Category Archives: Earth Stuff

News of Earth Changes, climate shifts, weather anomalies, volcanoes, etc

Get GMO’s Labeled

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Good News! Monsanto’s PR Machine Is Failing Miserably

by Dr. Mercola

Story at-a-glance

  • Mainstream press is finally starting to question the logic behind, and safety of, GE foods and genetically modified organisms (GMOs)—from crops with built-in pesticides, to salmon designed to grow abnormally large and fast
  • Some mainstream reporters have come down hard on Monsanto and their biotech allies in recent weeks, most of them highlighting the growing pest and weed resistance these crops have produced
  • A recent report illustrates the dramatic increase of pesticide use as resistance began taking hold in early 2000’s. Use of the herbicide 2,4-D (the active ingredient in Agent Orange) has also more than doubled since 2002
  • In the past few weeks, Connecticut and Maine have passed GMO-labeling bills, and 20 other states have pending legislation to label genetically engineered foods
  • In November, Washington State will vote on GMO labeling. If the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) raises $150,000 by July 27, I will match the donation

Let’s Get GMO’s Labeled!

Even though Prop 37 in California last November just missed passing, it generated enormous amounts of exposure on this issue, far more than what was spent on the campaign. That exposure will be the catalyst to our eventual victory.

In the past few weeks, Connecticut and Maine have passed GMO-labeling bills, and 20 other states have pending legislation to label genetically engineered foods. So, now is the time to put the pedal to the metal and get labeling across the country—something 64 other countries already have.

I hope you will join us in this effort. In November, Washington State will vote on GMO labeling. Please help us win this key GMO labeling battle and continue to build momentum for GMO labeling in other states by making a donation to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA).

to read the rest of the article and take action to get GMO’s Labeled, go to:   http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/23/press-questions-gmo-safety.aspx?e_cid=20130723_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130723

June Weather Data

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From Dr. Jeff Masters of  Wunderground:

June 2013 was the 15th warmest June in the contiguous U.S. since record keeping began in 1895, said NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in their latest State of the Climate report. Six Southwest U.S. states had a top-ten warmest June on record, and no states recorded a significantly below-average June for temperatures. Over three times as many record warm highs and lows occurred than record cold highs and lows during June. For the year-to-date period January – June, both temperature and precipitation over the contiguous U.S. have been above normal, ranking in the upper 33% and 23% of years, respectively.

According to NOAA’s U.S. Climate Extremes Index (CEI), which tracks the percentage area of the contiguous U.S. experiencing top-10% and bottom-10% extremes in temperature, precipitation, and drought, June extremes were about 10% below average, and the year-to-date period January – June 2013 has been 20% below average.


Figure 1. Historical temperature ranking for the U.S. for June 2013. Six Southwest U.S. states had a top-ten warmest June on record, and no states recorded a significantly below-average June for temperatures. Image credit: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).

Wet June on the East Coast raises hurricane flood risk
It was a very June for the contiguous U.S., ranking as the 13th wettest June since 1895. New Jersey and Delaware had their wettest June on record, and sixteen other eastern states had a top-ten wettest June. The very wet June has brought some of the highest soil moisture levels ever recorded for July along much of the coast from Florida to Maine, increasing the chances of extreme flooding should this region receive a hit from a tropical storm or hurricane during the coming peak months of hurricane season. The latest 2-week forecast from the GFS model keeps the East Coast under a wetter-than-average weather pattern into early August, and the latest 1-month and 3-month precipitation outlooks from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center also give above-average chances of wetter than average conditions. Lake Okeechobee in Florida is 1.4′ above average for this time of year, and 5′ higher than two years ago. While this still puts the lake 1.2′ below what is considered high water, Lake Okeechobee water levels will need to be watched as we head into the peak part of hurricane season.


Figure 2. Historical precipitation ranking for the U.S. for June 2013. New Jersey and Delaware had their wettest June on record, and sixteen other eastern states had a top-ten wettest June on record. Utah had its driest June on record, and Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming had a top-ten driest June. Image credit: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).


