FUK-U-SHIMA: "Mass Death" Of Species Found Around Fukushima Nuclear Plant - Government Officials Say "They Seem To Have DISAPPEARED,... Little Or No REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS,... It Is Evident Biota Around The Power Plant Has Been Affected Since The Nuclear Accident"!

Image: NHK

February 13, 2016 - JAPAN - The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) revealed that the total number of sessile species, such as barnacles and snails, has been decreasing significantly along the coast within 10 kilometers south of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant… [T]here is the possibility that the mass death of sessile species was influenced by radioactive materials released into the sea… - Yomiuri Shimbun.


NIES has conducted field surveys in the intertidal zones of eastern Japan to investigate the ecological effects of the serious accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant… The number of intertidal species decreased significantly with decreasing distance from the power plant… no rock shell (Thais clavigera) specimens were collected near the plant, from Hirono to Futaba Beach (a distance of approximately 30 km) in 2012. The collection of rock shell specimens at many other sites hit by the tsunami suggests that the absence of rock shells around the plant in 2012 might have been caused by the nuclear accident in 2011.  Quantitative surveys in 2013 showed that the number of species and population densities in the intertidal zones were much lower at sites near, or within several kilometers south of, the plant than at other sites… especially in the case of Arthropoda (e.g., barnacles). There is no clear explanation for these findings, but it is evident that the intertidal biota around the power plant has been affected since the nuclear accident… - National Institute for Environmental Studies.


Surveys in 2012… The number of intertidal species decreased significantly with decreasing distance from the power plant… The three animal species… 1 km south of FDNPP, were a barnacle… and two herbivorous snails… The sizes… were very small [and] densities were very low… No rock shell (Thais clavigera) specimens were found at 8 of the 10 sites in Fukushima Prefecture within a radius of 20 km of FDNPP… the area without rock shells extended… approximately 30 km… Surveys in 2013…

Population densities of sessile organisms at Tomioka fishing port and Okuma were less than one-tenth to about one-fourth those at other sites… The total wet-weights in each intertidal zone at Okuma were much lower than those at other sites… it is unlikely that the absence of rock shells around FDNPP was caused only by the tsunami. The absence of rock shells at sites close to FDNPP… suggests that reproduction and recruitment did not occur there, or were less successful… [I]t is still unknown why adult rock shells living there disappeared or why rock shells had little or no reproductive success there… [I]t is also notable that barnacles seem to have disappeared from Kuboyaji, north of FDNPP… - Study funded by the Government of Japan.


See also: UPI: 'Shellfish gone near damaged nuke plant' -- Researcher: Likely extinct because of Fukushima nuclear crisis

- ENE News.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: "MyShake" - Scientists Create Crowdsourced EARTHQUAKE DETECTOR APP For Homes!

'MyShake' App Turns Your Smartphone into Earthquake Detector http://oak.ctx.ly/r/4akgh 
Twitter: Live Science

February 13, 2016 - TECHNOLOGY & DISASTERS - Early warning systems for earthquakes can reduce harm to people and infrastructure, but the costs tend to be prohibitive. To get around that, scientists have created a new app to predict tremors by crowdsourcing phones as background quake detectors.

The free “MyShake” Android app works by scanning a smartphone’s accelerometer data in real time and forwarding any rumblings that fit the profile of seismic activity. If the algorithm decides that the shake is from an earthquake, it immediately sends basic information – such as the time and amplitude of the shaking, and the phone’s position as measured by GPS – to the University of California, Berkeley, where the program was created.

© UC Berkeley / YouTube

Scientists say that if at least four phones detect shaking, and this represents more than 60 percent of all phones within a 6-mile (10-kilometer) radius of the epicenter, the program confirms an earthquake.

Based on the data, scientists can automatically alert other phones within the earthquake’s impending path in less than a second, notifying people of the magnitude of the quake. That is enough time to jump under a desk, or slip out to somewhere marginally safer.

The alert-feature is not on the app at the moment, but will be added later as an upgrade. Scientists need enough people to download and use the app before they can work out all the kinks. There are an estimated 16 million smartphones in California and 1 billion devices worldwide.

With "MyShake" app, your phone feels earthquakes and automatically warns scientists https://t.co/jZq1rmIqsp pic.twitter.com/XpqvUvtTUb

— Popular Mechanics (@PopMech) February 12, 2016

“MyShake cannot replace traditional seismic networks like those run by the US Geological Survey, UC Berkeley, the University of Washington and Caltech, but we think MyShake can make earthquake early warning faster and more accurate in areas that have a traditional seismic network, and can provide life-saving early warning in countries that have no seismic network,” Richard Allen, the leader of the app project and director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, told Berkley News.


