PLANETARY TREMORS: Magnitude 4.0 Earthquake Near Trinidad, Colorado - USGS! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location.

February 7, 2016 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - The United States Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 near Trinidad Saturday afternoon.

The quake hit 26 miles west-southwest of Trinidad around 4:09 p.m., according to the USGS.

USGS shakemap intensity.

Time

1. 2016-02-06 23:09:10 (UTC)
2. 2016-02-06 18:09:10 (UTC-05:00) in your timezone
3. Times in other timezones

Nearby Cities

1. 42km (26mi) WSW of Trinidad, Colorado
2. 134km (83mi) SSW of Pueblo, Colorado
3. 142km (88mi) S of Pueblo West, Colorado
4. 152km (94mi) S of Canon City, Colorado
5. 177km (110mi) NNE of Santa Fe, New Mexico

- Denver Post.

Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region

Natural Occurring Earthquake Activity
Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake.

Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 100 km (60 mi) from its source. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake in eastern or central North America might be felt by much of the population out to more than 500 km (300 mi) from its source. Earthquakes east of the Rockies that are centered in populated areas and large enough to cause damage are, similarly, likely to cause damage out to greater distances than earthquakes of the same magnitude centered in western North America.

USGS seismic map.

Most earthquakes in North America east of the Rockies occur as faulting within bedrock, usually miles deep. Few earthquakes east of the Rockies, however, have been definitely linked to mapped geologic faults, in contrast to the situation at plate boundaries such as California's San Andreas fault system, where scientists can commonly use geologic evidence to identify a fault that has produced a large earthquake and that is likely to produce large future earthquakes. Scientists who study eastern and central North America earthquakes often work from the hypothesis that modern earthquakes occur as the result of slip on preexisting faults that were formed in earlier geologic eras and that have been reactivated under the current stress conditions. The bedrock of Eastern North America is, however, laced with faults that were active in earlier geologic eras, and few of these faults are known to have been active in the current geologic era. In most areas east of the Rockies, the likelihood of future damaging earthquakes is currently estimated from the frequencies and sizes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes or earthquakes documented in historical records.

USGS seismic hazard map.

Induced Seismicity
As is the case elsewhere in the world, there is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth's crust sufficiently to induce faulting. Activities that have induced felt earthquakes in some geologic environments have included impoundment of water behind dams, injection of fluid into the earth's crust, extraction of fluid or gas, and removal of rock in mining or quarrying operations. In much of eastern and central North America, the number of earthquakes suspected of having been induced is much smaller than the number of natural earthquakes, but in some regions, such as the south-central states of the U.S., a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced. Even within areas with many human-induced earthquakes, however, the activity that seems to induce seismicity at one location may be taking place at many other locations without inducing felt earthquakes. In addition, regions with frequent induced earthquakes may also be subject to damaging earthquakes that would have occurred independently of human activity. Making a strong scientific case for a causative link between a particular human activity and a particular sequence of earthquakes typically involves special studies devoted specifically to the question. Such investigations usually address the process by which the suspected triggering activity might have significantly altered stresses in the bedrock at the earthquake source, and they commonly address the ways in which the characteristics of the suspected human-triggered earthquakes differ from the characteristics of natural earthquakes in the region.

For More Information
Additional earthquake information for Colorado


- USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: It's Shaking All Over - Series Of Earthquakes Hit Siargao Island Town In The Philippines; 5.0 Magnitude Tremor Hits Trinidad; Magnitude 4.5 Temblor Shakes Southern California Causing Landslides; Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Rattled By Strong Back-To-Back Earthquakes; Thousands Of Small Earthquakes Have Hit Vancouver Region Since Christmas; 4.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Near Rio Dell, California; 4.5 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Arunachal Pradesh, India!

USGS earthquake locations of 2.5 magnitude or higher over the last day.

January 6, 2016 - EARTH - The following constitutes several of the most noteworthy earthquakes to the planet over the last 24 hours, as we continue to monitor the global seismic uptick.

Series of earthquakes hit Siargao Island town in the Philippines

Epicenter map of 5.2 earthquake. © Phivolcs

A series of earthquakes rattled Siargao Island town, in Surigao del Norte early this morning, January 6, 2015.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the strong earthquake with 5.2 magnitude quake was registered at 4:36 a.m. Its epicenter was plotted at 32 kilometers (km) northeast of Burgos town, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte, with a depth of 12 km.

A magnitude 4.2 magnitude tremor also recorded at 4:31 a.m. of the same day, with epicenter traced at 56 km northeast at the same town, with a depth of 13 km, the state agency said.

Another 3.0 magnitude earthquake was also registered at 5:31 a.m. also on the same day and same town of Burgos with the epicenter 48 km northeast, with a depth of 88 kilometers, Phivolcs, in its bulletin said.

