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Caution
Technical information and scientific data from the US Government agencies (NASA, EPA…) are subject to variation due to political expediency.
This caution also extends to the UN organizations (e.g., FAO, WHO…).
FIRE-EARTH will no longer reprint photos from NASA, as of August 2011.
Tropical Storm GELANE weakened rapidly and is now expected to dissipate as a significant storm up to 36 hours sooner than previously forecast (within the next 48 hours).
Location: TC GELANE was located about ~ 625 km EAST (97 degrees) of Saint-Denis, Réunion, and about 435 km EAST (110 degrees) of Port Louis, Mauritius.
‘Scientific Mandate’ Helps Corporment* Technicians Alienate Scared Audiences from Nature
In the same way “BERT DUCKS and Covers” helped to fan the flames of Cold War, the “Great Southern California Shakeout” and its “drop, cover and hold on” one-liner are engineering public alienation from nature on behalf of the Corporment.
The enemy has changed, from the old Cold war Adversary, Soviet Union, to Mother Nature, but the tried and tested mantra has remained the same: “Our lifestyle is not negotiable [sic.]“
The Corporment can’t afford having large numbers of people going around worrying about how to protect nature against their usual business.
*[Corporment = Government ruled by corporate interests]
Ever Heard of ‘Duck and Cover’?
Now, it’s: “drop, cover and hold on”
And be sure to recite a prayer for the earthquake dead …
The following is a public information notice:
Great Southern California Shakeout results provide new communication strategies
Researchers who devised the largest earthquake preparedness event ever undertaken in the United States say one of the biggest challenges was translating devastation projections from a hypothetical magnitude 7.8 San Andreas Fault temblor into timely, usable information to the more than 5 million California participants in 2008.
Known as the Great Southern California Shakeout, the event was designed by more than 300 experts in fields including earth sciences, engineering, policy, economics and public health, said University of Colorado at Boulder Research Professor Keith Porter, who coordinated estimates of physical damages in the scenario. He said the interests of the scientists — including high-tech research and state-of-the-art projections — did not always coincide with concerns of the general public and emergency preparedness planners looking for timely, simple information on issues.
“One of the biggest challenges of the ShakeOut was to get scientists to speak the language of citizens,” said Porter of CU-Boulder’s civil, environmental and architectural engineering department. “While many researchers were concerned about advancing the state of science through different modeling scenarios and debate, the citizens made it clear to us they needed the big picture.”
Porter gave a presentation on the subject at the 2010 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held Feb. 18-22 in San Diego. Porter’s talk was part of a session titled “Earthquake Science and Advocacy: Helping Californians Live Along the San Andreas Fault.” The Great Southern California ShakeOut event was led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Pushing the limits of science, including efforts like the ShakeOut, almost invariably creates a lack of consensus among scientists that can cause confusion in the public sector leading to “ambiguity aversion” — a preference by people to deal with known risks and to avoid dealing with risks where there is significant disagreement about the level of uncertainty, said Porter. “We found these people needed a single, discreet, story, which led us to explore and present what we thought was a single, realistic outcome of the hypothetical earthquake, as opposed to a discussion of possible outcomes.”
The 2008 ShakeOut scenario and a follow-up 2009 ShakeOut exercise involving more than 5 million Californians participating in “drop, cover and hold on” earthquake drills and other family, school and organizational emergency plans were huge successes, causing the USGS and collaborators to make the ShakeOut an annual event, Porter said. “Our hope is the activities undertaken by participants will become second nature,” he said. “In a sense it is similar to people taking CPR courses annually to keep up to speed.”
The USGS team that created the ShakeOut is now creating an emergency preparedness scenario known as ARkStorm to simulate the outcome of a series of massive West Coast storms similar to those that pounded California in 1861 and 1862. Those storms lasted for 45 days, flooded vast areas of northern and southern California, submerged a swath of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys 300 miles long and up to 60 miles wide and inundated large areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Such storms draw heat and moisture from the tropical Pacific Ocean, forming “atmospheric rivers” that cause damage on the same scale of earthquakes and are projected to become more intense as a result of climate change, said Porter. Porter is leading the ARkStorm team that is assessing the potential outcome from such a storm in terms of physical damages, repair costs and the restoration time for buildings, dams, levees, harbors, bridges, roads, water supply systems and electric power.
