island.
Personnel and rescue teams of PDRRMC were immediately mobilized by
Surigao del Norte Gov. Sol F. Matugas to go to Siargao Island and
conduct on-ground assessment and verification.
"I already called up the attention of our nine island mayors there to
personally verify on the ground the situation of our residents including
tourists, both foreign and domestic, but thanks God no one was reported
hurt as of this time," Matugas said.
Earlier, on the same day and town, a 3.2 magnitude quake was also registered at 4:04 a.m. with an epicenter plotted just 7 km southwest of San Isidro town, with only a depth of 10 km., Philvocs said.
Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Philippine Sea and Vicinity.
The
Philippine Sea plate is bordered by the larger Pacific and Eurasia
plates and the smaller Sunda plate. The Philippine Sea plate is unusual
in that its borders are nearly all zones of plate convergence. The
Pacific plate is subducted into the mantle, south of Japan, beneath the
Izu-Bonin and Mariana island arcs, which extend more than 3,000 km along
the eastern margin of the Philippine Sea plate. This subduction zone is
characterized by rapid plate convergence and high-level seismicity
extending to depths of over 600 km. In spite of this extensive zone of
plate convergence, the plate interface has been associated with few
great (Magnitude greater than 8.0) ‘megathrust’ earthquakes. This low
seismic energy release is thought to result from weak coupling along the
plate interface (Scholz and Campos, 1995). These convergent plate
margins are also associated with unusual zones of back-arc extension
(along with resulting seismic activity) that decouple the volcanic
island arcs from the remainder of the Philippine Sea Plate (Karig et
al., 1978; Klaus et al., 1992).
South of the Mariana
arc, the Pacific plate is subducted beneath the Yap Islands along the
Yap trench. The long zone of Pacific plate subduction at the eastern
margin of the Philippine Sea Plate is responsible for the generation of
the deep Izu-Bonin, Mariana, and Yap trenches as well as parallel chains
of islands and volcanoes, typical of circum-pacific island arcs.
Similarly, the northwestern margin of the Philippine Sea plate is
subducting beneath the Eurasia plate along a convergent zone, extending
from southern Honshu to the northeastern coast of Taiwan, manifested by
the Ryukyu Islands and the Nansei-Shoto (Ryukyu) trench. The Ryukyu
Subduction Zone is associated with a similar zone of back-arc extension,
the Okinawa Trough. At Taiwan, the plate boundary is characterized by a
zone of arc-continent collision, whereby the northern end of the Luzon
island arc is colliding with the buoyant crust of the Eurasia
continental margin offshore China.
USGS plate tectonics for the region.
Along its western margin, the
Philippine Sea plate is associated with a zone of oblique convergence
with the Sunda Plate. This highly active convergent plate boundary
extends along both sides the Philippine Islands, from Luzon in the north
to the Celebes Islands in the south. The tectonic setting of the
Philippines is unusual in several respects: it is characterized by
opposite-facing subduction systems on its east and west sides; the
archipelago is cut by a major transform fault, the Philippine Fault; and
the arc complex itself is marked by active volcanism, faulting, and
high seismic activity. Subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate occurs at
the eastern margin of the archipelago along the Philippine Trench and
its northern extension, the East Luzon Trough. The East Luzon Trough is
thought to be an unusual example of a subduction zone in the process of
formation, as the Philippine Trench system gradually extends northward
(Hamburger et al., 1983). On the west side of Luzon, the Sunda Plate
subducts eastward along a series of trenches, including the Manila
Trench in the north, the smaller less well-developed Negros Trench in
the central Philippines, and the Sulu and Cotabato trenches in the south
(Cardwell et al., 1980). At its northern and southern terminations,
subduction at the Manila Trench is interrupted by arc-continent
collision, between the northern Philippine arc and the Eurasian
continental margin at Taiwan and between the Sulu-Borneo Block and Luzon
at the island of Mindoro. The Philippine fault, which extends over
1,200 km within the Philippine arc, is seismically active. The fault has
been associated with major historical earthquakes, including the
destructive M7.6 Luzon earthquake of 1990 (Yoshida and Abe, 1992). A
number of other active intra-arc fault systems are associated with high
seismic activity, including the Cotabato Fault and the Verde
Passage-Sibuyan Sea Fault (Galgana et al., 2007).