Figure 3. Soil moisture for July 14, 2013, expressed as percent average of the soil moisture observed between 1916 – 2004. Portions of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire are near their highest soil moisture levels on record for this time of year, increasing the odds of extreme flooding in those states should a tropical storm or hurricane hit this year. Image credit: University of Washington Variable Infiltration Capacity Macro-scale Hydrological Model, which includes soil moisture, snow water equivalent, and runoff.

Drought conditions remained relatively unchanged during June. According to the July 9 Drought Monitor report, about 45% of the contiguous U.S. is still in moderate or greater drought, compared to 44% at the beginning of June. The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook issued on June 21 calls for little overall change in the U.S. area covered by drought conditions during the remainder of summer. Approximately 1.2 million acres of land burned in the U.S. during June, which is above average. However, the year-to-date total acreage burned is the second lowest in the past ten years.

Quiet in the Atlantic
There are no tropical cyclone threat areas in the Atlantic to discuss today, and none of the reliable models for tropical cyclone formation is predicting development during the coming seven days.

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

Southern Peru Earthquake 7/17

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Sabancaya volcano area earthquake, Southern Peru – at least 3 injured and 20 collapsed houses

Last update: July 17, 2013 at 10:26 am by By

Screen Shot 2013-07-17 at 06.15.04

Update 04:09 UTC : USGS has even increased the Magnitude from 5.9 to 6 now. USGS is further expecting a MMI VII or very strong shaking directly near the volcano. Such a shaking will be very damaging and serious injuries and even fatalities cannot be excluded.

Screen Shot 2013-07-17 at 06.06.53

Update 04:03 UTC : A strange situation as IGP Peru is not confirming the M6.0 (all 3 international agencies are reporting M5.9 !), but is reporting a Ml5.1 at a depth of 15 km. This means NO direct eruption related earthquake (15 km is too deep) but one of the similar earthquakes on the volcano so far.
A big eruption of the volcano would have certainly be heard in Arequipa, a big Peruvian city. The earthquake was however well felt in Arequipa.

Update 03:51 UTC : The earthquake was not even felt in Arequipa as we expected but we ara  still worried about the people close to the volcano. We will certainly get more information when daylight arrives.
Local press thinks to now that the earlier, weaker, earthquakes today were not related to the volcano, but confirm that the M 5.9 was one very close to the volcano. The 5 earlier today were close to Arequipa.

Update 03:48 UTC : Even without the volcano erupting, this earthquake will be damaging for the surrounding villages where weaker earthquakes did inflict damage earlier this year.

Another, this time very strong, earthquake near the Sabancaya volcano in Southern Peru.

Screen Shot 2013-07-17 at 05.46.51

12km (7mi) W of Chivay, Peru
84km (52mi) NNW of Arequipa, Peru
148km (92mi) SW of Ayaviri, Peru
150km (93mi) NE of Camana, Peru
393km (244mi) WNW of La Paz, Bolivia

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-07-16 21:37:45

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-07-17 02:37:45

Update 10:23 UTC : Landslides are blocking various road in the area. People in Cabanaconde are using the Plaza de Armas as a safe retreat. We expect more news the following hours as we are getting in the morning hours in Peru (daylight)

Update 06:52 UTC : The Civil Defense services of the Caylloma province report that 20 houses collapsed, five in Huambo and 15 in Canabaconde. This news is coming out in the middle of the Peruvian night. Only at daylight the full damage impact will be visible.  We expect the damage to further increase the coming hours. Number of injured had increased from 2 to 3.

Update 05:45 UTC : El Commercio Peru reports at last 2 elderly people injured in Cabanaconde (Caylloma province). Currently we know about 15 destroyed houses and a number of collapsed walls.
The report also states that people at  Cabanaconde left their houses for a nearby local school.
We fear that the damage reports will increase further later today.
Ingemmet (Geológico Minero Metalúrgico) indicates that the increased activity in the area may be related to the Sabancaya volcano.

Update 04:45 UTC : Our Volcano specialist Rodger Wilson wrote this yesterday evening UTC : Larger magnitude earthquakes are now occurring within the current earthquake swarm at Sabancaya volcano (Peru) (station SAB). He was definitely right ! This was the seismogram from yesterday.