WATCH: ShakeAlert - An earthquake warning from your cellphone.

Scientists think that a crowdsourced seismic network may be the only option for earthquake-prone countries such as Nepal or Peru, which have limited ground-based networks or early warning systems, but do have millions of cell phone users.

“In my opinion, this is cutting-edge research that will transform seismology,” said UC Berkeley grad student Qingkai Kong, who developed the algorithm for the app.

Scientists created the app using the three built-in accelerometers already on smartphones, which are designed to sense the orientation of the phone for display or gaming.

“Currently, we have a network of 400 seismic stations in California, one of the densest in the world,” Allen said. “Even if we get only a small fraction of the state’s program, that would be a many-orders of magnitude increase in the amount of data we can gather.”

The Verge reported that this is not the first project to use smartphone accelerometers to measure earthquakes. The US Geological Survey began monitoring earthquakes in 2009 with citizen-deployed accelerometers in the Quake Catcher Network. An Italian Earthquake Network app has also been used to track quakes in Chile, Peru, and Nepal.

 

6.6-magnitude #quake hits off southern Pacific coast of Mexico – USGS https://t.co/ElkI6EVHzQ pic.twitter.com/8tJjOZyq20 #earthquake

— RT America (@RT_America) December 18, 2015

Allen said the app could transform how buildings are engineered for earthquake safety.

“We’ll have 3D measurements of how a building is shaking in an earthquake, allowing engineers to understand and design better buildings in the future,” says Allen.

 

Nearly half of US population live at risk of damaging earthquake - report http://t.co/kjVEnNiOl0 pic.twitter.com/oGs5HGPEjm

— RT America (@RT_America) August 12, 2015

An iPhone app is also planned.

The study, titled “Crowdsourced earthquake early warning,” was published on Friday in Science Advances. - RT.

INFRASTRUCTURE COLLAPSE: The Effects Of Magnetic Polar Migration - The Latest Incidents Of Plane Crashes Across The Globe! [PHOTOS]

Though the plane came to rest upside down, the pilot and sole occupant was uninjured in a plane crash near the Parker County Airport around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

February 13, 2016 - EARTH - Here are the latest incidents of plane crashes across the planet.

Pilot uninjured in plane crash in Parker County, Texas

A pilot whose plane left the runway and overturned shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday at the Parker County Airport was reported uninjured in the crash. 

Emergency crews work at the scene of a small plane crash in Parker County.

The pilot was attempting to land a Cessna 182 Skylane II, traveling from south to north, when the airplane skidded off the north end of the runway and overturned on the grassy hill south of the Interstate 20 frontage road, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Ricky Hunter said.

The small aircraft came to rest upside down.

DPS did not release the name of the pilot though he was identified as a 66-year-old Weatherford man.

The Cessna was registered to William Sunkel of Weatherford, according to FAA records.

The pilot was the sole occupant of the four-seat aircraft, Hunter said.

The frontage road was shut down and traffic diverted as DPS, firefighters and police worked the crash.

A trooper told the Democrat that fuel was leaking from the plane.  - WFD.

2 Alvin residents killed in plane crash near Destin, Florida

PHOTO : Crews searching for debris from a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico near #PompanoJoes in #Destin
Twitter: Nick Tomecek

A man and woman from Alvin were killed Thursday night when their small plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said Friday that 67-year-old pilot James Shumbert and 60-year-old Sheryl Roe died when the Piper Archer aircraft crashed while approaching the Destin airport.

A jogger saw the plane go into the water and called 911.

Search crews recovered their bodies from the water hours later.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash. - KHOU.

Small plane crashes in California killing sheriff's deputy, pilot

Photo shows Deputy Scott Ballantyne, left, and pilot James Chavez
in front of the Tulare County Sheriff's Office plane.
(Tulare County Sheriff's Office)

A sheriff’s deputy and a civilian pilot assisting in the arrest of a California man were killed when their small plane crashed Wednesday.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux confirmed Deputy Scott Ballantyne and pilot James Chavez when the single-engine, two-seater plane crashed and burst into flames after hitting the side of a mountain near Springville.

The Tulare County aircraft was leaving an area near Springville after assisting deputies in the arrest of a suspect who had brandished a weapon when the plane crashed, Boudreaux said.

