Disaster Observation: M 7.8 #Earthquake 34km ESE of Lamjung, #Nepal

An earthquake with magnitude 7.8 occurred near Lamjung, Nepal at 06:11:26 UTC on Apr 25, 2015.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck an area between the capital, Kathmandu, and the city of Pokhara, the US Geological Survey said.

Tremors were felt across the region, with further loss of life in India, Bangladesh, Tibet and on Mount Everest.

The government has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

The latest death toll stands at 1 800 people and thousands had been injured.

Nepali Information Minister Minendra Rijal said there had been "massive damage" at the epicentre, from where little information is emerging.

For more information and images follow MSBWX live Twitter updates at:
https://twitter.com/MSBWXB or @MSBWXB

 Images: Twitter (Click on images for larger view.)

M5.3 Earthquake - 6km East of Orkney, South Africa

Event Time

1. 2014-08-05 10:22:34 UTC
2. 2014-08-05 12:22:34 UTC+02:00 at epicenter
3. 2014-08-05 12:22:34 UTC+02:00 system time

Location

26.986°S 26.741°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

Nearby Cities

1. 6km (4mi) E of Orkney, South Africa
2. 15km (9mi) S of Stilfontein, South Africa
3. 16km (10mi) SSE of Klerksdorp, South Africa
4. 32km (20mi) NW of Viljoenskroon, South Africa
5. 199km (124mi) SW of Pretoria, South Africa

Related Links

• Additional earthquake information for South Africa
• View location in Google Maps

- USGS

Quake shakes central South Africa, one dead

(Reuters) - A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit central South Africa on Tuesday, killing at least one man who died when a wall collapsed on top of him, according to emergency services.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor was centered in Orkney, a town around 120 km (70 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, an area with a high concentration of deep gold mines.

"One of the buildings collapsed on a man believed to be in his 30s ... by the time paramedics arrived there was nothing they could do for him," Werner Vermaak, spokesman for emergency service provider ER24, told local television.

ER24 and South African rescue services confirmed that no miners were trapped underground, alleviating earlier concerns that workers were stuck in shafts.

Officials at AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Gold Fields and Sibanye Gold said they had felt the tremors in their headquarters but had so far received no reports of anything untoward in their mines.
The area around Johannesburg is not prone to seismic activity but it is home to some of the deepest gold mines in the world. The quake is the largest in the southern Africa region since a 7.0 tremor in Zimbabwe in 2006.

- Reuters

MSBWX:  Full timeline of the quake available at: @SAWXREP and MSBWX Facebook page.

Update: Tropical Cyclone Hellen - Willem van Milink, Resident Coordinator a.i. for Madagascar

In Madagascar, the tropical depression "Hellen" continues to weakening, with maximum wind speeds of 55 km/h. At 09H00 local time (UTC+3) the weather system was located 250 km north-east of Morondava and is currently moving in a south-easterly direction into the Mozambique Channel. The National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) have lifted all alerts. See attached map.

A multi-sector aerial assessment of the inaccessible districts of Soalalala, Mitsinjo and Besalampy identified damaged classrooms and flooded agricultural fields. There are reportedly needs in the sector of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), but most healthcare centres appear intact. The Prime Minister visited Soalala today, bringing relief items including water treatment products, medicines and cash. Initial results indicate that 919 people have been displaced, of which some will be able to return home in the coming days.

Over 170 houses were destroyed. Although local authorities have been quick to respond, it is expected that displaced families will need relief supplies (food, health and non-food item kits) to get through the coming weeks. WFP is dispatching one ton of high energy biscuits and 35 tons of foodstuffs to the operational base in Mahajanga where a 500 ton-capacity warehouse is open to all humanitarian partners.

Agriculture is particularly affected by the floods in an area that was already struggling with a locust outbreak in the last months. Over 3,900 ha of rice fields have been submerged. In the medium term, there are concerns over the food security situation. An in-depth assessment by food partners is being planned. The child protection network in Mahajanga deployed social workers to monitor temporary sites. So far no cases violence or exploitation have been reported and no children were separated from their parents. Information on the districts of Soalala, Mitsinjo and Besalampy is currently being compiled following the aerial assessment.

 The Malagasy Red-Cross is also assessing the situation and is supporting displaced families and WASH activities. Additional pre-positioned Red Cross relief goods can be used in case needed following ongoing assessments. As a result of funding constraints, a US$70,000 Emergency Cash Grant application has been submitted to OCHA, for logistical support to enable aerial assessments and provision of urgent relief items.

Cordialement,

Benoit Pylyser Humanitarian Affairs Officer On surge in Madagascar Mobile: +263 772 125 282 (roaming) Email: pylyser@un.org Skype: benoitpylyser

Update: Tropical Cyclone Hellen - MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF WILLEM VAN MILINK, RESIDENT COORDINATOR A.I.

Intense Tropical Cyclone "Hellen" weakened into a depression and exited the island this morning, 01 April. It is currently located 140 km north of Beselampy. While wind speeds have decreased to 45 km/h (with peaks of 60 km/h), continued rains could still bring flooding and landslides, although these rains are also expected to lessen tomorrow. A Blue (post-cyclone) Alert remains in place for the regions of Boeny and Melaky.