Source: CARE; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Date: 19 Feb 2010
More than a month after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January, FAO and CARE have issued a joint alert over a national food crisis.
“This is a hidden but pervasive crisis that has already touched all corners of the country,” said Dick Trenchard, Assessments Coordinator for FAO in Haiti. “Rural areas experiencing the highest levels of displacement from Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas are the most affected, particularly the Artibonite in the west and Grand’Anse in the south.”
Rapid assessments undertaken by FAO and its partners in the Agriculture Cluster have shown that “host families” caring for displaced people are spending their meagre savings to feed new arrivals and consuming food stocks.
In many cases these poor people are resorting to eating the seeds they have stored for the next planting season and eating or selling their livestock, in particular goats.
“We are seeing clear signs that people are already resorting to worrying and unsustainable coping strategies to try and help the estimated 500 000 people who migrated to rural areas and other smaller urban centres after the earthquake,” said Trenchard.
Two weeks to planting
“The main planting season, which accounts for over 60 percent of annual production, will start in less than a fortnight,” said Jean-Dominique Bodard, CARE’s Emergency Food Security Specialist.
“If the host families have no means to buy seeds or other ways to obtain quality seeds, this will be a disaster for them,” he added. “There is another aspect to this vicious circle. Due to lack of cash, many host farmers will not be able to hire day labourers for the planting.
“As a result, the labourers will not earn money to feed their families and the planting will not be carried out to the extent it could be if the workforce were available,” Bodard said.
In the rural sector, farmers lack cash to buy seeds for the upcoming planting season and food prices have already risen 10 percent compared to before the quake – an indicator for worse things to come. One immediate solution might be cash-for-work programmes in the agricultural sector.
“We need to inject money fast before the planting season starts”, explained Bodard. “Food distributions can help alleviate the immediate suffering after the disaster, but in the long run what is needed most is cash for the farmers to be able to invest and regain their autonomy.”
Cash-for-work
FAO has kick-started a small cash-for-work programme cleaning out irrigation canals in Léogâne and CARE will work to scale it up in the coming days from, 600 to 4,000 people.
“This will be a much-needed financial boost at a crucial time when people are desperate to take their lives back into their own hands and will provide a much-needed injection into rural markets that have slumped since the earthquake,” said Trenchard.
As part of the recovery phase, CARE plans to support community-based organizations in activities such as water management, product marketing and capacity building.
These activities will contribute directly to the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development’s “Special Emergency and Support to Food Production Programme in Haiti in Response to the 12 January 2010 Earthquake, the Integration of Displaced Populations and prevention of the hurricane season.”
That programme is supported by FAO and the Inter-American Institution for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Cluster leader
As the leader of the UN’s agricultural cluster in Haiti, FAO coordinates international and national organisations in the sector. Part of its work is to ensure donors and agencies on the ground work within government guidelines.
CARE is already present in Léogâne, a farming town to the west of Port-au Prince that was 80 percent destroyed by the earthquake, providing shelter, emergency supplies, water and sanitation facilities and health support for mothers and pregnant women.
FAO is supporting small scale farmers with essential agriculture inputs such as quality seeds and tools are being distributed.
A cocktail of compounds emitted by the beneficial fungus Muscodor albus may offer a biologically based way to fumigate certain crops and rid them of destructive pests. That’s the indication from Agricultural Research Service (ARS) studies in which scientists pitted Muscodor against potato tuber moths, apple codling moths and Tilletia fungi that cause bunt diseases in wheat.