SAB_BHZ_PE_01.2013071612-a

Update 04:32 UTC : We consider it very good news that somebody from Chivay was able to go on the internet and tell the world that the shaking was really bad. Able to use the internet is at least that he is OK and that telecommunications are still working.

Update 04:15 UTC : We have so far NO direct news from Chivay, Peru a tourist village very close to the volcano. As the hypocenter was very shallow (USGS reports 6.6 km) the main problems might be coming from an area as narrow as 25 km around the volcano.
Based an the recent seismogram from Sabancaya, we think it did NOT erupt. NO continuous tremor can e seen on the seismogram, only the series of earthquakes.

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/07/17/very-strong-earthquake-southern-peru-on-july-17-2013/

Algeria – Damaging Earthquake 7/17

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Dangerous earthquake in Nord d’Algerie – 11 injured

Update 09:57 UTC  : Radio Algérienne is mentioning a report from the Protection Civile (Civil Defense) that 11 people are now recorded as treated for slight injuries. Also slight damage at an number of houses like cracks in the walls.

Update 08:37 UTC  : we are continuously searching for more news but so far only what we have reported below.

Update 06:34 UTC : According to national radio, the earthquake has so far injured seven, four in Algiers and 3 in Blida. The earthquake also caused cracks in several houses, according to the same source added that the inhabitants of Hammam Melouane (epicenter) complain about the lack of emergency services on the site. The radio reported the presence of the army and the gendarmerie in Hammam Melouane.

Update 05:20 UTC : Earthquake-report.com considers this earthquake as an ongoing reports and will add more updates as time is passing by.

Update 05:18 UTC  : CRAAG reported that the epicenter was located at 4 km from Hammam Melouane. Civil Defence groups are currently assessing the situation. So far we have 3 injuries hurt by falling objects and 2 threated for secondary shock reasons. Algeria has always been an active earthquake area as a major fault runs along the coast.

Update 04:38 UTC  : We think that more information will be available in a couple of hours, but we are almost sure that damage will be generated. So far NO news about it.

Update 03:42 UTC  : This is a VERY populated area and houses in Algeria have almost no resistance against earthquakes. Weaker earthquakes have been generating damage a few weeks ago.

Moderate to strong earthquake in Northern Algeria. Epicenter close to Chebli.
This was an early wake up call in Algeria.
Slight damage possible as this is a very populated area.

Screen Shot 2013-07-17 at 05.30.12

3km (2mi) ENE of Bouinan, Algeria
4km (2mi) W of Bougara, Algeria
4km (2mi) SSE of Chebli, Algeria
8km (5mi) SW of Sidi Moussa, Algeria
23km (14mi) S of Algiers, Algeria

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 4.9

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-07-17 04:00:56

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-07-17 03:00:56

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 10 km

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/07/17/moderate-earthquake-northern-algeria-on-july-17-2013/

 

Latest on Volcano Popocatepetl

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New Lava Dome Spotted at Mexico’s Popocatépetl

Shot of a new lava dome seen on July 7, 2013 forming within the main crater at Mexico’s Popocatépetl after a week on continuous strong ash emissions and explosions. Image: CENAPRED.

Programming Note: I’ve now entered summer crunch time. Between lab time and field work with my students over the next month along with my own projects and manuscripts that need to move forward before the start of the next school year, I am going to be busy with a capitol B. I’ve going to try to keep up with posts as events occur, but I can’t guarantee that I can update as quickly and frequently as I normally do, at least not until this stretch is over. Hopefully this helps dispel that myth that someone college faculty have the summer “off” … !

Onwards to the update!

As noted in this space last week, Popocatépetl has had an active week, to the point that a multitude of flights in/out of the international airport in Mexico City were cancelled. This huffing and puffing at Popocatépetl, with ash plumes reaching 3-4 km above the volcano, has prompted the elevation of the alert status to Yellow-Phase III. This means that the eruption at the volcano has moved from sporadic explosions (Phase II) to frequent small to intermediate explosions, usually caused by a dome collapse (that can generate pyroclastic flows). Tremor is almost constant at the volcano, along with constant emission of ash-and-steam from the summit vent.