Relative
plate motion vectors near the Philippines (about 80 mm/yr) is oblique
to the plate boundary along the two plate margins of central Luzon,
where it is partitioned into orthogonal plate convergence along the
trenches and nearly pure translational motion along the Philippine Fault
(Barrier et al., 1991). Profiles B and C reveal evidence of opposing
inclined seismic zones at intermediate depths (roughly 70-300 km) and
complex tectonics at the surface along the Philippine Fault.
Several
relevant tectonic elements, plate boundaries and active volcanoes,
provide a context for the seismicity presented on the main map. The
plate boundaries are most accurate along the axis of the trenches and
more diffuse or speculative in the South China Sea and Lesser Sunda
Islands. The active volcanic arcs (Siebert and Simkin, 2002) follow the
Izu, Volcano, Mariana, and Ryukyu island chains and the main Philippine
islands parallel to the Manila, Negros, Cotabato, and Philippine
trenches.
Seismic activity along the boundaries of the
Philippine Sea Plate (Allen et al., 2009) has produced 7 great
(Magnitude greater than 8.0) earthquakes and 250 large (Magnitude
greater than 7) events. Among the most destructive events were the 1923
Kanto, the 1948 Fukui and the 1995 Kobe (Japan) earthquakes (99,000,
5,100, and 6,400 casualties, respectively), the 1935 and the 1999
Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquakes (3,300 and 2,500 casualties, respectively),
and the 1976 M7.6 Moro Gulf and 1990 M7.6 Luzon (Philippines)
earthquakes (7,100 and 2,400 casualties, respectively). There have also
been a number of tsunami-generating events in the region, including the
Moro Gulf earthquake, whose tsunami resulted in more than 5000 deaths. - USGS.
Horror: Victim Cristina Ojeda-Thies tweeted a
photograph of the shark's tooth-marks up her arm, after the animal
attacked her while she swam off the coast of Gran Canaria
December 28, 2015 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of animal attacks on humans.
Tourist bitten by a shark off Gran Canaria
A tourist has been bitten by a shark while swimming off the popular winter holiday destination of Gran Canaria.
Victim Cristina Ojeda-Thies tweeted a photograph of the tooth-marks
scarring her arm after she was treated in a hospital on Friday.
But authorities are trying to play down the attack for fear that it would impact on tourism.
'Today I've had a face to face meeting with a shark,' tweeted Ms
Ojeda-Thies. 'Things that happen when you swim in the Canaries in
December.'
Fernando Frias, President of the Canary Islands Shark Alliance which
promotes shark conservation, called the incident a 'one-off'.
He added: 'I doubt something like this will happen again in the next 50 years so people shouldn't be afraid.'
Spaniard Cristina, 38, from Madrid, was on holiday with her family when
she was bitten at Arinaga Beach in Aguimes on Gran Canaria's east coast
which is a popular area with divers.
She went for a swim in the sea after Christmas Day dinner with her relatives.
Recalling the horror attack which happened just 60 feet from the
shoreline, she told a local paper: 'I noticed something pulling at my
left arm but I didn't pay any attention because it felt like a dog
biting you when it's playing.
'I returned to the shoreline swimming crawl and I felt another pull again, more intense this time.
'Half a second later I felt something grabbing hold of me, I turned
round and I saw it pulling at me. It was a fish. I hit it with my right
hand and I saw the shark's fins as it swam off.
'Everything happened very quickly, in seconds. Although it wasn't a
painful attack, I didn't realise how serious it was until I got out of
the water.
'As I turned round I saw it was a big greyish-brown fish and when I hit it I noticed it had hard, rough skin.
'There are times when I've fallen off my bike or I've burnt myself cooking and it's hurt me more.
'But it's true it was something that frightened me. Thankfully I was able to react.
'I was still in the sea when I put my head under water to see if it was
following me and look where I could escape to nearer the shoreline and I
didn't see it again.'
Experts said they thought the shark that bit her was probably a silky shark, which is found worldwide in tropical and warm seas.
They can grow to nearly 10ft but their average length is around 7.5ft.
They are considered potentially dangerous and can become aggressive if approached directly.
They normally swallow their prey, generally bony fishes, whole.
Pascual Calabuig, director of the council-run Wild Fauna Recovery Centre
in Gran Canaria, described the attack as 'very rare.' - Daily Mail.
Baby found dead in Fraser Town, India; police suspect dog pack attack
The mutilated body of a girl baby, aged around 18 months, was found
behind the St Francis Xavier Cathedral on Promenade Road in Fraser Town
on Friday night.
