Alaska Keeps on Shaking!

SEISMIC HAZARD
HEIGHTENED GLOBAL SEISMICITY
SCENARIOS 08, 07
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Shaking Alaska: Hundreds of quakes small, medium and ‘large’…

It looks like Alaska suffering from brittle bone disease, or you have blurred vision!

Some 32.3 percent of all earthquakes worldwide that have occurred in the past 7 days struck in or near Alaska. Well, that’s one way of looking at it!

EQ Location Map

7 Days, All Magnitudes Worldwide: 1694 earthquakes. Updated: 2014-06-09 15:31:00UTC.  547 earthquakes in map area. Source: USGS/EHP

1 Day All Magnitudes Worldwide: 153 earthquakes. Updated: 2014-06-09 15:50:03 UTC. 135 earthquakes in map area!

 Related Links

• Alaska Rattled by Earthquake Cluster June 8, 2014

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: FIRE-EARTH EQ Forecast

The next detailed FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast will be released together with Bulletin NO. 105  on June 10, 2014.

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Massive Explosions Destroy Power Station, Refineries, Oil Tanker

4 Massive Explosions in 10 Days Destroy 2 Refineries, a Power Station, an oil Tanker

Fire crews extinguished a major fire after an explosion ripped through a refinery owned by Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co. in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, June 9, 2014.

“Crude oil tanks near the sulfur recovery facility at the refinery exploded Monday noon, and three of eight oil tanks at the site were on fire after the explosion toppled them down. It was not immediately known whether the blast and fire have caused casualties.” (Xinhua/Wang Wei)

Deadly blast destroys “Europe’s worst polluter”

A massive blast at a coal-fired power station outside Kosovo’s capital Pristina has left at least three people dead, and 14 others injured, officials say.

The explosion occurred on Friday at the Kosovo A plant , the country’s second largest, and was felt in the capital Pristina about 10km away.

Kosovo A and B power plants produce more than 90% of the country’s electricity.

The aging Kosovo A plant, the country’s second largest with the capacity of 450 MW, is cited as the worst single-point source of pollution in Europe. The plant was scheduled to be closed by 2017.

The 40-year-old Kosovo A power plant, said to be Europe’s worst polluter, sustained major damage and was shut down after a hydrogen tank exploded on Friday, June 6, 2014. Image credit: AP.

Massive explosion, fire at Shell plant in the Netherlands

A massive explosion at a Shell production plant in Moerdijk, Netherlands, occurred on June 3, 2014.

People living as far as 10 miles away from the plant reported several  enormously loud explosions, which shook the ground like  earthquakes, followed by a major fire.

The explosion and subsequent fire occurred in a reactor of the MSPO-2 installation, which produces styrene monomer and propylene oxide, disabled the unit, said Shell Nederland Chemie BV.

Explosion paralyzes Shell’s Netherlands Moerdijk plant. Image Credit: IlseAngel via Internet.

Japanese oil tanker explodes, sinks off SW Japan coast

A 998-ton Japanese oil tanker, Shoko Maru,  exploded off the coast of Hyogo prefecture, about 450km west of Tokyo, on May 29, 2014.

The vessel slowly listed and sank within hours, said the local coastguard.

Four crew severely burned and the tanker’s captain was reported missing.

Japanese oil tanker, Shoko Maru, is sinking off the SW coast of Japan after a large explosion and subsequent fire sent towering columns of of poisonous smoke into the air. Photo credit: Reuters

 Related Links

• If Anything Can Explode, Leak, Contaminate… January 12, 2014
• Officials ‘Baffled’ by LNG Explosion in Washington April 6, 2014

Coconut Scale Threatens Food Security in Philippines

CLIMATE CHANGE
CROP DISASTER
FOOD SECURITY THREAT
COCONUT SCALE INSECT INFESTATION
STATE OF EMERGENCY
SCENARIO 123
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State of Emergency Declared in Philippines as Coconut Scale Insect Infests Million Trees

Coconut scale insects have infested more than a million trees in the country, which are in danger of dying, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority.

The insects have also infested lanzones and banana plants in several regions—Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and Basilan in Mindanao.

The Philippine President has declared a state of emergency in five provinces so far, but may extend the coverage due to the scale of disaster.

“If the spread of this invasive pest is not contained, it may wipe out the coconut industry not just in Calabarzon but eventually in the rest of the country,” said the president in his executive order declaring the state of emergency.

The loss to the Philippine coconut industry could amount to more than US$ 1 billion.

Coconut scale Aspidiotus destructor Signoret. Photo credit: Bernhard Loehr/ Bugwood.org

“It is serious enough to ask for emergency measures… If we don’t address this, it could spread to the Bicol region, and also in the Zamboanga peninsula,” said the Presidential Assistant for Food Security. 

The infestation was first reported in 2010 but the authorities failed to stop the spread.  Coconut scale insects are wind-borne and can easily spread to other regions, experts say.

The armored scale insects, known scientifically as Aspidiotus destructor Signoret (Hemiptera: familia Diaspididae), are tiny plant parasites, causing yellowing or chlorosis, wilting, premature nutfall (in coconut) and low yield because they siphons off the plant sap.

The coconut scale is a common pest of coconut and banana, but it also infests other trees and plants including avocado, bird of paradise, breadfruit, ginger, guava, mango, mock orange, mountain apple, palm, papaya, pandanas, plumeria and sugarcane.

The parasite is common to tropical and subtropical regions, especially on islands. The insects have been found in American Samoa, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Irian Jaya, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Western Samoa, and now the Philippine islands.