**Praise and criticism are like Bubblegum.
Chew on both of them but don't swallow either of them.**
LARGEST QUAKES so far today -
This morning -
5.2 KURIL ISLANDS
5.0 REYKJANES RIDGE
5.6 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
Yesterday, 10/9/14 -
5.4 EASTER ISLAND REGION
5.1 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
5.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.6 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
5.2 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
6.5 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
7.1 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
VOLCANOES -
Unrest within Mayon volcano prompted Philippine authorities to move nearby residents and farm animals away from areas threatened by what appeared to be an impending eruption. Approximately 55,000 people have been relocated since the 8,081-foot mountain began rumbling. Evacuees have been housed in makeshift centers, typically schools and other government buildings. Mayon’s crater had expanded significantly since late September due to rising lava, which has cast an eerie glow visible for miles as the molten flow emerged from Mayon’s summit.
Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano sent villagers feeling on Sunday when it erupted. ‘Just over a year ago, an eruption from Mount Sinabung killed 14 people and forced more than 33,000 others to evacuate their homes. The volcano began erupting again on Sunday, emitting pyroclastic flows that were the largest for five months. Local people panicked, including those who are still living in evacuation shelters since the volcano began erupting on September 15 last year, because of the size of the flows and clouds of volcanic ash, which extended to Berastagi city, 13 kilometres from Sinabung. The volcano erupted again in February this year, killing 17 people, most of whom were students.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Current tropical storms - maps and details.
* In the Western Pacific Ocean -
Typhoon 19w (Vongfong) is located approximately 220 nm south-southeast of Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan.
*In the North Indian Ocean -
Tropical cyclone 03b (Hudhud) is located approximately 250 nm south-east of visakhapatnam, India.
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Subtropical Depression 7 Headed Towards Bermuda, but 90L is the One to Watch -Subtropical Depression Seven formed in the Atlantic at 11 am EDT Friday. The depression, located about 590 miles south of Bermuda, was headed northwest at 10 mph, and Bermuda is the only land area the storm poses a threat to. A tropical storm watch has been posted for the island, and the 11 am EDT Wind Probability Forecast from NHC gave Bermuda a 14% chance of seeing tropical storm-force winds of 39+ mph, with the strongest winds expected to affect the island Saturday evening into Sunday morning.
Pay attention to Invest 90L east of the Lesser Antilles - An area of disturbed weather associated with a tropical wave located about 700 hundred miles east of the northern Lesser Antilles Islands on Friday morning has been designated Invest 90L by the National Hurricane Center. This disturbance has the potential to be trouble, and needs to be watched carefully. 90L's west-northwest trajectory will carry it to a point about 100 - 200 miles north of Puerto Rico on Monday, and near the Southeast Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday.
Typhoon Vongfong giving Okinawa an EPIC BATTERING - Japan's Okinawa Island is receiving an epic battering from Typhoon Vongfong as the powerful storm steams slowly northward at 9 mph. Cooler waters, higher wind shear, and an eyewall replacement cycle had weakened Vongfong to Category 4 strength with 135 mph winds as of 8 am EDT Friday. Satellite loops show that Vongfong is still an impressive storm with a very large area of heavy thunderstorms and a prominent 17-mile diameter eye. Tropical storm-force winds of 39+ mph of greater have buffeted Okinawa since 5:39 am EDT Friday (6:39 pm local time), and this large and slow-moving typhoon will keep tropical storm-force winds blowing on the island for an EXTRAORDINARILY LONG PERIOD OF TIME - over 48 straight hours, until approximately 10 am EDT (11 pm local time) Sunday. Wind gusts as high as 81 mph have already been measured on Okinawa, along with sustained winds as high as 59 mph.
Dangerous Tropical Cyclone Hudhud a threat to India - Category 1 Tropical Cyclone Hudhud in the Bay of Bengal is steadily intensifying as it heads west-northwest towards India, with sustained winds estimated at 85 mph at 8 am EDT Friday. intensification into at least a Category 2 cyclone appears likely before Hudhud hits the coast of northern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur on Sunday.
Atlantic hurricane season weakest so far since 1983 - This year's Atlantic hurricane season is shaping up to be one of the weakest in decades with only five named storms so far. A broad low pressure system in the Atlantic Ocean has a high chance of forming a tropical or subtropical depression during the next five days.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES -
Drought Monitor: No improvement in California's drought - This week's U.S. Drought Monitor map, which was released Thursday morning, shows how dire drought conditions have become across California. Water conservation efforts across drought-stricken California hit a new high in August, cutting use by 11.5 percent.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS:
World leaders cry for help fighting Ebola - Leaders of African nations ravaged by Ebola are stepping up their pleas for help as the global response to the crisis continues to lag.
Number of people killed in Ebola outbreak rises above 4,000 - The number of deaths attributed to the Ebola outbreak has risen above 4,000, most of them in West Africa.
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