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Infolive.tv interviewed Dr. Avi Shapira chairman of the National Earthquake Preparedness Committee about recent reports claiming a major earthquake could hit northern Israel at any time. While Shapira attempted to downplay the report, he admitted that an earthquake in the country is a tangible possibility and advised the government and organizations to prepare.To watch the video click on the URL below:
A strong earthquake could soon rock Lebanon and parts of Israel, authorities said on Monday, urging health officials in northern Israel to make preparations for such an event."The probability of an earthquake of a magnitude of up to six on the Richter scale, originating in Lebanon and being felt in Israel has increased," the health ministry said in a letter sent to medical officials in northern Israel.Since February, abnormal seismic activity has been noted in southern Lebanon, which had suffered some 500 minor earthquakes in a three-month period, health ministry director-general Avi Yisraeli said in the letter."In May, the tremors have become more intense and were felt in northern Israel," he said adding that "should an earthquake of such magnitude hit northern Israel it may cause substantial infrastructural damage in the area.""All medical facilities and organisations must do everything they can to enhance the level of readiness," Yisraeli said in the letter published by the ministry on Monday.Some seismological experts point out quakes historically have rocked the region every eight decades, and the last one was just about 81 years ago. About 300 people were killed in Jerusalem and nearby Jericho by the July 11, 1927 temblor.A similar quake measuring seven on the Richter scale and with an epicentre in the Hula Valley, today in northern Israel, devastated the town of Safed and killed some 4,000 people in 1837.
NEW DELHI,India-A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck off India's Andaman Islands. It is the second earthquake to hit the area in as many days.Jeya Chandran of the Indian Meteorological Department said Saturday there were no reported injuries or damage.The quake was centered roughly 150 kilometers (88 miles)southwest of the Andaman capital,Port Blair.The Indian Meteorological Department says the quake struck at about 6:25 p.m. (12:55 GMT) Saturday at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).Chandran says no tsunami alert has been issued.On Friday, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck some 75 miles southwest of Port Blair. Local police say there was no reported damage or injuries.
4.9 Mb - TONGA
Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude
4.9 Mb
Date-Time
27 Jun 2008 23:34:50 UTC
28 Jun 2008 12:34:50 near epicenter
27 Jun 2008 17:34:50 standard time in your timezone
Location
15.064S 173.880W
Depth
145 km
Distances
269 km (167 miles) WSW (238 degrees) of APIA, Samoa
353 km (220 miles) WSW (255 degrees) of PAGO PAGO, American Samoa
399 km (248 miles) N (2 degrees) of Neiafu, Tonga
2608 km (1620 miles) W (272 degrees) of PAPEETE, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Location Uncertainty
Horizontal: 9.8 km; Vertical 17.5 km
Parameters
Nph = 93; Dmin = 910.3 km; Rmss = 0.50 seconds; Gp = 126°M-type = Mb; Version = 7
Event ID
US 2008tudc
5.1 Mb - ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
NEW DELHI-A strong earthquake shook India's remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands but no tsunami alert was issued and there were no reports of damage, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services said on Friday. "The magnitude is 6.3 and it's centred in the Andaman Islands," Srinivas Kumar, an official at the centre, told Reuters."We have not issued any tsunami warning so far and there is no need for widespread evacuation required because it's 6.3. We are studying the situation."The islands lie about 1,200 km (750 miles) off India's east coast.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was magnitude 6.7 and occurred at 1140 GMT (7:40 a.m. EDT). It was centered 71 miles southwest of Port Blair, capital of the Andaman Islands, and was 21.7 miles deep.USGS later said an aftershock of 6.1 magnitude and 30 km deep struck at 1307 GMT (9:07 a.m. EDT). The epicenter was under the seabed near the location of the earlier quake.Hundreds of people were out on the roads in Port Blair, officials and witnesses said. People ran out of their houses and telephone lines were jammed."There is no news of loss of life or property till now," said Casper James, a senior disaster management official in the islands.Police were asking people not to panic and return to their homes."Everything in my office started to shake and we ran out as fast as possible," said Kumar Avinash, a local resident.