The series of earthquakes that rocked the island town are all tectonic in origin, it said.

The action center of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) in Surigao del Norte said there were no casualties or damages reported when the earthquake hit the tourist island. - Manila Bulletin.

5.0 magnitude earthquake hits Trinidad

Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada registered a 5.0 magnitude earthquake yesterday and the experts are warning of more to come.

According to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre, the earthquake occurred at 10:33 a.m. North of the Paria Peninsula Trinidad, at a depth of 33 kilometres.

"This zone is one of the most active areas around Trinidad so that this event is not surprising and well within our range of expected activity", according to a statement from the SRC.

Director of the SRC, Dr Joan Latchman said Tuesday's quake was not generated by the Kick'em Jenny underwater volcano located eight kilometres north of Grenada.

She said the earthquake is one of many expected to occur during the year.

She said, "in the Paria peninsula area there is no volcanism at this time. So this earthquake was tectonic".

Latchman also warned that Trinidadians need to be better prepared for a long overdue quake.

She said, "we have seen some improvements in the attention by the citizenry are taking for what we are saying. - Stabroek News.

Magnitude-4.5 earthquake shakes Southern California causing landslides

USGS shakemap intensity.

 A shallow 4.5-magnitude earthquake shook inland sections of Southern California Wednesday morning. Landslides were reported in the area near the epicenter, which had been soaked by heavy rainfall Tuesday.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at 6:42 a.m. PST just north of Banning, a city of 30,000 in the San Gorgonio Pass along Interstate 10 between San Bernardino and Palm Springs.

The quake was shallow, occurring 10.4 miles (16.7 kilometers) below the ground. The USGS originally estimated the focal depth as an even shallower 1 mile (1.6 km). Shallow earthquakes generally produce stronger ground shaking near the epicenter than do deeper earthquakes of the same magnitude.

According to incident reports on the California Highway Patrol's website, landslides were reported just minutes after the earthquake along State Highway 243 just south of Banning. Mud and small rocks were strewn across sections of the roadway about 7 miles from the earthquake's epicenter.

Another CHP report indicated a tree and large boulders across the roadway on State Highway 74 near the mountain community of Pinyon Pines, about 15 miles south of Palm Springs. That incident was about 40 miles southeast of the epicenter.

Rain was not falling at the time of the landslides, but 1.5 to 3 inches of rain had fallen on the area during the 24 hours preceding the earthquake.

KNBC-TV in Los Angeles said there were no reports of structural damage from first responders in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the two counties most directly affected by the quake.

The USGS website's "Did You Feel It?" received about 6,000 reports of ground shaking from users across Southern California. The strongest shaking was reported near the epicenter in Banning and Cabazon, California, where the intensity was estimated at level V (five), or moderate, on the 12-point Mercalli scale.

Lighter shaking was reported in a broad zone from Los Angeles on the west to Twentynine Palms on the east, and from the Victor Valley on the north to the San Diego area on the south. In all, the USGS estimated about 10 million people may have been able to feel the earthquake.

The USGS interactive map showed the quake's epicenter close to the Banning Fault, a branch of the San Andreas Fault system that runs northwest to southeast along much of the length of California.

The same region was rattled just eight days ago by a magnitude-4.4 tremor and series of smaller aftershocks originating near Devore, about 35 miles northwest of Wednesday's quake epicenter. - The Weather Channel.

Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas rattled by strong back-to-back earthquakes

A map shows the epicenter of a 4.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, which was felt in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas© USGS

Two strong earthquakes rocked Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas on Wednesday night.

The quakes were recorded as magnitudes 4.7 and 4.8, respectively, the United States Geological Survey reported.

The larger temblor was centered 19 miles south-southeast of Alva, Oklahoma, west of Enid, at 10:28 p.m. CST, the USGS said. The first quake occurred 30 seconds before the larger quake near Fairview, Oklahoma.

Both were felt in Wichita, Kansas, where meteorologists from AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions were working.

"The tables shook pretty good as well as our computer screens. Really felt like the whole building was rumbling. We are on the seventh floor so it always seems like it's worse up here," Lead Meteorologist John Lavin said.

The quakes were one of six earthquakes to be reported within 90 minutes Wednesday night in Oklahoma, according to USGS data. - AccuWeather.

Thousands of small earthquakes have hit Vancouver region since Christmas

A little over a week after our region was rattled, we're learning there have been thousands of small earthquakes to hit the South Coast since Christmas, but experts insist it's nothing worry about.

The area, along with rest of the Pacific Northwest is in a natural seismic cycle right now.

The reason you shouldn't panic is because this happens about once every year or so, although the numbers right now are way above average.

Typically over a 10-day period we see about 200 tremors, but between January 1st and 4th, there have been more than 2,400 and since Christmas there have been 8,000.

