Tungurahua volcano awakens

     Three local towns have been evacuated due to the awakening of the Tungurahua volcano last night. The National Secretary of Risk Management declared an orange alert today following the the explosions last night. The increased activity provoked a giant as cloud reaching eight kilometers in height.
      The recent eruptions have provoked a declared state of emergency in Ecuador. The Institute of Geophysics at Ecuador's Polytechnic School, which controls the volcano's activity, recorded increased activity from April 20, with ash and pyroclastic material blasting from the cone. So far, there have been six moderate-great explosions.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13204095

Northern NY hit by severe flooding

     Dozens of roads are closed in northern New York after severe storms dumped more than 2.9 inches of rain, causing extensive flooding and washing out at least one bridge. Local media report that heavy rain late Tuesday and early Wednesday caused flooding that has closed nearly 60 roads across the Adirondacks. The storm caused earlier damage to homes, barns and other structures in other neighborhoods in and around Syracuse.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/syracuse_park_loses_footbridge.html

Missouri's Black River levee Fails

    Record or near-record flooding is expected along stretched of the Ohio and Mississippi River in the coming days as the central and south-central US struggles to cope with the peak of the 2011 flood season. Poplar Bluff, Mo., which has received some 15 inches of rain over the past four days, levees protecting the town from floods on the Black Rive have been breached or overrtopped in several places, forcing the evautation of some 1,000 people.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0426/Missouri-s-Black-River-levee-fails.-Where-floodwaters-could-hit-next

Columbia Hit by La Nina

    Months of heavy rains, flooding and mudlsides have caused "the worst natural disaster that we can remember," Columbia's president said Monday night. Three million Columbians have been badly affected by heavy rains since the middle of last year. More than 400 people have been killed by the recent bout of rains, flooding and mudslides. 88 have died in 2011 alone.  
     The adverse weather conditions, known as La Nina, have been classified as the strongest in history. La Nina is associated with colder-than-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, in contrast to El Nino, which refers to unusually warmer waters.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42760219/ns/world_news-americas/

Earthquake Jolts Kashmir

    A moderate 5.0 earthquake shook the Indian-controlled Kashmir and its adjoining areas Monday morning, forcing people to run out of their homes. The earthquake's epicenter was located in Pakistan. The earthquake was felt throughout Kashmir, but no damage has been reported. Geologists say Indian-controlled Kkashmir is located in a zone of high seismic activity.
     A high intensity 7.4 earthquake shook the Kashmir region on October 8, 2005, causing large scale destruction and killing over 80,000 people.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7361760.html

Quake Near the Pacific Ring of Fire

     A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands on Saturday afternoon. There were no reported damages or causalities as a result of the earthquake, but the USGS estimated that some 4,000 people near the epicenter may have felt very strong shaking that may result in moderate damage to infrastructure. Experts said there was no danger of a large tsunami as a result of the tremor.
     The Solomon Islands are on the so-called "pacific Ring of Fire." An arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

http://solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=6075

April 26 Marks the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident

   A bell tolled 25 times for the number of years that have passed since the Chernobyl disaster as teh world began marking the anniversary Tuesday of the worst nuclear accident in history. Tuesday's service began at 1:23 a.m., the time of the blast on April 26, 1986, that spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the most heavily hit areas in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia.
    The explosion released about 400 times more radiation than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Hundreds of thousands were sickened and once-pristine forests and farmland still remain contaminated. The affects of Chernobyl can still be seen. Children from Chernobyl are unable to have children and many children born to affected people from the accident had mental and physical disabilities. The affects will carry on for many decades.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42750477/ns/world_news-europe/

Paducah Preparing for Catastrophic Flooding

    Experts at the National Weather Service say people in portions of the Local 6 area need to prepare for "catastrophic" flooding. Flash flooding will continue to impact even those who do not live in the normally flood prone areas. The high rainfall totals have set the stage for potentially catastrophic flooding considering the given forecast for more thunderstorms until Wednesday.
     All the rain could possibly be record breaking for Ohio River flood levels. The lower Ohio River will crest above the 1997 levels and current forecast crests will near or in some cases exceed the flood of record. People in Livingston County living near the Ohio River have been asked to evacuate their home by 10 a.m., Wednesday.

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Prepare-for-catastrophic-flooding-120582579.html

Tornado Swarm Kills More than 40 People

   Severe weather resulting in tornadoes swept the South killing more than 40 people over a three day period. More than 240 tornado reports flowed in between Thursday and Sunday. Several reports indicated EF-3
damage. North Carolina was hit the hardest. Other areas hit included Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.
    A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Tornado season runs from March to early July. An average of 70 people are killed every year by tornadoes.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/135358/20110418/tornado-weather-storm-north-carolina-oklahoma-alabama-mississippi-arkansas.htm

Yellowstone Supervolcaon fed by Bigger Plume

   The underground volcanic plume at Yellowstone in the U.S. may be bigger than previously thought, according to a study by geologists. Researchers used seismic waves from earthquakes to build up an image of the hot spot beneath Yellowstone.
   The volcanic hot spot below Yellowstone feeds the hot springs, mud pots and geysers that bring millions of visitors to the U.S. national park each year. But the Yellowstone "super volcano" has erupted violently in the distant past and could do so again at some point. AN article will be published in Geophysical Research Letters journal later this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13061779

6.7 Earthquake hits off Indonesia's Main Island

   A brief tsunami warning has been issued after a strong earthquake hit off of Indonesia's main island. The epicenter was centered about 200 miles off southern Java, just 15 miles beneath the ocean floor. Just after 90 minutes after the quake, the tsunami threat had passed and people, whom gathered in mosques on high ground, were told to return home.
   Indonesia is prone to seismic upheavel due to its location on the so-called, "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. A slightly smaller quake shook Fiji just hours later.

http://www.newser.com/story/115524/indonesia-earthquake-triggers-tsunami-warning.html

Japan Hit with 7.1 Tremor

    The 7.1 magnitude tremor triggered a brief tsunami warning and forced workers to evacuate the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The quake came as Japan said it was extending the evacuation zone around the nuclear plant because of radiation concerns.
    The plant's operator, Tepco, said power used to pump water to cool three damaged reactors had been cut briefly, but early indications suggested the plant had not sustained any further damage.
     The official death toll from the disaster is 13,130, while 13,718 remain unaccounted for. More than 150,000 people have been made homeless and many have lost their jobs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13032122