WASHINGTON-A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck on Friday off India's Andaman Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.The quake was centered 71 miles southwest of Port Blair, Andaman Islands, and was 21.7 miles deep, the USGS said. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN2736471920080627
CHENGDU, China-The white short-haired mutt was found dragging his crushed hind legs through rubble-clogged streets after the massive earthquake devastated China's Sichuan province.The shy terrier mix was lucky to live through the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people. He was even more fortunate to survive the squads of police and soldiers who were gunning down homeless canines for fear they would spread disease in the disaster's aftermath.But his luckiest day was when he was picked up by Chen Yunlian.Now he's among some 100 "quake dogs" rescued by the former businesswoman, who has created something extremely rare in China: a private animal shelter.For 11 years, the 60-year-old Chen has been rescuing strays off the streets. She now cares for about 900 dogs and 100 cats in her shelter built among rice paddies on the southern outskirts of Chengdu, the provincial capital."I think that dogs and humans have the same right to live. They're equals," she told The Associated Press as a brown brindle hound missing a front leg jumped up on her and snuggled his snout in her lap.Chen's views about animal rights are radical in a country where dogs can just as easily be a pet or the main ingredient in a spicy hotpot. Although dog ownership has grown in popularity as the Chinese become wealthier, many people don't have the strong emotional attachment to the animals that's common in the West.Chen is also on the vanguard of a new movement in China of citizens who start their own groups to deal with social problems that were once mostly handled-or ignored-by the Communist Party-led state.The government and party-wary about anything that might challenge their monopoly on power-is still trying to figure out how much of a role it wants people like Chen to play.She was reluctant to discuss the matter. "I love my country and government. I want it to become even stronger and more prosperous," said the soft-spoken woman, dressed in a baggy white T-shirt and black pajama-like pants with white polka dots.Chen calls her shelter "Ai Zhi Jia" or the "House of Love." A tall metal fence surrounds the facility off a narrow tree-lined road about a 45-minute drive from downtown Chengdu. From the street, a cacophony of yelps, barks, growls, whimpers and whines can be heard. The air is filled with the smell of dry dog food, fur and the faint scent of urine and feces that's constantly being scooped up by a staff of eight.The main building in the shady complex is a concrete U-shaped structure divided into rooms that serve as kennels. Each has a large front concrete patio that's enclosed by a knee-high wall and wire fencing. Dogs and cats are also kept in a network of recently built cages and dog runs. Dogs with a history of good behavior are allowed to roam the wide square-shaped walkway within the complex.There are poodles, a couple of collies and an elderly, forlorn-looking Afghan hound named "Ah-foo" with clumps of missing hair and large polyps growing on his chest and legs. But the majority of the dogs are classic Chinese mutts: terrier-Pekingnese-pug-poodle mixes with squatty bodies, short legs, curly tails and pointy ears. Most looked healthy, with few signs of skin disease or digestive problems common in such conditions."Chinese people prefer purebred dogs and the mixes probably won't be adopted," said Chen, adding that she cares for every dog until it dies. "But mutts are the most intelligent and the most affectionate. They really appreciate you."One of her superstar mutts from the quake zone was a small, brown, short-haired terrier with alert brown eyes named "Qianjin," or "Forward." Rescuers said Forward and another dog—a shelty named "Guai Guai"—belonged to an elderly woman who was partially buried in rubble at a Buddhist temple that collapsed in the city of Pengzhou. The dogs stayed with their master while she was trapped for 196 hours."The rescuers told me the dogs were drinking rain water, then they would lick their owner's lips to help keep her from getting too dehydrated," Chen said.When the 7.9-magnitude quake struck, Chen said she wanted to race to the hard-hit cities-most an hour or two away from Chengdu-but she had to wait 10 days because of road closures and restrictions on traffic.When she finally got in, she cruised the streets in her van looking for homeless animals or asking locals if any pets needed rescue.In the city of Guangyuan, she found the white terrier mutt with the mangled legs. Like other dogs with crippled hind legs at her shelter, the dog-whose name was unknown-now walks with the aid of a wheelchair-like device made of PVC pipes. It's a design a shelter worker copied from an American Web site.Only a few of the quake dogs were injured and the rest were in good health, she said.A month and a half since the quake, Chen still gets calls from people with quake strays. During an AP interview, Chen's cell phone began ringing. It was someone from the hard-hit town of Beichuan."Our van is broken now so we can't go far," she told the caller. "How many dogs do you have? We can take them in if you can help us arrange a vehicle."Chen said her shelter is close to full capacity and her budget isn't big enough for many more dogs. She said she spends $8,743 each month on dog food, salaries and supplies. She takes donations but pays for much of it from her own pocket, she said.Chen, who made a fortune as a distributor of cosmetics and other consumer goods in the 1990s, was on her way to see a client in 1997 when she saw a stray dog in the street. The dog made eye contact and something clicked, she said."He looked so sad. I said to him, 'Are you lost you silly little dog?'" she said. "I decided to take care of him and I missed my meeting. I named him Ben Ben."She started taking in other strays, and her obsession with caring for homeless animals eventually eclipsed her interest in business and she retired. She sold her cars and properties to finance the expanding operation. She moved the shelter to the current location, which she rents, two years ago."I started down a road," she said, "and I couldn't turn around."