Based on eyewitness accounts, the jurisdictional Bharathinagar
police suspect that the toddler was mauled to death by stray dogs.
Local residents who noticed the mutilated body informed the police at
around 7.30 pm on Friday. The police immediately shifted the body to the
Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. A few people told the police
that they saw a few dogs biting the baby. "They chased away the dogs and
tried to rescue the baby. However, the baby had died by then. The identity of the baby is yet to be established," said the Bharathinagar inspector.
According to sources in Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospitals, the child was
brought dead by the police and no one has claimed the body so far.
When contacted, Pulakeshinagar ward corporator Abdul Zakir said
it is still not confirmed whether the baby had died due to an attack by
stray dogs. Zakir said he had already discussed the incident with the
BBMP officials and would again take it up on Monday. Zakir said the
stray dog menace has increased in last few months and the BBMP was
taking steps to check the problem through sterilisation programmes.
Incidentally, the increasing garbage menace and the suspension of Animal
Birth Control (ABC) programmes in certain areas have led to an increase
in stray dog population. After a toddler, Kumaraswamy, was mauled by a
pack of stray dogs in JP Nagar last year, Joint Director (Animal
Husbandry), BBMP, Dr Shivarama Bhat had stated that the only way to
reduce stray dog attacks on humans was to tackle the garbage crisis and
adopt street dogs. "People should stop feeding stray dogs on roadsides
and not dump garbage on streets," he had said.
NGOs in the City have completely suspended animal birth control and
anti-rabies vaccination drives on stray dogs in several areas since
October 2014 due to inordinate delay on the part of the BBMP in making
payments. The work was resumed in some areas later. - Deccan Herald.
Barred owl attacks Louisiana police officer, causes car crash
One unsuspecting Louisiana police officer was in for a hoot on Christmas Eve.
Covington Police officer Lance Benjamin was riding alone Thursday with
his windows down, patrolling the quiet streets of a Louisiana
subdivision, when he felt something hard hit the side of his face.
At first Benjamin thought he was struck by a football, he told CNN affiliate WVUE.
"And then I felt some scratching on the back of my head and some pecking," he said.
An owl had flown into the driver's side window and started attacking the officer with its wings, talons and beak. During
the mayhem, the officer temporarily lost control of his patrol car and
drove it into a ditch, according to the Covington Police Department.
"I tried to keep control of my car, went into a ditch, avoided some
trees. Finally was able to stop the car put it in park get out. And
there he was, just chilling out in the car," he said.
Benjamin waited about 45 minutes for the owl to finally fly out of the car and into the darkness.
WATCH: Owl attacks police officer, causes car crash.
Chief of Police Tim Lentz, said he woke up to a text message early
Christmas morning about an officer crashing a vehicle because of an owl.
At first he thought it was a prank.
After reviewing Benjamin's body camera footage, it was clear the altercation was real.
Fortunately, it's going to be "owl" right for the officer. Benjamin only
suffered minor scratches and was given a tetanus shot and antibiotics
after the surreal encounter.
His fellow officers wanted to memorialize the event and presented
Benjamin with a plush owl to accompany him during his late night rides.
After Benjamin was treated for his scratches, he finished the rest of his shift.
The raptor, which the Audubon Society identified from the video frame as a barred owl, is still at large. - CNN.
December 28, 2015 - THE PHILIPPINES - Kanlaon Volcano in Negros spewed ash again on Sunday afternoon.
The
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the
eruption lasted for five minutes.
It said the ash eruption started at
1:29 p.m. and ended at 1:34 p.m. Phivolcs said the gray ash spewed by
Kanlaon was 3,281 feet.
The latest activity was accompanied by an "explosion type earthquake
with rumbling sound," it added. In its bulletin on Kanlaon issued at 8
a.m., Phivolcs said it recorded six volcanic earthquakes from 8 a.m. of
December 26 to 8 a.m. of December 27.
"Emission of moderate white steam plumes, 50 meters in height from the
summit crater that drifted southwest, was observed," the bulletin added.
Alert Level 1 remains raised over the volcano, which means it is in a
period of unrest.
It said reminded concerned local government units in Negros that "entry
into the 4-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone is strictly prohibited
due to the further possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven
or phreatic eruptions."
It added: "Civil aviation authorities must also advise pilots to avoid
flying close to the volcano's summit as airborne ash from a sudden
eruption can be hazardous to aircraft." - GMA News.
