MAGNITUDE 4.0 WASHINGTON, USA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=459028

Subject To Change

Depth: 19 km

Distances: 219 km SE of Vancouver, Canada / pop: 1,837,969 / local time: 15:22:12.1 2015-09-12
105 km NE of Olympia, United States / pop: 46,478 / local time: 15:22:12.1 2015-09-12
49 km E of Seattle, United States / pop: 608,660 / local time: 15:22:12.1 2015-09-12
6 km NE of Tanner, United States / pop: 1,018 / local time: 15:22:12.1 2015-09-12

MAGNITUDE 5.5 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us20003j36#general_summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 46 km

Distances: 76km (47mi) NNE of Lae, Papua New Guinea
141km (88mi) NNE of Bulolo, Papua New Guinea
150km (93mi) NNE of Wau, Papua New Guinea
197km (122mi) ESE of Madang, Papua New Guinea
367km (228mi) N of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Massive fire damages industrial units in Wolverhampton, UK

A fire has broken out at several car repair units in Wolverhampton, prompting fears gas cylinders inside the premises could explode.

 

More than 60 firefighters have been tackling the blaze in Hickman Avenue, near East Park, since about 14:30 BST.

 

A man was taken to hospital for a minor burn after trying to put the fire out, West Midlands Fire Service said.

 

A working men’s club and nearby buildings were evacuated until fire crews moved the cylinders to safety.

 

Three car repair units and two tyre storage units have been affected by the severe fire which is now under control, the spokesman said.

 

Fire crews said they managed to save two coaches inside one of the buildings and part of a gym, but the roof of the tyre unit was destroyed.

 

It is thought the fire started inside one of the repair garages, the spokesman said.

 

Twelve fire engines were sent to the scene as police closed nearby roads and dealt with subsequent traffic problems.

 

Nearby residents were urged to keep their windows shut due to the large quantities of smoke.

Courtesy of BBC News

http://tinyurl.com/pdfnqnk

Chemical plant fire kills one and three are badly burnt in Kota Kemuning, Malaysia

One person was killed and three were badly burnt in a fire at a chemical plant warehouse in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam, at about 5pm yesterday.

 

Selangor Fire and Rescue Operations assistant director Mohd Sani Harul said the body of warehouse manager, Neo Khoon Seng, 55, was found at about 10.30am today under the remnants of the building.

 

“Three other employees who suffered serious burns were rescued and taken to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang to be treated,” he told Bernama here today.

 

He said the department received an emergency call at 5.21pm yesterday. The fire and rescue team arrived at the scene 15 minutes later and brought the fire under control at about 6.30pm, he said.

 

The warehouse stored inflammable liquids such as nitrocellulose, afcona resin solution, printing ink and ethanol.

Courtesy of themalaysianinsider.com

Massive gas explosion kills 89 in India

A powerful explosion triggered by a gas cylinder has torn through a packed restaurant in India, killing at least 89 people and injuring 100 others.

 

The restaurant building in central Madhya Pradesh state was being used to illegally store explosives that detonated in the blast on Saturday, vastly amplifying its impact and destroying neighbouring buildings, local authorities said.

 

‘Initially we heard the sound of (fire) crackers … a huge explosion took place forcing people to run for cover,’ Balram, an injured labourer, told Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency from a hospital.

 

The blast in the town of Petlawad occurred at about 8.30am local time as many office workers and schoolchildren were having breakfast in the restaurant.

 

Photographs from the scene showed corpses covered in dust and ash lying in the streets alongside the twisted wreckage of burned-out vehicles, as victims described seeing body parts strewn in the street.

 

Television footage showed scores of people and rescue workers using their bare hands to shift mangled heaps of steel and concrete of the ruined buildings while police cordoned off the area.

 

Police revised the number of people who died down to 89 after earlier reporting a higher toll, after clearing the debris of the destroyed restaurant and neighbouring structures.

 

A local magistrate gave the same toll.

 

‘As for the site, it has been cleared and no more bodies are there,’ Ashok Jadhav said, adding that around 100 others were being treated for their injuries in various nearby hospitals.

Courtesy of skynews.com.au

http://tinyurl.com/ommksp4

MAGNITUDE 5.7 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=459016

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 1177 km NE of Wellington, New Zealand / pop: 381,900 / local time: 08:32:25.2 2015-09-13
769 km NE of Whakatane, New Zealand / pop: 18,602 / local time: 08:32:25.2 2015-09-13

Sandstorm Is Worst for Israel Since Independence

Israel’s ongoing sandstorm is the worst since before the founding of the state in 1948, according to the Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry.

