when you say there are four billion stars,
but check when you say the paint is wet?**
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
5/8/13 -
None 5.0 or higher.
Earthquake Activity Picking Up in Van Buren County, Arkansas - The Arkansas Geological Survey is stepping up its monitoring of seismic activity southeast of Clinton near Greers Ferry Lake. The area has seen nine earthquakes since the weekend including three on Tuesday morning. A cluster of weak earthquakes picked up in frequency just over the last week. "Things have definitely picked up. We do have plans to install a second station in that area."
China using dogs to predict earthquakes - A Chinese city is using dogs to predict earthquakes, an official said, after state-run media reported that neighbours were complaining of nightly false alarms - in the form of barking.
China is regularly hit by seismic tremors. Around 200 people were left dead or missing by a quake in Sichuan province last month, and hundreds of thousands have been killed in major disasters in the past. The earthquake authority of Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province in the east, keeps dogs since they will "act abnormally when an earthquake is coming", sometimes up to 10 days in advance.
The bureau used the dogs at the request of the provincial government, and chickens and ducks could be effective as well. But neighbours are complaining on social media about the animals' nightly howling. "The compound of the Nanchang earthquake authority has I don't know how many dogs, every night at 11pm they start barking over and over." The dogs have now been sent to a lower-level earthquake bureau in the city but they denied they had been barking.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Indian Ocean -
Tropical Cyclone Twenty-four was located approximately 771 nm east of Diego Garcia.
Extreme storms might be new normal for U.S. Northeast - In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene's rains swelled the Williams River, smashing dams, flooding homes and carrying off the historic Lower Bartonsville Covered Bridge. This wasn't just another 1-in-500-years event. Rather, experts see it as the new normal.
Hawaii At Growing Risk Of Hurricanes, Studies Show - Hawaii could see a two-to-three-fold increase in tropical cyclones by 2075. Currently, tropical storms and hurricanes tend to curve out to sea well south and east of Hawaii after spinning up off the west coast of Mexico or in the Central Pacific. Hawaii has been affected by only eight named storms since 1979.
Myanmar - Five years after Nargis, livelihood's still far from normal. Five years have passed after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, but the social and economic livelihood of the most affected areas in the Ayeyawaddy Delta still have yet to return to normal, locals say. Cyclone Nargis had a devastating impact on the fishing industry.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Australia - 'Cyclonic' conditions expected. The southern half of the state has been warned to brace for a wild few days of intense wind, rain, thunderstorms and waves with the potential for significant damage.
Wind, rain and storms would be far reaching from Tuesday night to Friday. The worst of the conditions would be in the South West, particularly from Perth to Albany. "The effects could be similar to that of a cyclone. It looks like being the most intense low pressure we have seen in the South West since last spring or winter."
"A pool of cold air from the south is about to interact with warm, moist air from the north to form the intense low. Winds will be strong enough to damage buildings and bring down trees and power lines. Storms will be intense enough to enhance the wind and rain and lead to flash flooding and waves will be large enough to erode beaches."
The region between Perth to Albany should experience the brunt of the wind and rain. There is potential for wind gusts to reach 120km/h, rainfall to amount to up to 120 millimetres and wave heights exceeding five metres. Some areas are expected to receive their biggest rainfall in more than a year with 50 to 100 millimetres likely and a chance for more than 100 millimetres. Flooding could occur in low-lying coastal areas such as Busselton and Dunsborough.
Although the battering will generally be in southern parts of WA, the wild weather will penetrate a long way north and east. "As far as the Gascoyne and Goldfields, 25 to 50 millimetres of rain is possible. Wind damage is also a significant risk, mainly with the threat of severe thunderstorms."
This weather is expected to bring an end to an unseasonably warm spell in WA. Some areas have experienced their WARMEST MAY WEATHER IN MORE THAN A DECADE and it is about to become wintry.
Sri Lanka floods hit 90,000 people - Heavy torrential rains over the past few days have left 90,000 people hit by floods in Sri Lanka's Western province around the capital Colombo, but there was no cyclone threat, authorities said.
Bangladesh - Cyclone injures 100 people in B'baria. A devastating cyclone damaged more than hundreds of houses and injured more than 100 people in the district Wednesday.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Canada - Metro Vancouver in for more hot, record-breaking weather. A total of 11 WEATHER RECORDS WERE BROKEN around southwestern B.C. Monday after a hot, dry weekend that saw 14 other RECORDS BROKEN on Sunday. The trend is expected to continue, with a little mid-week relief.
Australia - RECORDS BROKEN as run of hot weather continues. This year's extreme weather is continuing as Sydney enjoys its LONGEST LATE-SEASON HOT SPELL IN DECADES, inland RECORDS TUMBLE and regions around Perth prepare for a cyclonic-strength storm.