While this system has been remarkably erratic, according to the National Meteorological Department it is currently too weak to re-intensify. Attached is a map showing latest predicted trajectory.

A boat capsized off the coast of north-west Madagascar yesterday, killing three people with nine still missing. Telephone lines are intact, and the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) in consultation with local authorities have assessed many of the affected districts – this information is being compiled. However, due to inaccessibility, certain remote and generally thinly populated areas have not yet been assessed, in particular in Soalala and Mitsinjo districts.

Due to bad weather, aerial assessments will only start tomorrow early morning over such isolated areas. So far assessments indicate that 856 people have been displaced, many of them having moved preemptively, and most should be able to return home in the coming days. In Mahajanga and Soalala around 100 houses were reportedly destroyed. Furthermore, 3 schools were damaged, 4 water points flooded, and over 2,000 ha of rice fields submerged.

The Food Security Cluster is planning an assessment in the coming week to determine longer-term impacts. The Ministry of Health, supported by partners, is mobilizing pre-positioned medical supplies for 1,000 people, while BNGRC has around 2 tons of food for distribution. WFP is also dispatching one ton of high energy biscuits and 35 tons of foodstuffs to support the response.

An operational base has been established at Mahajanga, with a 500 ton-capacity warehouse open to all humanitarian partners. Other humanitarian partners are also supporting the response.

Cordialement, Benoit Pylyser Humanitarian Affairs Officer On surge in Madagascar Mobile: +263 772 125 282 (roaming) Email: pylyser@un.org Skype: benoitpylyser

EMSC earthquake notification: Magnitude 8.0 01/04/2014 23:46 OFFSHORE TARAPACA, CHILE

These parameters are preliminary and subject to revisions.
For updates, please consult: http://www.emsc-csem.org


A magnitude 8.0 earthquake has occurred OFFSHORE TARAPACA, CHILE at:
19.72S  70.86W Depth 33km 01/04/2014 at 23:46:49 (Universal Time)

Earthquake location with respect to nearby cities:
94 km NW Iquique (pop 227499, local time 19:46:49.7 2014-04-01)
237 km S  Ilo (pop 53476, local time 18:46:49.7 2014-04-01)
834 km W  Santa cruz (pop 1342604, local time 19:46:49.7 2014-04-01)

Comments :

Manual location disseminated on 02/04/2014 00:13 (UTC)
EMSC cannot guarantee the receipt or timeliness of an e-mail after sending.

For maps and additional data, please consult:
http://www.emsc-csem.org

Links to regional seismological observatories:
http://www.sismologia.cl/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/
http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/geofon

This location has been computed thanks to the data provided by the
following seismological institutes:
BGSG BUD GFZ LED MAD MLT MSO NEIR SC3
See the full list of data providers at:
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/contributors.php


This EMSC service is jointly operated by the LDG (Laboratoire de
Detection et de Geophysique, Bruyeres-le-Chatel, France) and the
IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional, Madrid, Spain).

- EMC

Fukushima radiation reaches Canadian waters

Radiation from Japan’s leaking Fukushima nuclear power plant has reached ocean waters offshore Canada, researchers said on February 24.

Image credit: Bedford Institute of Oceanography

Researchers announced on Monday (February 24, 2014) that radiation from Japan’s leaking Fukushima nuclear power plant has reached waters offshore Canada. The scientists were speaking at a news conference at the annual American Geophysical Union’s Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu. The meeting is being held to discuss problems caused anywhere in the Pacific by the offshore earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011.

The researchers said that two radioactive cesium isotopes, cesium-134 and cesium-137, have been detected offshore of Vancouver, British Columbia. John Smith, a research scientist at Canada’s Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia said that the detected concentrations are much lower than the Canadian safety limit for cesium levels in drinking water. Dr. Smith told the BBC:

These levels are still well below maximum permissible concentrations in drinking water in Canada for caesium-137 of 10,000 becquerels per cubic meter of water – so, it’s clearly not an environmental or human-health radiological threat.

Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole said that tests conducted at U.S. beaches indicate that Fukushima radioactivity has not yet reached Washington, California or Hawaii.

However, low levels of radioactive cesium from the stricken Japanese power plant could arrive by April, scientists reported at the meeting on Monday.

The scientists are tracking a radioactive plume from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Three nuclear reactors at the power plant melted down after the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake. The meltdown was triggered by the massive tsunami that followed the quake.

Bottom line: On February 24, 2014, researchers at a news conference at the annual American Geophysical Union’s Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu announced that radiation from Japan’s leaking Fukushima nuclear power plant has reached waters offshore Canada. - EarthSky

Read more from LiveScience

Volcano eruption kills at least 16 people in Indonesia as ash is sent spewing several miles into the air

At least 16 people have been killed by a violent volcanic eruption on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, which sent ash spewing several miles into the air. The dead include a TV journalist, four high school students and their teacher who went to see Mount Sinabung up close after being told it was becoming safer. Only yesterday thousands of villagers were allowed to return to their homes on the slopes of the volcano despite the fact it has been erupting sporadically for four months.


More images and info HERE (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT!)

- Mail Online