Archive | June 15, 2015
MAGNITUDE 5.4 KEPULAUAN SANGIHE, INDONESIA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=446819
Subject To Change
Depth: 153 km
Distances: 324 km S of Davao, Philippines / pop: 1,212,504 / local time: 05:04:25.7 2015-06-16
287 km SE of Koronadal, Philippines / pop: 125,502 / local time: 05:04:25.7 2015-06-16
168 km S of Bukid, Philippines / pop: 2,232 / local time: 05:04:25.7 2015-06-16
Major wildfire destroys dozens of homes, menaces highway in Alaska
A fast-spreading Alaska wildfire has destroyed up to 45 homes and forced authorities to restrict traffic on a major highway connecting two of the state’s largest cities, state officials said Monday.
As many as 200 firefighters have been battling the 6,500-acre fire with more specially trained teams en route from the Lower 48 states, Alaska Forestry Division spokesman Sam Harrel said.
Crews have been attacking the fire on the ground and by air, getting help from the three Alaska National Guard Blackhawk helicopters, according to state reports.
Harrel said the fire was ignited by human activity but the specific cause remains under investigation. Dry and warm weather accelerated the blaze, he said.
The fire started early Sunday afternoon near Willow, about 40 miles north of Anchorage and where the Iditarod, Alaska’s famed sled-dog race, typically kicks off.
It initially covered about 2 acres, but within 11 hours had ballooned to 6,500 acres, according to the forestry division reports. Harrel said flames quickly jumped from one 30- to 40-foot spruce tree to the next, forcing a temporary closure of the Parks Highway, which links Anchorage in the state’s south central region to Fairbanks in Alaska’s eastern interior.
Residents along a 14-mile stretch have been evacuated. By Monday morning, portions of the road reopened to single-lane traffic with vehicles needing a pilot car to guide them, Harrel said. The highway remains subject to intermittent closures, Harrel said.
As of Monday morning, Harrel said about 25 primary homes had been destroyed and as many as 20 secondary residences were also lost.
Courtesy of bangordailynews.com
Train rams into a bus injuring at least 18 in Cairns, Australia
Five people remain in hospital after a tourist train and a bus collided at a level crossing in Cairns.
Police say it appears the bus failed to give way to the Kuranda Scenic Railway train at a level crossing at Portsmith on Monday afternoon.
Cairns Base Hospital says it received 18 patients, but only five remained there on Tuesday.
They include a 21-year-old woman who is in a serious condition, and four men, aged 23 to 47, who are listed as stable.
All of the patients were passengers on the bus, which collided with the train at a crossing marked with flashing lights and signs, but without boom gates.
Queensland Rail spokesman Martin Ryan has told the ABC the scenic railway will run as normal while crash investigations continue.
The train involved has been taken to a maintenance shed for a full inspection before being returned to service.
Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
Train accident injures 6 in Doornfontein, East of Johannesburg, S.Africa
There has been a train accident in Doornfontein, east of Johannesburg.
Johannesburg emergency services say six people have been injured after a Metrorail train derailed on its way from park station this afternoon.
When paramedics arrived on the scene part of the train had come off the rails.
Spokesperson Nana Radebe said, “There are six patients who were taken to hospital with minor injuries.”
Metrorail says its train services have been delayed by at least two hours following the accident.
The operator says it is not yet certain what caused the accident but technicians are on the scene.
Spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said, “All trains from Springs, Leralla, Pretoria and Daveyton are running late.”
Courtesy of ewn.co.za
Massive gas explosion prompts evacuations in Texas, USA
Photo: Richard Hoang/The Victoria Advocate via AP
Authorities say no one was injured after a natural gas pipeline ruptured in rural South Texas, sparking a massive fire that prompted the evacuation of nearby homes.
DeWitt County Emergency Operations Center spokeswoman Peggy Fonseca says an Energy Transfer Partners pipeline ruptured near Lindenau around 8 p.m. Sunday.
Fonseca said early Monday that the gas had been rerouted and the fire was extinguished.
She said seven homes were evacuated but that no one was injured. She says residents were allowed to return Sunday night following safety inspections.
Energy Transfer Partners spokeswoman Vicki Anderson Granado said the company will investigate the cause of the rupture.
The Victoria Advocate reported that the blaze could be seen from 20 miles away.
Lindenau is about 85 miles southeast of San Antonio.
Courtesy of seattletimes.com
Factory explosion kills 1 and injures another in Southwest Missouri, USA
Federal authorities are investigating after an explosion at a recycling facility in southwest Missouri killed one person and injured another.
Neosho city spokesman Wes Franklin told The Joplin Globe the explosion at USA Metal Recycling in Neosho occurred early Monday. He said the site has been contained and there was minimal damage to the building.
Franklin says USA Metal Recycling recycles military shell casings at its Neosho plant. Lisa Nichols, a dispatcher with USA Metal Recycling in Lowell, Ark., said the company isn’t commenting.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration says its regional office has opened an investigation into the cause of the explosion. OSHA says the injured employee is expected to recover.
The agency also says the site has about 8 to 10 employees.
Courtesy of sfchronicle.com
MAGNITUDE 5.8 EAST TIMOR REGION
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=446806
Subject To Change
Depth: 40 km
Distances: 154 km S of Dili, East Timor / pop: 150,000 / local time: 02:40:58.5 2015-06-16
94 km SE of Kefamenanu, Indonesia / pop: 29,490 / local time: 01:40:58.5 2015-06-16
MAGNITUDE 4.1 NEPAL
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=446772
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 44 km NE of Kathmandu, Nepal / pop: 1,442,271 / local time: 15:52:30.0 2015-06-15
24 km W of Kodāri, Nepal / pop: 1,600 / local time: 15:52:30.0 2015-06-15
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