 

An overflight of that vent on Sunday showed that a new lava dome has formed within the crater during the past week’s activity (see above), meaning a new sequence of dome growth (and eventual collapse) is in full swing. As magma rises up under the active vent, a plug of lava forms (as the lava dome). The pressure rises under the plug and it is eventually destroyed (either by collapse or explosion), leaving the magma underneath to feel the drop in pressure, prompting an explosive eruption. Once the vent is clear, new lava can begin to fill in the vent to form another new dome and the cycle continues.

This type of eruption is common at many arc-related volcanoes like Popocatepetl like Mount St. Helens, Soufriere Hills and Merapi. You can check out this USGS page on this same pattern that occurred at St. Helens after the catastrophic 1980 eruption or if you want to get cozy with a dome, check out this video of the dome at Mexico’s Colima taken in 2008 — rubbly piles of extruding lava within the main crater vent. The collapse of these domes can be one of the most dangerous and unpredictable events at a volcano as the extrusion of the dome isn’t particularly violent, but the collapse can generate large pyroclastic flows. A collapse of a dome at Unzen killed the famed volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft and Harry Glicken in 1991. The dome at Popocatepetl likely needs to get larger so it extends out of the crater at the summit vent (see above) before it can generate a large dome collapse pyroclastic flow, but all of this means that Popocatepetl needs to be taken seriously in this new phase of activity.

from:    http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/eruption-update-for-july-8-2013-popocatepetl-iwo-torishima-white-island/#more-163580

Dr. Jeff Masters on TR Chantal

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Tropical Storm Chantal is strengthening as it speeds west-northwestwards at 26 mph through the Lesser Antilles Islands. At 6:22 am AST, St. Lucia recorded a wind gust of 54 mph. Sustained winds of 38 mph, gusting to 52 mph, were observed at Martinique at 10 am AST. An Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft is in the storm, and measured top winds at their 1,000′ flight level of 80 mph at 8:41 am AST, about 20 miles north of the center. Top winds seen by the aircraft’s SFMR instrument were about 60 mph, and it is likely that NHC will bump up Chantal’s top winds to at least 60 mph in their 11 am advisory. Barbados Radar shows a large area of heavy rain that has organized moderately well into low-level spiral bands affecting much of the central Lesser Antilles Islands. Chantal is not very impressive on satellite loops, though, with only a modest amount of heavy thunderstorms that are not well-organized. Only a small amount of upper-level outflow is visible. Chantal is fighting dry air associated with the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), as seen on water vapor satellite loops. Moderate wind shear of 15 – 20 knots is driving dry air into the storm. Ocean temperatures are fairly warm, at 28°C.


Figure 1. Latest satellite image of Chantal.


Figure 2. Barbados weather radar image of Chantal taken at 9:14 am AST on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. Chantal’s center was located between St. Lucia and Martinique. Image credit: Barbados Met Service.

Forecast for Chantal
Chantal will likely continue to intensify before hitting Hispaniola on Wednesday afternoon. In their 5 am EDT wind probability forecast, NHC gave Chantal a 23% chance of becoming a hurricane before hitting Hispaniola. Working against intensification will be the fast forward speed of the storm–tropical storms moving faster than 20 mph in the deep tropics usually have trouble intensifying. In addition, the Eastern Caribbean is an area where the trade winds accelerate, helping drive sinking air that discourages tropical storm intensification. Dry air will also slow down the intensification process. Interaction with the high mountains of Hispaniola and high wind shear may be able to destroy Chantal by Thursday. The 8 am EDT Tuesday wind shear forecast from the SHIPS model calls for shear to rise to the high range, 20 – 30 knots, as the storm approaches and crosses Hispaniola on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, when Chantal is expected to be in the Bahamas, lower moderate wind shear of 15 – 20 knots should allow for re-intensification of the storm–if it survives interaction with the high mountains of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Eastern Cuba. The latest 06Z run of the GFS model dissipates Chantal as it crosses Hispaniola, though the 00Z run done 6 hours earlier had the storm surviving. Chantal has the potential to cause big problems for Haiti, which is highly vulnerable to flash flooding due to the lack of vegetation on the deforested mountains. However, there is a lot of dry air to the west of Chantal, which may act to keep rainfall totals in Haiti down to a manageable 2 – 4″. Over 300,000 people are still homeless and living in makeshift tent camps in Haiti, three years after the great 2010 earthquake.