 

The sandstorm blanketing the region, which began Tuesday and is expected to continue through the weekend, has released the highest concentration of dust particles in more than 65 years, the Times of Israel reported Friday.

 

The sandstorm has affected large swaths of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Cyprus, and in Israel has led to record electricity consumption and air pollution highs. The previous electricity consumption record was set in August during a heatwave.

 

Scientists are uncertain what caused the storm, with some saying it is related to agricultural disruptions caused by the Syrian civil war and others suggesting it stems from global warming, i24news reported.

 

On Tuesday, air pollution in Jerusalem was 173 times higher than average; in the Negev, 51 times higher than average; and in the Galilee, 32 times higher than average, according to the Times of Israel.

 

The Environmental Ministry has warned Israelis not to stay outside for extended periods. The storm has caused several respiratory-related deaths and hospitalized more than 2,500 in Lebanon, according to the Washington Post.

Courtesy of forward.com

http://tinyurl.com/o78oud7

Eurasia’s highest volcano erupts in Kamchatka for second time in year; Yellow Warning Issued

Eurasia’s largest volcano, the Klyuchevskoy, located on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, has erupted for the second time this year, said Olga Girina, chief of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

 

“The first data about the start of a new eruption of the Klyuchevskoy volcano appeared on August 27,” Girina told TASS, adding that moderate strombolian activity had been observed in the crater before the volcano was obscured by clouds.

 

“The lava flow in the crater continues. Seismic activity and thermal anomaly are being registered. It indicates that the Klyuchevskoy’s eruption is underway,” she said.

 

A yellow air traffic safety warning has been declared in the Kamchatka region due to the volcano’s increased activity. It means that at any moment, the Klyuchevskoy can spew ash at the height of more than 6,000 meters above the sea level. Because of the potential hazard posed to flight operations, airline companies have been advised to change their routes for the time of the volcano’s eruption.

 

The volcanic activity is being constantly monitored through video cameras, satellites and seismic stations. According to volcanologists, it is too early to say now how powerful the current eruption will be.

 

The Klyuchevskoy, also known as the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, is located 360 kilometres to the northwest of the capital of the Kamchatka territory, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The nearest township, Klyuchi is separated from it by a distance of 30 km and it is home to about 5,000 people at present.

 

The volcano, which is believed to be about 7,000 years old, has the height of 4,750 meters above the sea level. Apart from being the largest active volcano in Eurasia, it is also the highest mountain in Russia outside the Caucasus.

 

All in all, the Kamchatka peninsula has 29 active volcanoes.

 

The previous eruption of the Klyuchevskoy started in January and ended in March. The volcano belched out ash to the elevation of 6.0 to 6.5 km above the sea level almost daily. The lava descended 500 meters down the slope in the direction of the Apakhonchich field camp of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Courtesy of therussophile.org

http://tinyurl.com/oojwtkt

Mexico’s Colima And Popocatepetl Volcanoes Erupt, Shoot Out Ash And Smoke In Fresh Rumblings

Smoke rises from Colima Volcano, also known as the Volcano of Fire, near the town of Comala © Stringer / Reuters

Two of Mexico’s most active volcanoes are erupting, sending a spectacular mix of ash, smoke, and gas thousands of meters into the sky.

 

The Colima Volcano, nicknamed the Fire Volcano and located in southwest Mexico, has been shooting ash and smoke over 2,000 meters up,

 

It has been active since July, covering local villages in ash and dust.

 

Authorities have put into action an emergency evacuation plan and are monitoring the volcano’s activity.

 

The Colima volcano has erupted about 40 times since the 16th century.

 

About 500 kilometers away, the Popocatepetl Volcano, known as El Popo, is also active, sending gas and vapour into the sky.

 

During these latest eruptions, the volcano has shown 12 exhalations.

 

It was dormant for half a century, before an eruption in 1994.

Courtesy of rt.com

http://tinyurl.com/qgynbpb

MAGNITUDE 5.2 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us20003j1a#general_summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 75 km

Distances: 447km (278mi) SSW of `Ohonua, Tonga
459km (285mi) SSW of Nuku`alofa, Tonga
919km (571mi) SSE of Suva, Fiji
1012km (629mi) SE of Nadi, Fiji
1042km (647mi) SSE of Lambasa, Fiji