"They occur in-depth, they're quite deep within the crust beneath Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. The [quakes] are just too small for a person to even feel them at the surface," explains SFU Earth Sciences Professor John Clague.

He adds this 'Slow Slip Episode' we're in is simply relieving some pressure of the plates below us and it should wrap up soon. Meantime, the USGS claims the total amount that's released from the episode can be as big as a magnitude 6.5 earthquake.

"In the past, these episodes, these tiny little earthquakes, have persisted for about a week or two and then they drop off basically to zero and we don't see another episode or 12 to 16 months."

He adds that it's unclear if last week's earthquake felt across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island is directly linked to this series of tremors.  - News 1130.

4.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near Rio Dell, California

USGS shakemap intensity.

A shallow magnitude 4.3 earthquake was reported Wednesday evening 19 miles from Rio Dell, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 9:49 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 10.6 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was 23 miles from Fortuna, 36 miles from Eureka and 40 miles from Bayside.

In the past 10 days, there have been five earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

This information comes from the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and this post was created by an algorithm written by the author.  - Los Angeles Times.

4.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Arunachal Pradesh, India

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the quake hit Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh at 7:12 pm at a depth of 23 kms.

A medium intensity earthquake, measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale, today hit Arunachal Pradesh, four days after a powerful tremor shook the northeastern state of Manipur.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the quake hit Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh at 7:12 pm at a depth of 23 kms. There were no immediate reports of loss of life or property.

On Monday, a strong quake measuring 6.7 on the Richter Scale hit Temelgong in Manipur. This was followed by many small and medium aftershocks.

Scientists, however, ruled out that the earthquake was an aftershock, a major phenomenon observed after major jolts.

"This was a fresh earthquake and not related to the one in Manipur," said JL Gautam, Head (operation), National Centre for Seismology, a unit of MoES.

The Northeast region is known to be a high-seismic zone and often witnesses tremors. - NDTV.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Increase Seismic Activity In The Caribbean Sea - Trinidad Shaken By Early Morning Earthquake!

November 16, 2015 - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.9 rattled Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) has reported.

It said that the quake was felt at around 8:36 am and was located 10.89 degrees north and 62.32 west. It had a depth of 79 kilometers.

Meanwhile, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday night between Honduras and the Cayman islands.

The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake which struck at around 6:49 pm (Honduras time) was centered about 167 kilometers south, south west of Georgetown in the Cayman Islands.

The quake was also felt 420 kilometers west of Montego Bay in Jamaica. - Jamaica Observer.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Caribbean Region and Vicinity

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.

Along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate, the North America plate moves westwards with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 20 mm/yr. Motion is accommodated along several major transform faults that extend eastward from Isla de Roatan to Haiti, including the Swan Island Fault and the Oriente Fault. These faults represent the southern and northern boundaries of the Cayman Trench. Further east, from the Dominican Republic to the Island of Barbuda, relative motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate becomes increasingly complex and is partially accommodated by nearly arc-parallel subduction of the North America plate beneath the Caribbean plate.

This results in the formation of the deep Puerto Rico Trench and a zone of intermediate focus earthquakes (70-300 km depth) within the subducted slab. Although the Puerto Rico subduction zone is thought to be capable of generating a megathrust earthquake, there have been no such events in the past century. The last probable interplate (thrust fault) event here occurred on May 2, 1787 and was widely felt throughout the island with documented destruction across the entire northern coast, including Arecibo and San Juan. Since 1900, the two largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the August 4, 1946 M8.0 Samana earthquake in northeastern Hispaniola and the July 29, 1943 M7.6 Mona Passage earthquake, both of which were shallow thrust fault earthquakes. A significant portion of the motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate in this region is accommodated by a series of left-lateral strike-slip faults that bisect the island of Hispaniola, notably the Septentrional Fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the south. Activity adjacent to the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault system is best documented by the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti strike-slip earthquake, its associated aftershocks and a comparable earthquake in 1770.

 USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Moving east and south, the plate boundary curves around Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles where the plate motion vector of the Caribbean plate relative to the North and South America plates is less oblique, resulting in active island-arc tectonics. Here, the North and South America plates subduct towards the west beneath the Caribbean plate along the Lesser Antilles Trench at rates of approximately 20 mm/yr. As a result of this subduction, there exists both intermediate focus earthquakes within the subducted plates and a chain of active volcanoes along the island arc. Although the Lesser Antilles is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the Caribbean, few of these events have been greater than M7.0 over the past century. The island of Guadeloupe was the site of one of the largest megathrust earthquakes to occur in this region on February 8, 1843, with a suggested magnitude greater than 8.0. The largest recent intermediate-depth earthquake to occur along the Lesser Antilles arc was the November 29, 2007 M7.4 Martinique earthquake northwest of Fort-De-France.

