Mother Nature Busy Today

[Christina]

February 12, 2007Expatica - NetherlandsStrongest Quake in Ten Years Hits SpainMADRID — An earthquake struck southwest Spain and Portugal on Monday, measuring 6.3 on the Richter Scale.The epicentre was in the sea off Cape San Vincente in Portugal but its effects were felt across south and central Spain.The National Geographic Institute said the earthquake struck at about 11.35am.A spokesman said it was the strongest earthquake to hit Andalusia for ten years.Many parts of southern and central Spain felt the shock, including Guadalajara, Toledo, Albacete, Ciudad Real and Madrid.The spokesman said as its centre was in the sea it should be treated as a small tsunami.Hundreds of people left their homes and offices in Seville after feeling the shock.Scores of calls were made to the emergency services from concerned people in Huelva.But no injuries have been reported.http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp...&story_id=36423....................................................................................................February 11, 2007Liu DanXinhua News AgencyJAKARTA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake of magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred on Monday morning at Province Papua in Indonesia, Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau told Xinhua.The quake, which hit at 09:08 a.m. (Jakarta time) was centered 544 kilometers north-west of Port Moresby in Province Papua, at a depth of 38 kilometers. There were no casualty reports yet.The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.A moderate 5.7-magnitude earthquake has struck north-west of the Indonesian province of Aceh on Feb. 11.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/...ent_5729960.htm............................................................................................February 11, 2007Salem-News(BANDON) - The USGS says a magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook off the Oregon coast Sunday morning at 7:34 AM.The quake was centered 147 miles WNW from the town of Bandon, and had a depth of 8.3 miles.There were no reports of injuries or damage from the quake.Three other earthquakes were reported in the same area over the past few weeks.The first one occurred on Wed., Jan. 31st, at 7:24 AM.The 4.4 magnitude quake was located 118 miles west of Gold Beach.Then just minutes later another quake was reported at 7:38 AM.The magnitude 4.1 quake was located 52 miles west of Gold Beach.The next quake occurred on Fri., Feb. 2nd.The 4.3 quake struck at 5:22 PM, 171 miles WNW of Bandon.All three quakes had a depth of 6.2 miles.http://www.salem-news.com/articles/februar...uake_021107.php..............................................................................................................................................................................................February 11, 2007By William KatesABC NewsRecord SnowfallREDFIELD, N.Y. Feb 11, 2007 (AP)— This village in upstate New York's snowbelt gets a lot of snowfall during the winter, but last week's total more than 11 feet, unofficially might be an all-time record.Photo: Redfield Volunteer Fire Department volunteers shovel snow off their roof in Redfield, N.Y., Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007. (AP /David Duprey)Before it began to wind down Sunday, persistent streams of squalls fueled by moisture from Lake Ontario during the last week consistently dumped lake-effect snow in this western New York region.All that's left apart from the massive dig out is to claim the record for the most snowfall in a week. Redfield's total of 136 inches would break the state record of ten feet, seven inches that fell in nearby Montague over seven days ending Jan. 1, 2002, said Steve McLaughlin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Buffalo. A National Weather Service official will travel Monday to verify the amount."In all my life, I mean my entire life combined, I've never seen this much snow at once," said Jim Bevridge, 47, of Timmonium, Md., who drove up Thursday for a long weekend of snowmobiling.McLaughlin said the proper way to measure snow requires taking readings about every six hours. It's very important with lake-effect snow."It can be light and fluffy. If you did hourly measurements, you might come up with 24 inches, when there's really only 16 on the ground. It needs to be able to pack some," he said.The heavy snow is common along the Tug Hill Plateau, a 50-mile wedge that rises 2,100 feet from the lake's eastern shore. It usually gets about 300 inches roughly 25 feet of snow a year.The hamlet of Hooker holds the state's one-year record with 466.9 inches, about 39 feet, in winter 1976-77. Redfield receives an annual average of 270 inches more than 22 feet.The weeklong snows left behind surreal scenes.One house appeared to be in a cocoon. The only signs of parked SUVs were their radio antennas or roof racks rising above the snow. Dug out sidewalks looked like miniature canyons.Some of the more hardened locals, however, aren't impressed."It's snow. We get a lot of it. So what?" said Allan Babcock, a lifelong resident who owns a popular diner in this village of 650 people located about 38 miles northeast of Syracuse. Roads were mostly cleared Sunday as workers turned their attention to removing the snow and trimming down 10- and 12-foot-high snowbanks.The intense blast of snow hasn't been blamed for any deaths in Oswego County. Elsewhere, however, more than a week of bitter cold and slippery roads have contributed to at least 25 deaths across the northeastern quarter of the nation five in Ohio, four in Illinois, four in Indiana, two in Kentucky, seven in Michigan, and one each in Wisconsin, and Maryland and elsewhere in New York, authorities said.http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2867585............................................................................................................................................................................................Tokyo Sets Snowless RecordNo snow in Tok-y-o. by Staff WritersTokyo (AFP) Feb 11, 2007Tokyo on Sunday set a record for its longest snowless winter amid growing worldwide concerns about global warming, meteorologists said. The metropolitan area of the capital has not had snow this season, making it the longest snowless winter since statistics were first kept in 1876, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The previous record was set in 1960 when the season's first snowfall was observed on February 10."Since we do not forecast any snowfall in the Tokyo area at least over the next week, the record is likely to be extended further," an agency official said.Tokyo has never had a winter without any snow, he said.On Friday, the agency said Japan's average temperature in January was the fourth highest on record, at 1.44 degrees above normal. The record was in January 1989 when temperatures in Japan were 2.09 degrees Celsius higher.The agency said that last month was the world's hottest January on record, with temperatures across the planet 0.45 degrees Celsius above average.Earlier this month a UN report blamed human activities for global warming and predicted a rise in typhoons, droughts and other natural disasters.The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that temperatures could rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees Celsius by 2100.Source: Agence France-Presse.....................................................................................................