Meet Muscodor albus, a stinky white fungus found growing in the twigs of cinnamon trees in the Honduran jungle. After discovering the fungus’ antimicrobial properties, Montana State University researchers recreated the fumes emitted by the organism in the laboratory. Credit: Montana State University [Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (1.4 MB)]
The scientists—at ARS laboratories in Aberdeen, Idaho; Wapato, Wash., and other locations—conducted separate studies of Muscodor. However, their goal was the same: to learn whether volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by the fungus could replace or diminish the use of synthetic pesticides.
The gases emitted by the fungus M. albus prevent the growth of brown rot on peaches. A treated batch of peaches is shown here next to a control batch, after a 3-day incubation period. Credit: Agraquest
In field trials conducted since 2007, ARS plant pathologist Blair Goates found that treating wheat seed or the soil with a formulation of Muscodor and ground rye completely prevented common bunt under moderate disease conditions. Caused by the fungus T. tritici, common bunt reduces wheat yields and grain quality. Although chemical fungicide seed treatments have kept common bunt outbreaks to a minimum, alternative controls are worth exploring if the chemicals lose effectiveness or are discontinued, notes Goates, with the ARS Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit in Aberdeen. Results from this study were published in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology.
At the ARS Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory in Wapato, entomologist Lerry Lacey and colleagues tested Muscodor against potato tuber moths, which damage potato leaves and tubers, and apple codling moths, which feed inside apples. In fumigation chamber tests, 85 to 91 percent of adult codling moths died when exposed to Muscodor fumes, while 62 to 71 percent of larvae died or failed to pupate. In apple storage tests, a 14-day exposure to Muscodor killed 100 percent of cocooned codling moth larvae, which are especially difficult to control.
Lacey and colleagues have also been testing Muscodor‘s effectiveness in biofumigating sealed cartons of apples stored at various temperatures. The results have been encouraging so far, he reports, and there appears to be no adverse effect on the apples’ color, firmness or other characteristics.
Queseria Bendita Recalls Queso Fresco, Panela, and Requeson Because of Possible Health Risk
Food Recall – Firm Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 19, 2010 – Queseria Bendita of Yakima, Wash., is recalling three types of cheese, Queso Fresco, Panela, and Requeson, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The Queso Fresco, Panela, and Requeson cheeses are sold at Queseria Bendita’s retail store and were distributed in Washington and Oregon, where they are sold in Hispanic markets.
The Queso Fresco is packaged in one- and three-pound vacuum packed wheels; the Panela is vacuum packed in one- and three- pound sizes; and the Requeson is packed in eight-ounce and one- pound clear plastic tubs.
Each cheese has a green label identifying the type of cheese, the Queseria Bendita brand name, and a date code up to and including “Apr 30 2010″.
To date there is one confirmed illness in Washington related to the recalled product. Other illnesses in Washington and Oregon may also be related.
The public health investigation of the illnesses led to sampling and testing of the cheeses. The testing revealed the contamination of the product with Listeria monocytogenes.
The company has ceased production and distribution of the product while the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the firm investigate the source of the problem.
Consumers who have purchased the product are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-509-574-8587 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Listeria monocytogenes bacteria
Listeria monocytogenes bacteria is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria often experience fever, severe headaches, stiffness, diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can result in miscarriage or stillbirth among pregnant women.
Group B Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes comprise the most common causes of meningitis in neonatals. About 17,500 cases of bacterial meningitis are reported in the U-S annually. (Source)
Company Contact:
Queseria Bendita
512 S. 3rd St.
Yakima, WA 98901
Sandra Aguilar 509-574-8587
Tropical Cyclone GELANE, having reached sustained wind speeds of about 235 km/hr, is now a Cat. 4A Hurricane force on the FEWW New Hurricane Scale with sustained winds of about 218 km/he (117.5 kt) and wind gusts of up to 260 km/hr (140 kt).
The Cyclone could track west moving toward Madagascar with the islands of Mauritius and Réunion still in crosshairs.