The southern Caribbean plate boundary with the South America plate strikes east-west across Trinidad and western Venezuela at a relative rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central Range Fault and the Boconó-San Sebastian-El Pilar Faults, and shallow seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the October 29, 1900 M7.7 Caracas earthquake, and the July 29, 1967 M6.5 earthquake near this same region. Further to the west, a broad zone of compressive deformation trends southwestward across western Venezuela and central Colombia. The plate boundary is not well defined across northwestern South America, but deformation transitions from being dominated by Caribbean/South America convergence in the east to Nazca/South America convergence in the west. The transition zone between subduction on the eastern and western margins of the Caribbean plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity involving low- to intermediate-magnitude (Magnitude less than 6.0) earthquakes of shallow to intermediate depth.

The plate boundary offshore of Colombia is also characterized by convergence, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath South America towards the east at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr. The January 31, 1906 M8.5 earthquake occurred on the shallowly dipping megathrust interface of this plate boundary segment. Along the western coast of Central America, the Cocos plate subducts towards the east beneath the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Convergence rates vary between 72-81 mm/yr, decreasing towards the north. This subduction results in relatively high rates of seismicity and a chain of numerous active volcanoes; intermediate-focus earthquakes occur within the subducted Cocos plate to depths of nearly 300 km. Since 1900, there have been many moderately sized intermediate-depth earthquakes in this region, including the September 7, 1915 M7.4 El Salvador and the October 5, 1950 M7.8 Costa Rica events.

The boundary between the Cocos and Nazca plates is characterized by a series of north-south trending transform faults and east-west trending spreading centers. The largest and most seismically active of these transform boundaries is the Panama Fracture Zone. The Panama Fracture Zone terminates in the south at the Galapagos rift zone and in the north at the Middle America trench, where it forms part of the Cocos-Nazca-Caribbean triple junction. Earthquakes along the Panama Fracture Zone are generally shallow, low- to intermediate in magnitude (Magnitude less than 7.2) and are characteristically right-lateral strike-slip faulting earthquakes. Since 1900, the largest earthquake to occur along the Panama Fracture Zone was the July 26, 1962 M7.2 earthquake.

References for the Panama Fracture Zone:
Molnar, P., and Sykes, L. R., 1969, Tectonics of the Caribbean and Middle America Regions from Focal Mechanisms and Seismicity: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 80, p. 1639-1684.

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

 

INFRASTRUCTURE COLLAPSE: Plane Crashes Near Trinidad, Southern Colorado - Pilot Killed!

Authorities say a pilot was killed when he crashed his single-engine propeller plane in an open field in southern Colorado.(Photo: KOAA-TV)

May 16, 2015 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - The man who was killed when the small single-engine plane he was piloting crashed north of Trinidad on April 30 has been identified.

Gregory Frank, 53, of Longmont, died in the wreck that occurred in an open field a few miles north of the Las Animas County Fairgrounds, according to the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office.

He was the only occupant of the plane.

A witness reported seeing the plane circling over his property shortly before it crashed.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are continuing their investigation into determining the cause of the crash.  - The Pueblo Chieftain.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismologists To Study Quakes In Trinidad, Colorado - 7 Temblors In The Area In January Draw Attention From The USGS!

January 29, 2014 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - A research team from the U.S. Geological Survey hopes to have a study published soon that may explain a recent series of minor earthquakes in the Las Animas County area around Trinidad.

Map by the USGS.

The area had three earthquakes Wednesday and four more this month. The strongest was a magnitude 3.6 on the Richter scale. There have been no reports of injury or damage from the quakes.

Justin Rubinstein of the USGS said five of the quakes were at least a magnitude of 2.5.

"This level of (seismic activity) is not out of the ordinary for the Trinidad area," he said. "That said, the level was much lower than it is now."

Rubinstein said the average number of quakes above magnitude 3 in the area has risen since August 2001 from once biannually to eight annually.

"The majority of (activity) appears to be related to industrial activities in the area -- specifically, the deep injection of large volumes of wastewater from oil and gas fields -- appears to be making earthquakes more likely," he said.

Rubinstein said the study includes research of the area dating back to 1970. He said the primary research is already finished and awaits publication.

Residents of Trinidad and Las Animas County have mixed emotions about the earthquake trend. Many say they never notice the temblors and aren't concerned, while others wonder if the trend could result in bigger earthquakes.

The area had a magnitude 5.3 quake in August, 2011, that damaged several buildings. Experts say it was the state's largest natural quake in more than a century.

"The mortar in some of the downtown brick buildings is more than 100 years old," said resident Terry Sears. "Some of them shifted during the last strong quake. It wouldn't take one much stronger than that to bring down some of those buildings."

