**When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.
There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative
and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth.
So, what the heck, leap!**
Cynthia Heimel
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.0 KYRGYZSTAN
5.6 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
6.0 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.9 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
Yesterday -
2/12/11 -
6.1 TONGA
5.6 MOLUCCA SEA
5.1 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.3 NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND
6.0 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
2/11/11 -
5.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.9 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.3 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
6.8 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.0 BANDA SEA
5.0 TONGA
2/10/11 -
6.5 CELEBES SEA
6.4 CELEBES SEA
5.4 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
5.4 SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA
5.0 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 ATACAMA, CHILE
VOLCANOES -
ICELAND - False Alarm. Iceland Met Says No Imminent Threat of Eruption. A story has been making the rounds in the British press and elsewhere that an eruption is imminent in Bárdarbunga in Vatnajökull. The news seems to be based on a misunderstanding of a TV interview with a specialist at the Icelandic Met Office earlier this week. “Presently, there are no signs of an imminent volcanic eruption in Iceland. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) did not issue a warning last weekend in connection with increased seismicity beneath the Vatnajökull ice-cap. If signs of an eruption were apparent, IMO would issue a warning immediately.
The whole story seems to be based on a series of misunderstandings, perhaps stemming from fears from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in the spring of 2010. It seems that media frenzy has started because of this innocent comment on Bárdarbunga. “Maybe a typical frenzy, where one news bureau echoes another, magnifying the story at each instant. The story has gone far away from what I said in the interview on Sunday night.” Eruptions are common in Iceland and that most of them are very small and localized.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone BINGIZA was 356 nmi NW of Port Louis, Mauritius.
AUSTRALIA -
Dengue outbreak in cyclone hit regions of north Queensland.
Australian crocodiles "traumatized" by cyclone.
Australians hit by Cyclone Yasi warned to stay away from deadly giant birds - Australians trying to rebuild in the wake of Cyclone Yasi have been warned to stay away from cassowaries – huge flightless birds with claws that can disembowel a human – on the hunt for food after their habitat was destroyed by the storm. Residents of communities around Mission Beach, on the north Queensland coast, which was almost flattened by the category five cyclone earlier this month, have been advised to beware of the 6ft tall birds, which are known to attack if they feel threatened.
Famed for their long talons – their dagger-like middle claws measure 12cm long – and powerful legs, the birds, which are unique to the rainforests of northern Australia, are said to be able to disembowel humans, dogs and horses with just one kick. Weighing more than 10st, cassowaries resemble an emu, and in 2007 were named the most dangerous birds in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. However, thanks to land clearing and development along the coast, the fearsome birds are seriously endangered, with just 1,000 left in the wild.
Queensland authorities and green groups have warned that over the coming weeks the birds will be forced out of the rainforest after violent winds from Cyclone Yasi stripped trees of their main food source, fruit. The government, which is arranging emergency aerial food drops for the birds in an attempt to keep them away from residential areas, has warned locals to be on the lookout for hungry cassowaries. "Cassowaries that come to expect food from humans can become aggressive and dangerous."
The warning comes after several cassowaries were spotted close to towns following Cyclone Larry, which hit the same stretch of coast in 2006. After the storm, one third of the population of cassowaries died, and conservationists fear that without intervention the same could happen. It could take 18 months for the rainforest to grow back and that in that time scores of cassowaries could starve to death. "As well as losing their food they are losing their homes so they will be very disoriented. Like any other animal, if you interfere with them there could be a risk, but the main threat is to the birds themselves." While the birds, which resemble emus, are known to be highly aggressive if approached, there is only one documented human death caused by a cassowary.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
AUSTRALIA - The equivalent of a year's supply of drinking water will be released from southeast Queensland's Wivenhoe Dam with further heavy rain forecast for the flooded region. The dam's role in last month's flooding of Brisbane remains controversial, with some critics claiming that earlier releases of water would have stopped the inundation of up to 20,000 properties. From next weekend, 25 per cent of the dam's water will be released slowly over nine days, adjusted with rainfall and the tides. Authorities stressed no homes or farms would be flooded. The 290,000 megalitre release was needed to make space in the dam to mitigate any further flooding, with HEAVY RAIN FORECAST UNTIL APRIL. The second strongest La Nina weather pattern in history prevailing over Queensland made the "very conservative and precautionary" approach necessary. It is too difficult to say whether a 25 per cent release would stop another flood on the scale of those seen in January - but guesses are that it is "extremely unlikely". "It would have had to have been a major reduction in the storage to have any impact on a major flood event."
Some 2.6 million megalitres of water flowed into the Sommerset-Wivenhoe system in January's floods, more than double that of 1974. Although the release is equivalent to a year's normal drinking water supply, above average rainfall would mean it would be recovered more easily. In addition, the Wyaralong Dam was now full, storing 103,000 megalitres of drinking water five years earlier than expected. The dam release will have no effect on water bills or restrictions, but will close three bridges downstream of Wivenhoe for at least nine days. Emptying the dam to 75 per cent capacity will be a temporary measure, with its future operation to be informed by the floods inquiry.