Location: TC GELANE was located about ~ 685km (~ 370 NM) NORTHEAST (246.3 degrees) of Saint-Denis, Réunion, and about 455 km EAST-NORTHEAST (245.5 degrees) of Port Louis, Mauritius.
The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite caught an impressive visible image of Gelane on February 19 at 09:45 UTC (4:45 a.m. ET) that clearly showed the eye of this Category 4 cyclone. Credit: NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team. Click Image to Enlarge!
The AIRS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured Gelane on Feb. 19 at 4:41 a.m. ET (09:41UTC). Even Gelane’s eye is visible in this infrared image, and it’s surrounded by very high, powerful thunderstorms with cloud tops as cold as -63F. Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen. Click Image to Enlarge!
Climate Info Public release by University of Missouri-Columbia
Warmer planet temperatures could cause longer-lasting weather patterns
MU researchers are studying whether high levels of carbon dioxide and higher global temperatures could lead to more frequent atmospheric blocking
Whether it’s never-ending heat waves or winter storms, atmospheric blocking can have a significant impact on local agriculture, business and the environment. Although these stagnant weather patterns are often difficult to predict, University of Missouri researchers are now studying whether increasing planet temperatures and carbon dioxide levels could lead to atmospheric blocking and when this blocking might occur, leading to more accurate forecasts.
Tony Lupo, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Missouri, is studying atmospheric blocking and how this weather pattern could be increasing due to global warming.
“In this research, we’re trying to see if increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the resulting atmospheric warming will affect the onset and duration of future blocking events,” said Tony Lupo, professor and chair of the atmospheric science department at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “We’re hoping that the research will add cues that could help fellow forecasters better predict blocking and warn people in cases of long-lasting, severe weather.”
Atmospheric blocking occurs between 20-40 times each year and usually lasts between 8-11 days, Lupo said. Although they are one of the rarest weather events, blocking can trigger dangerous conditions, such as a 2003 European heat wave that caused 40,000 deaths. Blocking usually results when a powerful, high-pressure area gets stuck in one place and, because they cover a large area, fronts behind them are blocked. Lupo believes that heat sources, such as radiation, condensation, and surface heating and cooling, have a significant role in a blocking’s onset and duration. Therefore, planetary warming could increase the frequency and impact of atmospheric blocking.
“It is anticipated that in a warmer world, blocking events will be more numerous, weaker and longer-lived,” Lupo said. “This could result in an environment with more storms. We also anticipate the variability of weather patterns will change dramatically over some parts of the world, such as North America, Europe and Asia, but not in others.”
Lupo, in collaboration with Russian researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences, will simulate atmospheric blocking using computer models that mirror known blocking events, then introduce differing carbon dioxide environments into the models to study how the dynamics of blocking events are changed by increased atmospheric temperatures. The project is funded by the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation – one of only 16 grants awarded by the group this year. He is partnering with Russian meteorologists whose research is being supported by the Russian Federation for Basic Research.
Lupo’s research has been published in several journals, including the Journal of Climate and Climate Dynamics. He anticipates that final results of the current study will be available in 2011.
As of about 06:00UTC on February 19, Cyclone GELANE has intensified to a Cat. 4A Hurricane force on the FEWW New Hurricane Scale with sustained winds of about 222 km/he (119.8 kt) and gusts of 260 km/hr (140 kt).
Cyclone GELANE has developed a perfectly round 20-km eye. Visible Images. Source: UW-CIMSS. Click images to enlarge.
Cyclone Gelane – 2010-02-19 00:00 — 2010-02-19 09:45 Morphed Integrated Microwave Imagery at CIMSS, with Infrared (MIMIC-IR) – Version 1
As Sea Shepherd protester boards a Japanese whaling vessel to ‘arrest its captain,’ New Zealand govt agents quietly euthanize 28 Pilot whales
Pete Bethune, a Sea Shepherd protester from New Zealand, boarded a Japanese whaling vessel, Shonan Maru No. 2, to ‘arrest its captain’ for the ‘‘destruction of the Ady Gil and attempted murder of the six Ady Gil crew members,’ ‘A statement on the Sea Shepherd website said.