Kim Chavez, the county's emergency manager, said a disaster plan is in place to handle a major quake.

"I just worry if we're going to have a huge one, and we're not going to know how to react to it," she said. "We can have every emergency plan available, but it's when it actually plays out, to see if it's going to work."

Trinidad resident Michelle Finch said she believes she knows what to do if she experiences a major quake, such as though more common in California.

"I'm going to take action," she said. "Get out of the way, take care of my family, take cover, do what I can." - KRDO.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Hundreds, Possibly Thousands Of Dead Fish Mysteriously Found Floating Down La Pastora River, Trinidad And Tobago?!

May 12, 2013 - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) is investigating reports of hundreds of fish found dead and floating in a section of the La Pastora River in Santa Cruz yesterday. CEO of the EMA Joth Singh said the authority was alerted to the situation when fish were found floating in the river, and immediately dispatched officers to investigate. The authority also reported it to the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) but up to late yesterday there was no answer as to what had happened to the fish.

A La Pastora resident shows one of the dead fish found in the La Pastora River, near La Pastora Road, yesterday.
PHOTO: COURTESY PAPA BOIS CONSERVATION

The alert came from the NGO Papa Bois Conservation and one of its directors, Marc de Verteuil. In a brief telephone interview yesterday, de Verteuil said residents told him yesterday morning that “thousands” of fish were dead in the river. “I went to check it out and I spoke to some eyewitnesses, but by the time I got there, there was about 100 fish dead in the river, in a very small area. “It looked like a pretty significant event.” La Pastora resident Alex Franco described yesterday’s ordeal as a “freak incident.”


“Nothing like this has happened here before.” Franco, who lives near the river, sets traps to catch fish for food. He said he had set fish traps on Thursday afternoon and caught three fish but when he checked his traps the following morning they were full of dead fish and hundreds more were floating down the river. Franco said as late as 6 pm yesterday EMA staff were still doing tests on the water outside of his home.


Residents of La Pastora use the river for fishing and for irrigation for agricultural land. In recent months there has been a fish kill in Brasso and an incident in which hundreds of dead and dying corbeaux were found in Chaguaramas. No explanation has yet been found for either. - Guardian.

MASS BIRD DIE-OFF: 190 Vultures Mysteriously Drop Out Of The Sky Dead And Dying In Chaguaramas, Trinidad?!

April 10, 2013 - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) was yesterday investigating the cause of death of almost 190 vultures, locally known as corbeaux, at the Second Infantry Battalion Heliport, Chaguaramas.

EMA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Joth Singh, told Newsday the organisation received reports of scores of corbeaux dropping out of the sky at about 7 am. The initial count was 140 dead, with 50 dying on the ground.

A Ministry of Health official wears protective gear as he carries a dying corbeaux past several others that are dead or dying at the Chaguaramas heliport yesterday. The birds began literally falling from the skies in mysterious circumstances. PHOTO: ABRAHAM DIAZ

As the birds fell from great heights, some burst open, while others were able to glide weakly to the ground. Liquid could also be seen dripping out of the beaks of the sick birds. And, while some of them were too weak to move, others fed on their dead.

“We have been working in the area doing investigations. The EMA’s main purpose was to determine whether any environmental factors, such as toxic gases or chemicals released in the area, were involved in the deaths. However none were identified,” stated Singh.

He said the EMA called the Ministry of Health and the Poultry Surveillance Unit, who both collected additional samples of the dead and dying birds for further investigations into whether or not it was a biological issue. “The Poultry Surveillance Unit was looking for biological causes. A number of preliminary tests were carried out but they did not reveal avian influenza so they are trying to identify the cause through elimination,” he said.

Instead, Singh said they were working with the theory that the birds fed off an animal that had been laced with poison. The organisations were continuing the investigation as there was no confirmation on the cause of death.

However, Singh expressed concern about the disposal of the carcasses. He said if they were not buried, the problem would be perpetuated as other corbeaux fed on the dead birds. He said they were working with the Chaguaramas Development Authority to find a suitable location where they can be buried. - Newsday.

EXTREME WEATHER: Prolonged Winter - Blizzard Follows Weekend Warmth From Denver To Cheyenne To Rapid City; Strong Winds, Heavy Snowfall, Travel Disruptions!

April 08, 2013 - UNITED STATES - After a blast of weekend warmth, residents from Denver to Cheyenne to Rapid City may find it hard to believe that a blizzard is on the way.

The blizzard threatens to bring northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming, western South Dakota and western Nebraska to a standstill Monday night through Tuesday.

Strong winds severely blowing around heavy snow will dramatically reduce visibility and make driving extremely difficult, if not impossible. Officials may be forced to close stretches of interstates 25, 70, 80, 76 and 90.

