Fifty New Fault Lines Found in California

A new map has been made showing the fifty new fault lines found in California over the past two decades.

Profile on Original Volcanologist!

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, or Pliny the Younger, as he is better known by historians is considered to be one of the first known volcanologists, most famously witnessing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pliny was the grandson of a Senator and was born in Novum Comum in 61 AD. He was first tutored at home but later moved to Rome to continue his education after the death of his father. He studied under the great teacher Quintilian, married three times, and died mysteriously in 112 AD, when he rose to the position of Imperial Governor of the Bithynia et Pontus province.

The reason he is so important to us, however, is his viewing and written account of of the Mount Vesuvius eruption.Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, was in command of the Roman fleet at Misenum, and at the time of the eruption, led the fleet in for a rescue mission.

Pliny the Younger, still across the bay from Vesuvius watched as the ash cloud rose from the erupting volcano and as his uncle approached it: "I cannot give you a more exact description of its appearance than by comparing to a pine tree; for it shot up to a great height in the form of a tall trunk, which spread out at the top as though into branches". He described this pyroclastic flow as covering the whole mountain and the surrounding sea.

As Pliny's uncle tried to rescue his wife who was within the eruption's radius, he was unable to get any closer and the Uncle collapsed and died from sulphuric gases. Pliny the Younger watched in horror as the sun was blocked out, earth tremors were felt, and the sea was turned into turmoil in what was probably a tsunami.

He soon deduced the reason for the eruption: "I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed."

Pliny was deeply saddened by his uncle's death, and wrote down his account in his Epistulae, a series of letters that was his life's work.

Recent World Earthquakes Compared to the San Andrea fault

Good description of recent earthquakes and prediction of what would happen if they occurred in the U.S..

Worst Natural Disasters in the World: Relative to the Population

In the last 40 years, the Haiti earthquake has been the deadliest and most destructive natural disaster, when measured by the amount of deaths per inhabitants. Found on Survival Simon blog, a group dedicated to Emergency Preparedness Tips, Ideas and Gear.

Town Struggles With History of Tornadoes

Post on Disaster Safety blog by Institute for Business and Home Safety about Albertville, Alabama and its recent tornadoes.

Asteroid Passes close to Earth this Month

Post about asteroid 2010 GA6 which passed within 223,000 miles of earth on April 8, 2010 on Disaster Preparedness blog.

Volcanic Ash Causes Disruptions and Anger over EU Response

Post on Disaster Preparedness Blog by Keith Erwood about EU response to volcanic ash.

Volcano Under Italian Resort Could Erupt!

The volcano Ischia, apparently motivated by the Icelandic volcano, has begun loading up its magma chambers and experts now say there may be a danger of a future eruption. Located on a resort island, this can't be too good for business.

Italy has a history of famous volcanoes, including Mt. Vesuvius, which destroyed the city of Pompeii back in 79. (That is, year 79 A.D.). Pompeii was buried under 66 feet of ash and then disappeared for 1,600 years. Today, 500,000 people live on the slopes of Vesuvius, and the Italian city of Naples is eerily close to some of the possible projected eruption paths.

Naples has over 1 million inhabitants, and is the most densely populated city in Italy so you can imagine the chaos that would ensue if they all had to evacuate the city. Scientists are monitering patterns from past eruptions to try to be able to predict any future disasters. Vesuvius's last eruption was in 1944, and it destroyed 88 US airplanes that were stationed nearby during World War Two.

Italy also contains several other Volcanoes on Islands, including Etna and Stromboli. Etna has erupted several times over the last few years, but on a very small scale. The latest eruption was on April 8th 2010, was preceded by earthquakes, but only released a small amount of ash. Stromboli has been in a state of consistent eruption for at least hundreds of years, but there are rarely lava flows and usually the eruptions aren't powerful enough to cause much damage.

I think, for the time being, I probably won't be planning any trips to resorts under active volcanoes, at least until all these earthquakes and other disasters calm down a little bit.

Most Deaths in Chinese Earthquake Caused by the Collapse of Sub-par Buildings

Over 2,000 people have died since a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck China earlier this month, and countless more were injured. This death toll isn't near the amount from the Haiti earthquake in January, but is still a tragic disaster, even though it won't tear apart a country of over a billion people. Most of the deaths were caused by cheaply constructed buildings collapsing , which seems to be the pattern in most of the natural disasters that have hit recently. Mud and wood houses don't tend to stand up as well as steel and concrete.

One of the main reasons we don't have near the amount of deaths here in the U.S. is because of stricter building codes, and while that may not even help against an event such as a hurricane or a tornado, at least we generally do a good job predicting when and where a hurricane will hit, in order to give people time to evacuate or prepare for it. We can't really do much about tornadoes, but since they usually have a very thin point of focus they usually don't cause as much widespread damage.

This particular quake was caused when India's plate slipped passed the plate China was on and the energy released by the tension caused the surface to shake. India has been steadily forcing its was into China and if we waited around for a couple billion years it might force China into the Pacific and maybe, eventually California.