Ady Gil, Sea Shepherd’s ‘stealth vessel,’ collided with Shonan Maru No. 2 on Jan 6, and sank later. Both parties have since blamed each other for the incident.
According to Sea Shepherd skipper Paul Watson Bethune traveled by jet ski from the Steve Irwin, the group’s flagship vessel to deliver a letter to the Shonan Maru No. 2 requesting he return with him to the Steve Irwin, to be transferred to New Zealand’s Maritime Safety Authority and police.
‘‘If you refuse to be arrested, then I am requesting that you deliver me to Wellington (New Zealand),’’ Bethune wrote in his letter to the Japanese captain.
‘‘Having sunk my vessel, and with our issuing of a mayday call, you have an obligation under maritime law to provide me with safe passage back to land,’’ he added.
‘‘I will only leave the Shonan Maru when you transfer with me to the Steve Irwin, or when we arrive on land, be it New Zealand or Australia.’‘
Bethune reportedly delivered an invoice for the cost of replacing Ady Gil, threatening the captain with criminal charges if payment was not received in four weeks.
‘‘We will be seeking punitive damages, in addition to the full replacement cost of the Ady Gil…further to this we will be laying criminal charges against the captain of the Shonan Maru (No. 2),’’ wrote Bethune.
Meanwhile, amid all the action on the high seas, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation quietly euthanized at least 19 pilot whales that were allegedly beached at West Ruggedy Beach on Stewart Island.
Department of Conservation (DOC) employees said they were forced to euthanize the whales, because the seas were rough.
“They were in reasonably good health when we got there but the weather conditions were so bad it would have been far too dangerous to try anything else,” an official said.
In December 2009, at least 150 whales died after they became stranded on Coromandel peninsula, most probably due to noise pollution from NZ oil exploration, tourist boats and planes, as well as toxic pollution in New Zealand’s coastal waters.
The avalanche piled snow as much as 20 feet high in some places (Rich Jordan/KTUU-DT). Image may be subject to copyright. see Fair Use notice. Click image to enlarge.
In California, “the transition roads from the westbound Interstate 10 and northbound 71 Freeway to the northbound 57 Freeway” were shut down by Caltrans down after an entire hillside collapsed onto traffic lanes below, Daily Press reported.
The clean up may take up to a week as rain is expected over the weekend, California Highway Patrol officials were reported as saying.
Caltrans officials view a landslide that covered the connector road from the westbound 10 Freeway to the northbound 57 Freeway in San Dimas on Thursday (local time). (Keith Durflinger/Staff Photographer). Image may be subject to copyright. see Fair Use notice.
Sakurajima Volcano in southern Japan erupted more than 400 times during 2009, and activity was increasing in early 2010. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image of the erupting volcano on February 15, 2010. Gray ash is visible in the plume that extends northeast (towards the lower-right) of the volcano. Ashfall is a regular occurrence at the daikon and mandarin farms surrounding the volcano, as well as in the nearby cities of Kagoshima and Kirishima. NASA Earth Observatory image and caption by Robert Simmon. Click image to enlarge.
Neighboring volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula Klyuchevskaya Volcano in the north and Bezymianny Volcano in the south both erupted. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this false-color image on February 13, 2010. [But the image was released today, 6 days later.] Reaching a height of 4,835 meters (15,860 feet), Klyuchevskaya (also Kliuchevskoi) Volcano is both the tallest and most active volcano on Kamchatka. Dwarfed by its neighbor, Bezymianny reaches 2,882 meters (9,455 feet) above sea level. It released a smaller, thinner plume than Klyuchevskaya.NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen. Caption by Michon Scott. Edited by FEWW. Click image to enlarge.