That is true even though the Front Range is in the midst of a mild stretch of weather, which has helped warm road surfaces, and the strength of the April sun. The snow will come down hard enough to overcome both obstacles.

Parents should prepare for school closures, while airline passengers will likely face cancellations and/or lengthy delays.

Cities in the path of the blizzard include Denver, Fort Collins and Sterling, Colo., Casper, Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyo., Scottsbluff and Chadron, Neb., and Rapid City, S.D.

Snowfall totals in and around these cities will approach or top a foot.

The blizzard is in the works despite the warm weekend that has unfolded across the Front Range. For many, the warmth will persist through Monday with temperatures set to soar back into the 60s across most of northeastern Colorado and western Nebraska.

This warmth will also help set the stage for another round of severe weather across the central and southern Plains later Monday.

Cold air plunging southward and interacting with the storm moving through the West is all that is needed for the blizzard to take shape.

The cold shot headed to Denver will be so intense that temperatures will plunge from the 60s at sunset Monday to the teens by daybreak Tuesday.

The difference in high temperatures from Monday to Tuesday will range from 20 to 40 degrees in Denver and elsewhere where the blizzard will howl.

A similar drop in temperatures will occur in Pueblo and Trinidad, Colo., despite these cities escaping the burying snow.

Before the blizzard unfolds in Denver, Cheyenne and Rapid City Monday night, accumulating snow will first push through Montana and North Dakota on Monday.

Then after the blizzard winds down Tuesday night, AccuWeather.com meteorologists will be monitoring the potential for the snow to shift eastward across the Upper Midwest.

The impending blizzard is not entirely bad news for the Front Range. Runoff from the snow, which will quickly melt once milder air arrives later in the week, will bring needed moisture to the region's parched soil.

Much of the Front Range is currently suffering from an extreme to exceptional drought, according to the latest report from the United States Drought Monitor. - AccuWeather.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Moderate 4.9 To 5.0 Earthquake Rattles Caribbean Region - Felt In Jamaica, Trinidad And Grenada!

February 11, 2013 - CARIBBEAN - Reports are that an earth tremor shook sections of western Jamaica early Sunday morning.

USGS earthquake map and location.

The tremor was felt in Westmoreland at 6:10am and lasted for approximately three seconds. There were also reports of it being felt in other sections of the island. There were no reports of damage related to the tremor. Meanwhile, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 and depth of 110 km was confirmed in Trinidad early Sunday morning. The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI) said the quake occurred at 1:27 (local time). The quake occurred north of the Paria Peninsula in Trinidad. It’s reported that the tremor was also felt in Grenada. - Jamaica Observer.

The location of Sunday’s earthquake. UWI graphic.

On Sunday at 1:27am local time an earthquake occurred north of the Paria Peninsula, Trinidad, with an epicentre 89 kilometres (51 miles) northwest of Port of Spain.  According to preliminary reports from the Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies in St Augustine, Trinidad, the magnitude of the quake was 4.9 and the depth 110km.  Corresponding data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) indicated a magnitude of 5.0 and a depth of 94 kilometres.  There were reports of minor shaking in St George’s, St David’s and St Andrew in Grenada, and Glencoe, Trinidad.  No damage or injuries were reported. - CNN.

USGS Historic Seismicity of the Jamaica Region.

A magnitude-5 earthquake has rattled Trinidad & Tobago during its popular Carnival celebrations, but no damage or injuries have been reported.  The quake struck shortly after midnight some 55 miles (89 kilometres) from the twin-island nation's capital of Port-of-Spain. It also shook Grenada and parts of Venezuela's Caribbean coast.  The U.S. Geological Survey says the offshore quake's epicenter was 94 kilometres (58 miles) beneath the earth's surface.  In Port-of-Spain, some jittery people lingered outdoors after the ground rattled buildings and hotels. Police say they received numerous calls from residents about the quake.  The quake rattled the Caribbean country as tourists and local revelers have filled the capital for Trinidad's hip-shaking Carnival, the biggest and most lavish of all Caribbean celebrations. - Vancouver Sun.

Massive Earthquake Coming to Jamaica - on the Same Scale as the One That Sank a Section of Port Royal More Than 300 Years Ago!

Jamaica is due to experience an earthquake on the same scale as one that sank a section of Port Royal more than 300 years ago, according to the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies. "The past is a key to the future, so what has happened before will happen again," Dr Lyndon Brown, research fellow and head of the Earthquake Unit, told The Gleaner yesterday. Brown said that although he was certain the island would be hit by another major earthquake, he could not give an accurate time frame for his prediction. "There have been some calculations about 144 years after the 1904, some about 84 (years), but it's really not accurate," he told The Gleaner. "We believe these are cycles but we don't know the recurrent intervals. Some calculations have been done based on the history of earthquakes, we don't know what has happened before, we have not done enough research to understand the history of earthquakes prior to this. So any calculations that have been done or any recurrent interval that is calculated is just based on a short history, so it's really not accurate."

Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Superintendent in charge of operations of the Kingston and St Andrew Fire Department, Maxwell Hinds, says his division is not prepared to manage anything of the magnitude that hit the island in 1692, claiming the lives of more than 3,000 people. "The Kingston and St Andrew division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade is, I would say, equipped to respond to fires and some search and rescues, but in a major disaster, we would have problems," Hinds said. Speaking with The Gleaner at the National Simulation and Training Exercise Programme (NSTEP), Hinds said: "If it becomes a mass situation, we might have to seek multi-agency assistance but if it's just confined to a section, we might be able to manage and we would get resources from neighbouring parishes, so it all depends on the extent of the situation." NSTEP was established by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and yesterday held its National Simulation Exercise, on the challenges that would affect the education sector in the aftermath of a major earthquake, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. - Jamaica Gleaner.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Weird Underwater Waves In The Caribbean Spotted From Space - Heights Of Up To 300 Feet, Width Spans Hundreds Of Miles?!

February 05, 2013 - CARIBBEAN - In the ocean, there are more waves than meet the eye.

Below the whitecaps breaking on the sea surface, so-called internal waves ripple through the water. These waves can travel long distances, but rarely does evidence of their existence surface - unless you're looking down from space, that is.

This photograph, taken on Jan. 18 by a crewmember on the International Space Station, shows internal
waves north of the Caribbean island of Trinidad. © NASA Earth Observatory.

This photograph, taken on Jan. 18 by a crewmember on the International Space Station, shows internal waves north of the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as featured by NASA's Earth Observatory. From space, the appearance of the waves is enhanced due to reflected sunlight, or sunglint, aimed back at the space station, making the waves visible to an astronaut's camera.

The most prominent waves can be seen in the upper left of the photograph, moving in from the northwest due to tidal flow toward Trinidad, according to the Earth Observatory. Another set can be seen moving in from the northeast, likely created at the edge of the continental shelf, where the seafloor abruptly drops off, the site reported.

Internal waves are seen throughout Earth's oceans and atmosphere, according to MIT's Experimental and Nonlinear Dynamics Lab. They are created by differences in density of water layers (from changes in temperature or salt content, for example) when that water moves over a feature such as an underwater mountain or a continental shelf.

The waves are huge, with heights up to 100 meters (about 330 feet) and widths that span hundreds of miles, according to a 2010 MIT press release on a new method for studying the waves.

A plume of milky sediment can also be seen moving to the northwest in the photograph. The sediment is carried by the equatorial current, which flows from east to west, starting in Africa, and is driven toward the Caribbean by strong easterly winds, according to the website. - OAP.

PLANETARY TREMORS: The San Andreas Disaster Precursor - 5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Northern California!

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck northern California on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 21:07:02 UTC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The quake was locates at 41.153°N, 123.817°W with a depth of 32.9 km (20.4 miles).

The tremor was centered between Crescent City and Eureka and near the coast, according to the USGS, with an epicentre of 10 km (6 miles) southwest (247°) from Weitchpec; 28 km (17 miles) northeast (63°) from Westhaven-Moonstone; 29 km (18 miles) northeast (70°) from Trinidad; 50 km (31 miles) northeast (36°) from Eureka; and 352 km (218 miles) NW (326°) from Sacramento.

This is the third earthquake to strike the region since this morning, following a 4.3 magnitude at 04:47:12 UTC and a 2.6 at 04:55:25 UTC.

According to NOAA's National Weather Service, no tsunami watch, warning or advisory is in effect.

On January 9, 2010, a 6.5 earthquake 25 miles southwest of Eureka ‘snapped power lines’. The last major earthquake, a magnitude 7.2 on April 25, 1992, which triggered a small tsunami. Eureka is located near the Mendocino Triple Junction Region, “one of the most seismically active regions of the San Andreas transform system”.

GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: Landslides Hit Northern Trinidad!

Over 13 early-morning landslides cut off parts of the Paria Main Road from Sans Souci to Grande Riviere, in north east Trinidad after heavier-than-usual rainfall over the weekend.

Lines of Toco-bound beach enthusiasts and weekend limers were forced to turn their vehicles around after several landslips of rocks, trees and other natural debris left the road impassible. One of the landslides claimed the life of Sans Souci resident Joseph Hagley. Works and Infrastructure Minister Jack Warner, who was called out of church just before 6 a.m., was on the scene with trucks and heavy equipment from his Ministry trying to clear the muddied road. Warner, who has been busy dealing with natural disasters along the East-West Corridor, Diego Martin, Maraval and surrounding areas, in the past few weeks, said the “mountains were angry”. “Look around, what are you seeing? People are cutting the hills for planting here in the country and cutting the hill for development in the city. These mountains are angry,” Warner said as he walked through the devastated areas and paused to talk to the family of the landslide victim. “The mountains have been denuded in several places and wherever that has happened you can actually see the landslips taking place,” he said. “This cannot continue. As it is now we have to reforest the mountains. We also have to clear the water courses and would have to ‘bench’ the mountains as well,” he said.