A distress call was not sent out and the parachutes the plane was outfitted with didn't deploy, he said, adding that it was too early to know what caused the plane crash.

"I can say this happened very, very quickly," Boudreaux said.

The FAA investigators will inspect the crash site Thursday and assist local authorities with the probe, he said.

The plane crashed near Eagle Feather Trading Post and Highway 190, which was closed for several hours, and several witnesses called authorities to report smoke billowing from a hillside.

Shawn Winter, a Springville resident, told the Fresno Bee he saw black smoke as he was driving down the hill to pick up his daughter from school.

“I saw the black color of smoke. There was a bid gold ball of flames,” said Winter. - FOX News.

Small Plane Crashes, Catches Fire At Long Island Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a small plane crash on Long Island.

A Cessna C152 caught fire after crashing at Brookhaven Airport in Shirley just before 10:30 a.m. Friday, the FAA said in a statement.

Two people were on board. Their conditions are not known.

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The aircraft had taken from from Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip.

The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause for the accident, the FAA said. - CBS.

Sheriff's plane crashes during search for missing Brewton teen near Alco Park, Alabama

Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith, Brooke Lee Bridges
(Alabama Sheriffs Association, Brewton Police Department)

Escambia Sheriff Grover Smith escaped injury when the department's plane went down near Alco Park on Friday.

The flight was part of the ongoing search for 16-year-old Brooke Lee Bridges, who has been missing since Monday.

The search has grown over the week to include multiple jurisdictions, the FBI and Alabama state authorities.

The sheriff's office confirmed the crash but could not provide details other than to say Smith was uninjured.

The plane hit near a home on North Forest Hill Road.

The sheriff's office is expected to release more information next week. - AL.

Two people hospitalized after Sturgis plane crash in South Dakota

Two people were sent to the hospital after a small plane crash in Sturgis early Friday afternoon.

Sturgis Police say the plane was approaching Sturgis Municipal Airport when the pilot lost control and crashed.

It landed northwest of the airport in an open field. Both people on board, a pilot and a passenger, were taken to the hospital. Police say they appeared to be in fair condition.

The pilot is described as "seasoned."

The thick fog caused poor visibility in the area, and an investigation is underway into the cause of the crash.

Officials from the FAA, Meade County Sheriff's Office, and the Sturgis Police Department all responded to the scene. - NC1.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Escalation In Mosquito-Borne Diseases Continue - Hawaii's Governor David Ige Declares STATE OF EMERGENCY To Fight Zika Virus And Dengue Fever Outbreak!

© Jim Gathany / Reuters

February 13, 2016 - HAWAII - Hawaii has declared a state of emergency in a move to fight and prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever and the Zika virus, which the state’s governor called a threat to public health and welfare.

“We are doing everything we can to be prepared, to be proactive, to prevent vector-borne diseases here in Hawaii,” Gov. David Ige said in a proclamation he signed Friday.

So far, Hawaii has not seen cases of the Zika virus transmission, but it is on standby following a decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to put emergency centers on a Level 1 alert last week.

But there is an ongoing outbreak of dengue fever at Big Island, where there were more than 250 confirmed cases. One of the major concerns now is that mosquitoes that can carry dengue fever also can carry the Zika virus, which potentially puts the island at risk.

There are also flights between American Samoa, one of the Pacific islands affected by a Zika outbreak, and Hawaii.

Tourists and locals watch the sunset from White Sands Beach Park in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, January 31, 2016. © Canice Leung / Reuters

“Hawaii Emergency Management Agency will be working with all the county mayors and the county civil defense coordinators to ensure that statewide we are ahead of the game and proactive in responding to vector-borne diseases,” the governor said.

The emergency proclamation means that Hawaii will have access to the Major Disaster Fund, granting it an option to acquire more funds to control outbreaks and waive certain laws and regulations if necessary.

"One of the things that this emergency declaration from the governor will allow us to do is that we can in fact enforce that we will come and take care of mosquitoes on a property that someone is refusing, because it is a public health emergency,” Virginia Pressler, director of the Department of Health said, AP reported.

In particular the authorities would be able to use insecticides on private property, regardless of an owner’s objection.

According to Pressler, understaffed due to financial problems, the state’s health regulator is now searching to hire more medical workers and scientists with the newly released funds from the governor.

Gov. Ige has said the state will begin to survey the community to verify the particular mosquito species and determine their locations. Then it will work out and implement plans for their “management, eradication and treatment,” he said. - Hawaii.