MAGNITUDE 5.5 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100034du#general_summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 33 km

Distances: 31km (19mi) NNW of La Serena, Chile
32km (20mi) NNW of Coquimbo, Chile
80km (50mi) WNW of Vicuna, Chile
105km (65mi) NNW of Ovalle, Chile
426km (265mi) N of Santiago, Chile

MAGNITUDE 4.9 OFFSHORE TARAPACA, CHILE

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100034cw#general_summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 60 km

Distances: 59km (37mi) NNW of Iquique, Chile
140km (87mi) S of Arica, Chile
192km (119mi) S of Tacna, Peru
252km (157mi) SSE of Ilo, Peru
431km (268mi) SSW of La Paz, Bolivia

Two more depressions are forming in the Atlantic

In the coming days, we will hear about two more depressions forming in the Atlantic.

 

Please stay tuned for further updates and be alert

MEGA DIP SPIKES ON THE WEAK MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 19:15, 19:30, 20:00, 20:15 HRS UTC

**VERY URGENT**

  MEGA DIP SPIKES ON THE WEAK MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 19:15, 19:30, 20:00, 20:15 HRS UTC. FURTHER EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANO ACTIVITY & ADVERSE WEATHER PATTERNS WILL BE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE COSMIC RAYS STRIKING THE EARTH’S CORE

***BE ALERT***

Drought hit Puerto Rico to receive much needed rain

Many in Puerto Rico said only a few days ago they would rather a hurricane strike so that the region could get needed rainfall even though it meant roofs might be ripped off.

 

Hurricane Danny has weakened, but will still have a punch in it’s tail with loads of rain.

Fire hits an oil refinery at HollyFrontier’s corp, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

A fire at HollyFrontier Corp’s 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is being handled by the company’s in-house fire crews, according to a Twitter message by a local journalist.

 

The Tulsa Fire Department told Reuters it had not been notified of a fire that required outside assistance. Oklahoma Highway Patrol also said they had not been contacted.

 

A HollyFrontier spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.

 

Gitzel Puente, a reporter for local TV station KJRH, said in a Tweet that the fire was “self-contained”.

 

A KJRH meteorologist earlier posted a short video showing a fire at a refinery. It was not possible to verify the time or location of the video. The fire did not appear to be near any of the major refinery units.

 

While the Tulsa plant is relatively small, its location near the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil storage hub makes it significant for oil markets. An extended unplanned outage would reduce demand for crude, potentially accelerating an expected build-up in surplus stockpiles at Cushing this autumn.

Courtesy of reuters

http://goo.gl/XcrqXz

Typhoon Goni batters Japan with record 159 mile-per-hour winds

After dumping deadly rains in the northern Philippines, Typhoon Goni strengthened on Sunday, bringing a record-shattering wind gust to the Japanese island of Ishigakijima.

 

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the wind on Ishigakijima Island reached a maximum gust of 158.8 mph, or 71 meters per second, on Sunday, breaking the site’s all-time record of 157 miles per hour, which was set in 1977.

 

The airport on Ishigakijima measured a wind gust of 150.7 mph, or 67.4 meters per second, at 10:18 p.m. local time, which was 9:18 a.m. ET on Sunday morning, according to weather.com.

Typhoon Goni has been battering Japan’s Ryukyu Islands with sustained winds of up to 115 miles per hour, or 51.4 meters per second, after the storm intensified throughout Sunday. In fact, the storm may intensify further through Monday, local time, before it begins to weaken as it heads toward the more heavily populated islands of Kyushi.

 

The Ryukyu’s have been the equivalent of a typhoon magnet this year, having been hit with at least three significant storms so far this season.

 

The storm will also impact Okinawa, including Kadena Air Base, a U.S. military facility. It is not expected to make a direct hit there, though.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, or JTWC, which is a joint center run by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, is predicting that Typhoon Goni will pass about 100 nautical miles west of Kadena Air Base on August 24, followed by a potentially direct hit on Sasebo, Japan on the 25th.

 

That city has a population of about 280,000, and the storm is still expected to be a typhoon at that point, potentially even the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds between 96 to 110 miles per hour.

 

The storm is then forecast to veer close to the Korean Peninsula, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to southeastern South Korea, and then similar impacts to North Korea by August 26.

 

Taiwan, which saw more than 50 inches of rain from Typhoon Soudelor during the first week of August, missed major impacts from Typhoon Goni. Earlier forecasts showed the storm slowing down and meandering on top of the island for more than a day, raising the prospect of devastating floods.

 

Fortunately for Taiwan, that did not come to fruition, as the storm swung south, into the northern Philippines, before regaining strength a safe distance to the east.

Courtesy of mashable.com

http://goo.gl/8xU444

Explosions at US military base in Kanagawa, Japan

Massive explosions at the US military facility in Japan

An explosion occurred just after midnight at the U.S. military facility in Sagamihara, Japan, and local emergency crews are battling the resulting flames to try to stop the fire from spreading.

 

Sagamihara is a city in the Japanese prefecture of Kanagawa, which borders Tokyo.

 

“An explosion occurred today just after midnight Japan time at a building on a U.S. Army post, the Sagami Depot in the city of Sagamihara, Japan, about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo,” Pentagon spokesman U.S. Navy Commander Bill Urban said in a statement. “There are no reports of injury, and base firefighters and first responders are currently fighting the resulting fire to prevent its spread to nearby buildings. These are all the details we have at this time and will provide further information as we receive it.”

 

The Sagami General Depot houses storage for petroleum products and ammunition.

 

“Fire from the American military base has occurred,” the Sagamihara Fire Department said, according to JBC.

 

Video and photos began streaming in from social media shortly after noon (EST), showing a large explosion, several loud booms, sustained flames and billowing smoke rising from a structure. No injuries have been reported.

 

A bare warehouse is currently burning on the site, The Daily Mirror reported, citing Japanese broadcasters. Helicopters have been spotted in the area and emergency vehicles are en route to the scene.

 

An eyewitness told the NHK news agency she initially thought the explosion was thunder, but then heard multiple “explosions in quick succession.” She also reported smelling a “gunpowder-ish smell.”

 

Three explosions linked to a left-wing extremist group were reported in the vicinity of the base in April, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Courtesy of foxnews

http://goo.gl/3tCDO6

Increasing ash emissions at Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador

Ash plume from Cotopaxi seen from Quito yesterday (Image: Ministerio Coordinador de Seguridad)

Ash emissions have been increasing and producing plumes that rose 2 km above the summit and drifted west for over 50 km.

 

Ash fall occurred in several populated areas including Mulalo, Chaupi, Lasso, Machachi, Aloag, Tambillo.

 

According to Ministry of Security, evacuation routes and over 120 “albergues” – shelters – have been prepared to accommodate people in case evacuations become necessary.

Courtesy of volcanodiscovery

http://goo.gl/JdjWIi