Deadly Tornadoes, Landslides and Forest Fires

MUST BE NEWS FROM EARTH AGAIN!

FIRE-EARTH log: 2011 Disaster Calendar – MAY

[May 22, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from planetary response to the harm caused by humans could occur by early 2016. SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,760 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Siberia, Russia. Forest fires have consumed about 100,000 hectares of Far East Russian and Siberian forestry since April 5, 2011. Some 197 wildfires covering an area of about 66,284 ha are still burning, including 21 large fires which account for about a half of the total area on fire in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Amur region, a report said.
• “7,050 people and 1267 pieces of equipment have been involved in fighting forest fires.”
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Death toll from landslides that buried an orphanage near the Malaysian capital has climbed to 16.  All but one of the victims are said to be children, according to the officials.
• Kansas, USA.  A deadly tornado swept through the town of Reading in eastern Kansas, killing at least one person, injuring an unspecified number of others, destroying more than 20 homes and damaging 200 other building, a state emergency management official was reported as saying on Sunday.
• SPC had received at least 18 tornado reports, as of posting.

More Tornadoes May Be On the Way

US Weather Forecast Map for May 22, 2011. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links

• 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season: AAA
• More Severe Thunderstorms, Rain and Flash Flooding
• MEGA DELUGE 2011?

• April Tornado Stats
• The worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history
• U.S. Tornado Update – April 29
• U.S. Tornadoes, Storms Kill at least 195

• Mile-wide Mega Tornado Devastates Alabama
• Tornado Record for April Smashed
• When Weather Went Really Crazy
• U.S. Tornado Outbreak – Update 19 April
• Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley

2011 Disasters

• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Iceland’s Grímsvötn volcano erupts

Grímsvötn volcano, Iceland’s most active, has started erupting

A large plume of smoke and ash was ejected to a height of about 20km above the volcano.

The explosive eruption, which occurred at 17.30UTC on Saturday May 21, 2011, has been described as very powerful.

Grímsvötn is Iceland’s most active volcano and had previously erupted  in November 2004.

A Map of Iceland Volcanoes. Click image to enlarge.

Iceland’s Met Office Report

“Eruptions in Grímsvötn start as subglacial eruptions, which quickly break the ice cover. At 21:00 UTC, the eruption plume had risen to an altitude of over 65,000 ft (~20 km). Initially, the plume is expected to drift to the east and subsequently to the north. Thus, the ash is not expected to impact aviation in Europe, at least not during the first 24 hours.”

Eruption cloud from Grímsvötn volcano at 22:00 UTC May 21st 2011 captured by Icelandic met Office Weather Radar located at Keflavik International Airport located about 220 km from the volcano. The eruption cloud covers a large section of Vatnajökull ice cap.

Grímsvötn: “A very powerful volcano”

“Grimsvotn is a very powerful volcano, so we’re monitoring it closely, even if the last few eruptions have been harmless,” University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson told Morgunbladid.

“We do not expect this to be a big one as it’s coming from the same crater as the last three eruptions, which were all small.”

‘Not Like Last Year‘

“It can be a big eruption, but it is unlikely to be like last year,” Icelandic Met Office geologist Hjorleifur Sveinbjornsson told Reuters, referring Eyjafjallajokull.

Lots of Ash

“A lot of ash has been falling around the Vatnajokull glacier and nearby towns this evening. It is expected to continue through the night and maybe into tomorrow, according to Icelandic Met Office geologist, Hjorleifur Sveinbjornsson. The ash is much coarser than that which came from Eyjafjallajokull last year.” IceNews reported.

Aviation Threat

Isavia civil aviation authority has imposed a 120 nm  flight ban around the volcano, a spokesman said. “We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have.”

Grímsvötn volcano erupts producing a mushroom cloud of smoke and ash. Frame grabs from video clip by Icelandic National TV station RÚV.

Probability of Eruption: April 2010 Forecast

Bárðarbunga (1903) and neighboring Grímsvötn (2004) – probability of eruption: 84 percent

Related Links

• List of blog entries and external links to Eyjafjöll Eruption
•  The Next Icelandic Volcano Likely to Erup