Hurricane Force Blizzard Batters N. Japan

Powerful blizzard buries N. Japan cities in 100cm of snow

A powerful blizzard barreled into the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido with heavy snow and hurricane-force winds of 130 km/hr, burying several cities, according to local media.

A low-pressure system had already dumped up to 100cm of snow on large sections of the island, forcing dozens of train and flight cancellations, and blocking major highways.

Forecasters say the stationery system could dump up to 70 cm of additional snow in Hokkaido and 50cm in coastal regions of Sea of Japan  by lunchtime Monday.

The blizzard is the third major snowstorm to pound northern Japan in the last 6 weeks.

Significant Earthquakes Strike Alaska

SEISMIC HAZARDS
HEIGHTENED ALASKA SEISMICITY
SCENARIOS 700, [500,] 08, 07, 02
.

EQ cluster strikes Bering Sea, near Saint Paul, US-AK

Centered at 56.599°N, 169.083°W the latest quake struck at  depth of about 10km, some 84km (52mi) SE of City of Saint Paul  [Population: ~ 500,] according to USGS/EHP.

The event was preceded by at least 8 other quakes in the past 24 hours:

M5.2 , 84km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-02-01 11:20:25 UTC depth = 10.0km
M4.5, 79km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 22:33:07 UTC depth = 20.9 km
M5.0, 94km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 20:47:13 UTC depth = 21.9 km
M4.4, 81km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 19:33:12 UTC depth = 23.6 km
M4.6, 91km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 17:49:30 UTC depth = 18.8 km
M5.3, 92km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 17:39:12 UTC depth = 10.0 km
M4.6, 92km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 17:21:31 UTC depth = 11.3 km
M4.8, 92km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 17:16:17 UTC depth = 19.5 km
M5.3, 92km SE of City of Saint Paul, Alaska 2015-01-31 12:38:31 UTC depth = 10.0 km

Tsunami Evaluation

The cluster has NOT generated any dangerous tsunamis.

Rare Earthquake Strikes Switzerland

SEISMIC HAZARDS
HEIGHTENED GLOBAL SEISMICITY
SCENARIOS 700, [500,] 08, 07, 02
.

M3.2 Quake Strikes Switzerland

Centered at 7.11°E, 47.19°N the quake struck about 120km NW of Meyrin (Canton of Geneva), the nearest Swiss town to the main site of the CERN particle physics laboratory.

EQ Details
Time: 2015-01-31 21:54:01.2 UTC
Magnitude: 3.2 ML
Epicenter: 7.11°E, 47.19°N
Depth: 3 km
Status: M – manually revised
SOURCE: GEOFON Extended Virtual Network (GEVN)