Severe storm wreaks havoc in central San Diego, USA

A surprise storm wreaked havoc on central San Diego, its coastline and downtown on Tuesday afternoon, prompting a Sig alert, leading thousands to lose power and causing extensive damage.

 

More than 6,000 customers were without power Tuesday afternoon, and State Route 163 was shut down in both directions after a Sig alert was issued just after 6 p.m.

 

All northbound and southbound lanes of 163 south of Interstate 8 were closed due to downed eucalyptus trees. The Robinson Avenue and Washington Street exits off SR-163 were also shut down, but crews were able to clear them around 9 p.m.

 

As of 9:30 p.m., three SR-163 lanes remained closed because trees along the side appeared ready to fall over at any moment. California Highway Patrol and CalTrans officials wanted to investigate the vegetation to make sure it is safe before reopening the freeway.

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Evacuation declared as Mount Mayon spews lava in Philippines eruption

The Philippines’ most active volcano has belched out huge lava fragments that rolled about a kilometre down its slope, prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of villagers, officials said on Tuesday.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level to “critical” for Mount Mayon in eastern Albay province on late Monday, meaning an explosive eruption is possible within weeks. The level was raised after an escalation of restiveness was recorded overnight, including the ejection of glowing rocks from the summit and dozens of low-frequency volcanic earthquakes.

 

Molten lava has accumulated at the top of the 2,460-metre-high volcano’s crater, creating a glow in the clear night sky on Monday that sparked both awe and fear among spectators and villagers.

 

“Thousands have been evacuated since last night,” Cedric Daep, a safety officer in Albay, said by phone.

Volcanologist Ed Laguerta said he saw huge glowing lava fragments and super-hot boulders rolling down from Mayon’s crater for the first time on late Monday, when thick clouds parted and revealed the volcano’s summit. He said the fragments could be seen from as far as 12km away.

 

Mount Mayon, a popular tourist site known for its near-perfect cone, lies in coconut-producing Albay province, about 340km southeast of Manila. On some clear nights, tourists can see the lava glow from the safety of their hotels in Albay’s capital, Legazpi city.

 

Albay governor Joey Salceda ordered the evacuation of up to 12,000 residents within an 8km radius of the volcano’s crater. Villagers within 6km of the volcano, which the government has declared a permanent no-go danger zone, face mandatory evacuation.

 

Disaster-response officials convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday to map out steps to avert casualties.

 

Mayor Herbie Aguas said his farming town of Santo Domingo, among the closest to the volcano, has a frightening legacy from Mayon. The volcano nearly wiped out the municipality’s entire population in an 1897 eruption with its pyroclastic flows — superheated gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, vaporizing everything in their path.

 

“We are praying that it would not be the worst-case scenario,” Aguas said, adding that nearly 4,000 of the 40,000 residents in his town who live within a government-declared danger zone had started to evacuate to safer areas.

 

The volcano has erupted 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently, endangering thousands of poor villagers who insist on living or farming in the government-declared permanent danger zone.

 

Villagers living near the volcano have erected huge white crosses at the entrance of their neighborhoods, hoping they will protect them from harm.

 

On May 7, 2013, the volcano suddenly spewed ash, killing five climbers, including three Germans, who ventured near the summit despite warnings of possible danger.

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MAGNITUDE 5.2 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 5.9 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  64.619  -17.390 
(7.0 km ESE of Bárðarbunga)

Earthquake location   17 Sept 20:20 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   17 Sept 20:20 GMT

MAGNITUDE 3.3 ICELAND REGION

Subject to change

Depth: 5 km

 

Distances: Latitude, Longitude  64.664  -17.393 
(6.9 km ENE of Bárðarbunga)

Earthquake location   17 Sept 20:20 GMT

Time and magnitude of earthquake   17 Sept 20:20 GMT

MAGNITUDE 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=400334

Subject To Change

Depth: 14 km

Distances: 49 km N of Road Town, British Virgin Islands / pop: 8,449 / local time: 13:54:04.4 2014-09-17
62 km NE of Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, U.S. / pop: 20,000 / local time: 13:54:04.4 2014-09-17
155 km E of San Juan, Puerto Rico / pop: 418,140 / local time: 13:54:04.4 2014-09-17

MAGNITUDE 4.9 85 km WEST OF SNARES ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND

http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/newzealand/2014p700223

Subject to change

Depth: 5 km

Distances:  Latitude, Longitude -47.66, 165.59

MAGNITUDE 4.6 GREECE

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000sdg1#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 11 km

Distances: 10km (6mi) WNW of Florina, Greece
23km (14mi) S of Bitola, Macedonia
34km (21mi) N of Kastoria, Greece
37km (23mi) SE of Resen, Macedonia
131km (81mi) S of Skopje, Macedonia  

MAGNITUDE 5.1 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=400279

Subject To Change

Depth: 60 km

Distances: 162 km E of Davao, Philippines / pop: 1,212,504 / local time: 18:36:47.7 2014-09-17
96 km SE of Mati, Philippines / pop: 105,908 / local time: 18:36:47.7 2014-09-17
80 km SE of Lukatan, Philippines / pop: 2,557 / local time: 18:36:47.7 2014-09-17

MAGNITUDE 4.0 PUGET SOUND REGION, WASHINGTON, USA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=400273

Subject To Change

Depth: 17 km

Distances: 188 km S of Vancouver, Canada / pop: 1,837,969 / local time: 03:06:12.8 2014-09-17
59 km N of Olympia, United States / pop: 46,478 / local time: 03:06:12.8 2014-09-17
28 km W of Port Orchard, United States / pop: 11,144 / local time: 03:06:12.8 2014-09-17
16 km SW of Seabeck, United States / pop: 1,105 / local time: 03:06:12.8 2014-09-17

MAGNITUDE 3.1 PYRENEES

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=400270

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 270 km W of Andorra la Vella, Andorra / pop: 20,430 / local time: 11:53:43.3 2014-09-17
28 km N of Pamplona, Spain / pop: 198,491 / local time: 11:53:43.3 2014-09-17
7 km S of Doneztebe, Spain / pop: 1,506 / local time: 11:53:43.3 2014-09-17