With sustained winds of about 190 km/hr (gusts of up to 235 km/hr), Cyclone GELANE (TC 16S) is now a Category 3A Hurricane on FEWW New Hurricane Scale. Fire-Earth believes the cyclone would reach Category 4A strength, possibly stronger, as forecast yesterday.
The system is expected to continue intensifying during the next 36 hours. The coral reef island of Rodrigues should expect heavy rain as the cyclone moves closer.
Cyclone GELANE. Water Vapor satellite images. Source: UW-CIMSS. Click images to enlarge.
Tropical Cyclone GELANE (TC 16S) Details
Date/Time: 19 February 2010 – 01:00 UTC
Position: Near 16.3ºS, 62.5ºE
Sustained Movement: 180 degrees
Forward speed: 9 km/hr ( 5 kt)
The system has been tracking SOUTH over the past 6 hours.
What people say about Google digital book monopoly intentions, as the case goes to NY court
Google is about to face objectors in a New York court over its plans to create the world’s biggest digital books monopoly
A single judge, Denny Chin, is about hold a hearing concerning the arguments for and against a contentious deal between the Internet Goliath, Google (dubbed the Internet leading mafia family), and US authors and publishers, some 26 interested parties.
The intelligent consensus is that the deal would provide the search Goliath with a monopoly over online books sales [and the "right" to screw the authors.]
Here’s what people say:
“I’m afraid an awful lot of writers have not really informed themselves. You know, we tend to be sort of busy doing our writing and sort of feeling that if we belong to a group like Authors Guild or something, that they’ll look after it and sort of see to it that our rights aren’t infringed to the point where we can’t make a living any longer.” Noted author and GBS objector Ursula Le Guin in her extended interview with the PBS NewsHour Art Beat Blog.
“I do think all the books in the world should be digitised but I think it is completely wrong to give one huge company control of that huge database and this is a very very important matter.” —John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog
“This de facto exclusive licence will provide Google with an enormous advantage over its search competitors.” —Open Book Alliance
“Content that can be discovered by only one search engine offers that search engine some protection from competition. This outcome has not been achieved by a technological advance in search or by operation of normal market forces; rather, it is the direct product of scanning millions of books without the copyright holders’ consent.” —The Justice Department
“Google already processes about two-thirds of the search requests in the United States, an advantage that led the company to rake in $79 billion in revenue during the past five years — mostly from short ads posted alongside search results and other Web content. ” —The Associated Press.
Google says their motto is “Do No Evil!” yet most of their immoral earnings come from predatory advertising, and their corporate practice is suppression of information!
2,300 people evacuated as an avalanche of mud and rocks buries scenic Italian town
Some 2,300 residents of small town of Maierato in the Calabria region, southern Italy were evacuated, as an “apocalyptic” landslide triggered by heavy rainfall brought down an entire hillside burying the town under an avalanche of mud and rocks. There was no report of deaths or injuries, Xinhua said.
The entire region has been severely affected by flash floods and landslides. Many small towns close to Cosenza, located at the confluence of the Busento and the Crathis rivers, have also been evacuated recently due to the floods.
More than 100 smaller landslides in Calabria, all of which were apparently caused by heavy rains, have since been reported, sources say.
A deadly landslide in the Sicilian city of Messina killed about 40 people and left up to a 1,000 others homeless in October 2009.
Earthquake measuring up to 7.0Mw strikes near China-Russia-North Korea border area
A powerful quake measuring up to magnitude 7.0 Struck near China-Russia-North Korea border region (42.7ºN131.1ºE) on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 01:13UTC, at a depth of about 590 km.
The quake was felt as far east as the eastern coast of Honshu, east of Tokyo, Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported.
The event was the 12th earthquake measuring between 7.0 and 7.8 to strike the region since 1900, and the fourth such event since 1990, according to USGS earthquake data.
The quake epicenter appears to be located in sparsely populated Chinese territory. It too deep to cause any tsunami, or major damage to the nearest major cities of Vladivostok, Russia, and Chongjin, North Korea. As of posting, there was no report of injuries as a result of this event.
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