Buried under thick ice and frigid water, volcanic explosions are shaking the Arctic Ocean floor at depths previously thought impossible, according to a new study.Using robot-operated submarines, researchers have found deposits of glassy rock—evidence of eruptions—scattered over more than 5 square miles (15 square kilometers) of the seabed.Explosive volcanic eruptions were not thought to be possible at depths below the critical pressure for steam formation, or 2 miles (3,000 meters). The deposits, however, were found at seafloor depths greater than 2.5 miles (4 kilometers)."This kind of implosive seismicity is rare anywhere on Earth," said study author Robert Sohn, a geophysicist at the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.The study appears today in the Journal Nature.
4.4 Mb - KURIL ISLANDS
BEIJING, China-The death toll from last month's massive earthquake in southwestern China is expected to exceed 80,000, state media reported Tuesday.Officially 69,181 people are dead with another missing 18,498, according to authorities."Because it is presumed that the missing people are already dead, the total death toll of this disaster is likely to exceed 80,000," said Vice Premier Hui Liangyu.If all the missing are dead, then the death toll would top 87,000.The magnitude 7.9 quake devastated Sichuan province and surrounding areas on May 12, leaving more than 5 million people homeless.On Monday China reported it had fired 12 officials for dereliction of duty and misuse of earthquake relief. Supervision Minister Ma Wen said her department had received 1,178 complaints involving officials' response to the May 12 quake in Sichuan province and had dealt with more than 1,000 of them.Administrative punishments were handed out to 43 officials, the most serious being removal from office, Ma said at a news conference. She didn't specify when the officials had been fired. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/24/quake.toll/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
PLEASE NOTE:Magnitudes of these recent quakes....
Volcanoes and hot springs could supply up to 25 per cent of America's power needs, energy experts have said.As fuel prices soar, Alaskan officials announced the exploration of the state's volcanoes, saying they could be exploited to provide energy for thousands of homes.'High prices and climate change are definitely creating a renaissance in geothermal interest'Companies are being invited to lease the rights to explore geothermal resources beneath Mount Spurr, a snowcapped 11,070-foot volcano that most recently erupted in 1992 showering much of Anchorage with volcanic ash. The state Division of Oil and Gas hopes the lease sale, due to go ahead in August, will be the first of many. It is also considering allowing exploration of the 4,134-foot Augustine Volcano, 171 miles southwest of Anchorage. The move echoes a trend underway across much of the US as fuel prices, worries about dependence on foreign oil and climate change trigger a surge in geothermal projects, particularly in the West and along the Gulf Coast. According to experts, America is only just waking up to the ancient power source lying beneath dozens of states that has the potential to supply as much as 25 percent of the nation's energy needs. "High prices and climate change are definitely creating a renaissance in geothermal interest, particularly on a state and local level," said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association. "There really is a tremendous amount going on right now."As well as Alaska, geothermal projects, which are eligible for tax benefits, are underway in most Western states and across the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida, he said. "It's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is possible," said Mr Gawell. "If we really want to go all out for it, we could easily achieve a substantial amount, 20, 25 per cent of US energy needs within a few decades. We're limited more by public policy than the resource - the resource is enormous."The Bureau of Land Management has just surveyed 11 western states and Alaska for "lands with high potential for renewable geothermal resources".The study showed around 200 million acres of public land with geothermal potential, Mr Gawell said.But he estimates 80 per cent of geothermal systems remain undiscovered as they have no tell-tale surface feature such as a hot spring. "We're still just finding the obvious stuff."Alaska, which is rich in oil and gas, sits on the Pacific Rim of Fire but despite "clear evidence of geothermal resources" the state had shelved its geothermal development "in the 1970s once they hit the major oil streaks", Mr Gawell said."It's really only been rediscovered in the past couple of years in part because prices are up."The biggest challenge to harnessing underground power is working out how to access and tap heat buried deep under earth or rock.Interest has partly been spurred by the Alaska's successful geothermal venture at Chena Hot Springs, a resort near Fairbanks, which is completely powered by underground energy.Mr Gawell said that although mentioned this week by Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, during a speech about alternative energy policies in Nevada, geothermal power had yet to receive enough attention in the national energy debate..bmp)