Chantal’s fast west-northwest forward speed of 26 mph will slow to 20 mph by Wednesday afternoon and then 10 mph by Thursday afternoon, as the storm “feels” the presence of a trough of low pressure over the U.S. East Coast. This trough will steer Chantal to the northwest and then north-northwest across Hispaniola and into the Bahamas. The trough of low pressure pulling Chantal northwards is expected to lift out the the northeast over the weekend, leaving Chantal behind off the coast of Florida. High pressure will likely build in, potentially forcing an intensifying Chantal westwards into the Florida or Southeast U.S. coast, with a possible Monday landfall.

from:      http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

San Salvador Earthquake 07/08

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Strong (luckily deep) earthquake very close to San Salvador, El Salvador

Last update: July 8, 2013 at 5:18 am by By –

Update 05:18 UTC : El Rosario (6000 inhabitants) is projected as the city who sustained the most shaking, a moderate shaking

Update 05:14 UTC : USGS expects 176000 people to have experienced a moderate shaking and more than 10 million a light shaking. Because of the depth of the earthquake, we are sure that the shaking will have been felt in a very wide radius (several hundred km)

Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 07.16.19

Update 05:13 UTC : One of the biggest dangers of this earthquake will be “Landslides”. The earthquake was strong enough and lasted long enough to displace huge amounts of ground.

UPDATE:  Apart from some objects falling from shelves and some nervous times for the inhabitants, the earthquake as yet has not been reported to cause any major structural damage to housing.

The earthquake was right by the city of San Salvador which experienced major earthquakes in 1986 (1000+ killed) and 2001 (800+ killed).

The preliminary estimations of depth are 96km, and a magnitude of 5.9 however, over the coming minutes these will be revised, thus it is too early to call this non-damaging. It has been felt an intensity V-VI in San Salvador.

The epicenter is to the south east of San Salvador.

Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 06.42.48

15km (9mi) SSW of El Rosario, El Salvador
27km (17mi) SW of Zacatecoluca, El Salvador
29km (18mi) ESE of La Libertad, El Salvador
31km (19mi) S of Santo Tomas, El Salvador
38km (24mi) SSE of San Salvador, El Salvador

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 5.9

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-07-07 20:52:45

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-07-08 02:52:45

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/07/08/strong-earthquake-offshore-el-salvador-on-july-8-2013/

Bali, Java Earthquake 07/08

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Strong deep coastal earthquake near South-East Java and Bali, Indonesia

Last update: July 8, 2013 at 11:54 am by By –

Update 11:53 UTC : This earthquake was triggered by compression forces as can be seen in the mechanism below

Image courtesy USGS

Image courtesy USGS

Update 08:35 UTC : The least we can say is that the interaction in between the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate is very active at the moment. 3 strong to very strong earthquakes in a matter of 1 week and at different locations and different depths. What next ? Seismologists all over the world are trying to find patterns, clues who can at last a grain of hope in predicting the next strong one. But unfortunately … no generally accepted conclusive solution as far as we know.

Update 08:29 UTC : The lower map shows a 1916 M7.3 earthquake a little to the south. Interesting to notice that also that earthquake was at a depth of 100 km.

Update 08:14 UTC : The quake was felt for about 3 to 5 seconds on the nearby coast. At the time of writing this update only a couple of reports are mentioning some minor damage to a limited number of houses. There was never a risk for a tsunami.
Below the Geofon seismogram recorded at Jajag, Java. The big blue amplitude is this earthquake, the Red ones are the New Ireland and New Britain massive earthquakes who are visible on seismograms all over the world.

Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 10.20.14

Seismogram courtesy Geofon Germany

The strongest shaking was felt at the south-eastern part of Java. The earthquake itself was felt in Java, Bali and even Lombok. The main reason for the shaking is the depth of the hypocenter (breaking point inside the earth). If deeper, this weakens the shaking but at the same time increases the radius where the quake was felt.

Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 07.31.42

  1. 46km (29mi) SSE of Pujiharjo, Indonesia
  2. 62km (39mi) SSW of Kencong, Indonesia
  3. 68km (42mi) SSE of Dampit, Indonesia
  4. 70km (43mi) SSW of Lumajang, Indonesia
  5. 740km (460mi) ESE of Jakarta, Indonesia

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 5.7

Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-07-08 02:13:42

from:     http://earthquake-report.com/2013/07/08/strong-earthquake-south-of-java-indonesia-on-july-8-2013/

New Zealand Quake 07/08

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Moderate earthquake south of Hastings / Napier and felt all over the North Island of New Zealand

Last update: July 7, 2013 at 10:51 pm by By Ashish Khanal

Update 22:49 UTC : The earthquake was well registered at the nearby Pawani GNS Science seismograph.

Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 00.49.03

Update 22:44 UTC : Hastings police senior sergeant Brian Smith said the quake caused buildings to shake and was the strongest felt in the region in many months.

A moderate M4.9 earthquake at a depth of 64 km (Geonet) was felt all over the North Island and even at some locations on the North of the South Island. The intermediate depth of the hypocenter is the main reason for it being felt that way in such a big radius.
This earthquake is not dangerous and will not generate any damage or injuries.
Geonet New Zealand has received +1000 felt reports – 95% claiming a light shaking

I Have Felt It reports as received by Geonet - Image courtesy and copyright Geonet New Zealand

I Have Felt It reports as received by Geonet – Image courtesy and copyright Geonet New Zealand

30 km east of Waipukurau
30km (19mi) SW of Hastings, New Zealand
38km (24mi) SW of Taradale, New Zealand
46km (29mi) SW of Napier, New Zealand
101km (63mi) NE of Palmerston North, New Zealand

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 4.9

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-07-08 09:58:44

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-07-07 21:58:44

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 31 km

from:     http://earthquake-report.com/2013/07/07/moderate-earthquake-waipukurau-on-july-7-2013/

New Britain, PNG Earthquake 7/8

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Very Strong dangerous earthquake below New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Last update: July 7, 2013 at 10:10 pm by By

Update 22:06 UTC : Landslides ara a real risk in this mountainous rain forest region.  The is a road connecting the epicenter area with the bigger towns to the north, but we think that this is a dirt road which will be probably severely damaged by landslides. Most of the populated locations in the area are tribal settlements who are living in wooden houses. these houses have a high degree of resistance against earthquakes.

Update 22:02 UTC : The image below shows the number of people living near the (USGS) epicenter.  Due to the depth of at least 50 km of the hypocenter, we believe that the strongest shaking will have taken place in a radius of 40 km and that there will be only a limited difference in shaking with this radius.

Image courtesy Gdacs

Image courtesy Gdacs

Update 21:57 UTC : Shaking intensities based on theoretical models and on the Magnitude and depth as provided by USGS :
MMI VI  (strong shaking)   Kandrian    1k
V    (Moderate shaking) Kimbe    19k
IV    (Light shaking) Finschhafen    1k
IV    Lae    76k
IV    Popondetta    28k
IV    Kokoda    6k
IV    Kokopo    26k

One earthquake was not enough for Papua New Guinea today. After the massive very deep earthquake East of New Ireland, another very strong earthquake hit New Britain. The seismological agencies are reporting a depth of 50 to 80 km, which is a big difference in damage risk.  USGS reporting a depth of 50 km is mentioning a MMI VII, very strong shaking in the epicenter area.

Screen Shot 2013-07-07 at 23.52.38

  1. 30km (19mi) NE of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea
  2. 68km (42mi) SW of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-07-08 06:30:04

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-07-07 20:30:04

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 80 km

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/07/07/very-strong-earthquake-new-britain-region-p-n-g-on-july-7-2013/