Another Strong Earthquakes Strikes East New Britain

M6.8 earthquake strikes 106km SSW of Kokopo, PNG

Centered at 5.196°S, 151.801°E the quake occurred at a depth of 57.0 km (35.4 mi), reported USGS/EHP

EQ Details
Magnitude: 6.8Mw
Location:  5.196°S, 151.801°E; depth=57.0 km (35.4 mi)
Time: 2015-05-01 at 08:06:04 (UTC) (UTC)

Nearby Cities:

1. 106km (66mi) SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea [pop. 27,000]
2. 187km (116mi) ENE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
3. 310km (193mi) SSE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea
4. 428km (266mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
5. 693km (431mi) NE of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea [pop: 27,000]

Related Links

• FIRE-EARTH Forecast: Heightened seismicity in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 30, 2015
• FIRE-EARTH ALERT: HEIGHTENED SEISMICITY and ENHANCED VOLCANISM in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 31, 2015
• Calbuco Volcano Finally Erupts April 23, 2015
• M6.7 Quake Strikes East New Britain April 30, 2015
• Calbuco Volcano Erupts Again May 1, 2015

Calbuco Volcano Erupts Again

Chile’s Calbuco erupts for the third time in 8 days

The Chilean volcano, located  about 1,000km  south of the capital Santiago, erupted for the third time in eight days on Thursday, sending yet another column of  volcanic matter up to 4km into the air.

The 2,015-meter high Calbuco, an extremely explosive andesite volcano, ejected about 200 million tons of ash into the atmosphere last week, blanketing multiple towns and communities, damaging the nearby salmon farms and forcing flight cancellation as far as the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, about 1,400 km away.

However, Thursday’s eruption was notably less powerful than the previous two explosions, which prompted the evacuation of thousands of nearby villagers.

The red alert  and a 20-km exclusion zone remains in effect, said Chile’s ONEMI emergency office, as officials evacuated an additional 1,580 people.

The total number of evacuees in the Los Lagos region now stands at 6.685  people.

ONEMI has posted the following update (Spanish) on its website:

• http://www.onemi.cl/alerta/se-declara-alerta-roja-para-las-comunas-de-puerto-montt-y-puerto-varas-por-erupcion-del-volcan-calbuco/

Related Links

•  FIRE-EARTH ALERT: HEIGHTENED SEISMICITY and ENHANCED VOLCANISM in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 31, 2015
• FIRE-EARTH Forecast: Heightened seismicity in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 30, 2015
• Calbuco Volcano Finally Erupts April 23, 2015
• FIRE-EARTH Volcanism Index (FEVIX) April 23, 2015

Major Disaster Declared for Kentucky

Kentucky Declared Federal Disaster Area

Kentucky Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (DR-4216)

The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the areas affected by the severe winter storms, snowstorms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides during the period of February 15-22, 2015.

Areas worst affected by the severe winter storms, snowstorms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides include the counties of Boyd, Boyle, Caldwell, Estill, Floyd, Jackson, Jessamine, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Lyon, Menifee, Morgan, Pike, Powell, Simpson, Taylor, Washington, and Wolfe.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, said the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

Related Links

• Major Disaster Declared for Georgia April 22, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared for Massachusetts April 15, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared for Connecticut April 9, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared for Rhode Island April 5, 2015
• Federal Disaster Declarations
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index