Popocatepetl Volcano in Mexico explodes with ash disrupting plane flights

Volcanic ash rained down on the runway of an airport in central Mexico, forcing it to close for several hours on Wednesday and disrupting domestic flights and those to the US.

 

The Popocatepetl volcano began rumbling and exploding late Tuesday, spewing a four-kilometer (2.5-mile) high column of ash and ejecting white hot rock as far as 700 meters from its crater, according to the National Disaster Prevention Center.

 

The ash reached the city of Puebla and seven nearby towns, and the wind could blow it over the eastern state of Veracruz and Tabasco state in the south, the center said.

 

The airport in Puebla shut down for five hours as crews cleaned up the dusty tarmac, said state civil protection chief Jesus Morales.

 

The temporary closure of the small Hermanos Serdan airport affected 120 passengers whose flights to Houston, Texas, and the Mexican cities of Monterrey and Guadalajara resumed after delays.

 

The Mexican capital is only 55 kilometers from the snow-capped volcano, which regularly exhales massive ash clouds.

 

The Colima volcano in the west of the country has also been sending ash skywards in recent weeks.

Courtesy of France24 News

http://tinyurl.com/o8xxkoa

MAGNITUDE 3.7 CHANNEL ISL. REG, UNITED KINGDOM

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=429281

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 28 km SW of Saint Helier, Jersey / pop: 28,000 / local time: 22:55:05.8 2015-02-25
44 km S of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey / pop: 16,488 / local time: 22:55:05.8 2015-02-25
317 km SW of London, United Kingdom / pop: 7,556,900 / local time: 22:55:05.8 2015-02-25

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Mega Avalanche Kills At Least 100 With Dozens Still Missing in Afghanistan

“Worst avalanche the country has seen in 30 years”

More than 100 people have been killed in avalanches triggered by two days of heavy snowfall in Afghanistan.

 

Rescuers have been battling treacherous conditions in their attempts to reach those still buried underneath the snow.

 

Most of the victims were in the northern Panjshir province, where snow has blocked main roads leading up to the villages affected, and dozens remain unaccounted for.

 

Provincial governor Abdul Rahman Kabiri said a team of 300 emergency workers had been sent to help, but a lack of adequate tools was hampering the operation. “We don’t have the equipment we need and people are using shovels and their bare hands to reach the trapped people,” he said.

 

At least 100 homes have also been destroyed in what has been described as the worst avalanches the country has seen in 30 years.

 

The blizzard has left parts of Kabul without electricity after hitting power cables along the Salang Pass, which connects the capital to the country’s north.

 

The current conditions are expected to last for another two days, prompting fears of an imminent humanitarian emergency.

 

This week’s storm interrupted an otherwise mild and dry winter, but natural disasters are common in Afghanistan’s mountainous north.

 

Last May, up to 2,700 people were killed after a mountain collapsed in Badakhstan province. Another landslide left 75 people dead in Baghlan province in 2012. The vast majority of bodies were never recovered, and the site was eventually turned into a memorial site.

 

Despite an influx of international aid to Afghanistan following the collapse of the Taliban, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world and rescue operations are often beset by a lack of funding and infrastructure.

Courtesy of Sky News

http://tinyurl.com/lbkq9zd

Fuel Tanker Bursts Into Flames On A Highway In New Jersey, USA

A truck carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel has burst into flames after overturning on a major highway in New Jersey.

Thick black smoke was visible five miles (8km) away in downtown Philadelphia after the tanker caught fire on the Route 90 on-ramp in Pennsauken.

 

Traffic had to be diverted and nearby homes evacuated after the truck became engulfed at about 11am local time on Monday.

 

Aerial footage showed fiery wreck, which had to be doused with foam.

 

Firefighters had the blaze nearly under control more than an hour later.

 

The driver of the truck managed to escape before it was overcome with flames.

 

Authorities have not said what caused the crash.

Courtesy of Sky News

http://tinyurl.com/kr85pna

MAGNITUDE 2.1 BROMYARD,HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM

http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_events/20150225132530.html#page=summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 4 km

Distances: 52.213  -2.499

 

MAGNITUDE 5.2 SOUTHERN MID ATLANTIC RIDGE

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=429218

Subject To Change

Depth: 33 km

Distances: 3528 km E of Montevideo, Uruguay / pop: 1,270,737 / local time: 11:48:35.5 2015-02-25
3710 km SW of Windhoek, Namibia / pop: 268,132 / local time: 15:48:35.5 2015-02-25
3725 km E of Buenos Aires, Argentina / pop: 13,076,300 / local time: 10:48:35.5 2015-02-25

MAGNITUDE 2.0 WALES ENGLAND REGION, U.K.

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=429232

Subject To Change

Depth: 4 km

Distances: 240 km W of London, United Kingdom / pop: 7,556,900 / local time: 10:41:24.0 2015-02-25
32 km NW of Cardiff, United Kingdom / pop: 302,139 / local time: 10:41:24.0 2015-02-25
14 km N of Bridgend, United Kingdom / pop: 39,429 / local time: 10:41:24.0 2015-02-25
2 km N of Pontycymer, United Kingdom / pop: 4,424 / local time: 10:41:24.0 2015-02-25

MAGNITUDE 4.7 WESTERN IRAN

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=429177

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 141 km SW of Eşfahān, Iran / pop: 1,547,164 / local time: 12:04:46.4 2015-02-25
88 km S of Shahr-e Kord, Iran / pop: 129,153 / local time: 12:04:46.4 2015-02-25
56 km SW of Borūjen, Iran / pop: 52,654 / local time: 12:04:46.4 2015-02-25