“Whether is Maraval, whether it’s Alyce Glen whether it’s here in Toco, the mountains are saying enough is enough. We cannot fight against nature all the time. We could have the best will in the world, build as many retaining walls as we want at the end of the day we have to keep the mountains,” he said. “But this too is an area that has been neglected and I am not assigning blame but this area has been neglected over the years and we are paying the price for that. The area has not been given the attention it deserves and we are reaping that right now,” he said. Warner said the financial losses of devastation were hard to calculate at this time. “But based on my experience in the Ministry of Works, TT$20 million would be a conservative figure,” he said. Warner also delivered a message of sympathy to the Hagley family from Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. While Warner said the Government would pay the cost of funeral expenses, he also gave the family his personal contact number and told the widow to call him if she needed help.

Other homeowners were also affected, but while their homes remained intact, piles of sludge and mud were packed up against the back of several homes and others were inundated with the muddy mess as well. Martin Terry Rondon, councillor for the area, said 10 power-saw crews and three backhoe crews were working on clearing the trees and other debris from the affected areas. An official at the Meteorological Office in Piarco said between Friday and yesterday there was more than two inches of rain. He said while the natural conditions that created the weather patterns were normal, the amount of rainfall was unusually high and caused the soil to become too saturated. The weather also affected parts of Tobago as a landslide cut off parts of the Charlotteville link road, but Allan Stewart, director of the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), said cadets and protective services were out already clearing the blockage. He said there was no severe damage to residential areas. - Stabroek News.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: Piparo Mud Volcano in Trinidad Awakens After 14 Years!

Residents of Piparo are living on the edge as the mud volcano that ravaged the village 14 years ago, has begun to threaten their community again.

Residents are subjected to sleepless nights as they are haunted with memories of February 22, 1997, when steaming mud crushed houses and swept away cars, livestock and all else in its path. When the Sunday Guardian visited the site off Old Piparo Road yesterday, two new mounds had surfaced, spewing mud several feet into the air at five minute intervals. At the scene was Shammarine Kissoondath, 56, who lives nearby. He said he came to see what was happening as he had been kept awake by strange sounds issuing from the volcano.

He said: “It sounded like gunshots and this morning when I awoke it was still making noise. This is the same sound it made before it erupted in 1997. It is possible that we can have a repeat and maybe this time it could be worse.” He said it only took ten minutes on that fateful day for the massive amount of mud spewing from the volcano to wreak havoc. Boyie Suratt, who lives about 300 feet from the volcano said he, too, has been sleeping restlessly since Thursday. Suratt’s home is nearest the volcano and he said while he does not believe that it will erupt any time soon, no one can predict when and how severe another eruption might be.

“I was home in my gallery around 3 am on Thursday and I heard this sound like people bursting bamboo. We usually get a little noise now and then, especially when it rains because gas is trying to escape. But now the noise has been coming frequently like it have plenty gas down there.” He explained that the rain softens the mud which causes minor explosions. However, he admits that over the past few days the noise levels had increased significantly occurring at an alarming rate. He, too, recalled the drama that unfolded in 1997, saying that a wave of mud several feet high was crumbling any house in its path. Suratt said his home was saved as another house that crumbled was able to forge a barrier in front of his. He said on February 22, 1997, he awoke to mud spewing some 200 feet into the air. - Trinidad Guardian.

PLANETARY TREMORS: 6.6 Quake Rattles Beni Region in Bolivia!

A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rattled Bolivia Tuesday and was also felt in Peru and Chile, but the epicenter was deep underground and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The US Geographical Survey said the quake’s epicenter was 345 miles (556 kilometers) underground and located 37 miles south-southwest of Trinidad, the capital of Bolivia’s northern Beni region. The USGS initially gave the quake a 6.7 magnitude but later revised its reading down to 6.2 before raising it again later to 6.6. The quake, which occurred at the beginning of the afternoon in Bolivia, was felt in major cities, including the capital La Paz in the west, Santa Cruz in the east, and Cochabamba in the center of the Andean nation, local media said.

Officials in neighboring Chile and Peru said the quake was also felt there, but again there were no reports of any significant consequences. The strongest earthquake to strike Bolivia in modern times was an 8.2-magnitude temblor in 1994 that claimed five lives, according to the USGS, which monitors quakes worldwide and aggregates historical information. - Vancouver Sun.