After the 7.1 magnitude quake there were three aftershocks between 5 and 6 magnitude which generally cleaned up what the first one couldn't finish off. China has launched a massive relief effort and is still trying to clear out the damage. Without proper equipment in the region, rescuers had to dig manually with shovels to free people buried or stuck in collapsed buildings.

The near freezing temperatures of the region don't help too much either, as thousands of people are stuck without shelter. One of the main focuses of aid is to make sure the death toll doesn't rise on account of other factors such as starvation or freezing to death. The Red Cross and Chines government are trying to keep a steady stream of aid flowing in, in the form of food, blankets, tents, and water.

Natural disasters such as this quake will always happen, the amount of damage they cause will depend on how we prepare and react to them.

Eighty Nine Villagers die as Cyclone Hits Northeast India

A cyclone ripped through India earlier this month, leaving tens of thousands of destroyed mud huts in its wake. There was no warning, as residents were unprepared for the 100 mph winds that uprooted trees, tore down power lines, and even destroyed the wall to a prison, where 600 inmates were quickly shuttled off to different locations.

According to Wikipedia a cyclone is similar to a hurricane, and is an area of air currents and fluid motion rotating the same way as the earth. Most are centered on areas of low atmospheric pressure. While how they form may seem to be very abstract to a non meteorologist such as myself, they have some very devastating physical attributes.

They can create some extremely high winds and heavy rains, as well as the storm surge that is so deadly among hurricanes. Like a hurricane, they are created over a warm body of water and run out of steam as they travel over land. Actually they are basically exactly like hurricanes in every way except have a different name, and are found in the Pacific while Hurricanes occur solely in the Atlantic. Hurricanes usually also occur in the late summer/autumn, while this Cyclone had no problem hitting in April, probably because it was on the opposite end of the world.

While a cyclone is almost always devastating when it hits near a human population, especially a lower class more rural area, it can also serve a good purpose. A cyclone can be very effective at balancing out the effects of a drought, as it brings a rapid transition in the form of massive amounts of water, both from the ocean and in the form of rain.

This Cyclone was especially devastating because the people hit by it had very little to no warning to evacuate in time before it hit. While it is impossible to predict every possible disaster, hurricanes and cyclones are usually discovered pretty early, but unfortunately, not in this particular case.

Gang Violence in Haiti Intensifies as Relief Aid seems to funnel its was to wealthy upper class

Groups are now taking up arms against the Haitian government with one of their main platforms being the unfair dispersal of earthquake aid money. Anger has been aroused, which generally leads to violence, which is not a good thing for a country just now trying to recover from a huge disaster when hit by and earthquake this spring.

National Time of Mourning Declared in China for 2,000 killed in earthquake

All public entertainment was shut down and flags were flown at half mast in China for a day to honor those killed in the recent earthquake. 12,000 were injured and 175 are still missing.

Tornado twists across Mississippi

Ten were killed when a tornado swept across the state of Mississippi on Saturday, and thousands of households were without power. Cars were flipped over, rooftops were torn off, and power lines were down everywhere. Three of the victims were children, and four people are still in critical condition.

Tornadoes are one of the more common disasters in the United States and one of the reasons they are so scary is because they are so unpredictable. There is a very small chance of actually being hit by a tornado, but if you do happen to get hit by one, the effects may be devastating.

This stresses the importance of heeding the small amount of warning that can precede these disasters. While we might not put too much emphasis on the times when sirens for a tornado warning go off, it is still important to take steps to protect ourselves, as there is always the small possibility of being hit by a twister. Its much better to be safe during one hundred false alarms, then to go out side once and be swept off by a random tornado.

Okay, while it might not be that drastic, it is still important to play it safe, especially if a tornado warning siren goes off, which usually means a tornado has actually been seen. If you have access to internet or television you can usually find out exactly where a tornado is so you can know how much danger you really are actually in.

Flooding in Tajikistan

Floods affect 18 villages in Tajikistan, 319 houses destroyed, and 2 people killed, according to the International Red Cross Report, found: here

Change of Focus

When I created this blog, I wanted to try to take a lighter view of natural disasters, without really thinking of the devastating consequences they cause. With the volcano story that was easy, as no one was harmed in the initial eruption, but I have since realized that natural disasters are no laughing matter. The deaths many have suffered in recent floods, earthquakes, and other events should be treated with utmost respect, and while I feel like I never directly insulted or made fun of casualties resulting from these catastrophes, I also didn't hold it to the right level of gravity.

Very quickly I realized how much devastation natural disasters can cause. The loss of life, property, and homes, is very hard to replace. These disasters are reported almost every day from around the world, and we tend to shrug them off as just another unfortunate occurrence. Until you directly feel the effects of an event such as this which is so far beyond your control, you cannot hope to understand what these victims and their families are going through. At the same time, however, we can still sympathize and do what we can to bring relief to these disasters. I will try to focus more on the relief effort in future posts and will continue to report more recent disasters. It only took one post for me to start realizing a humorous blog on natural disasters might not be the best idea.

Air link to China quake zone blocked by Sand AND Snow

Relief efforts for the China quake are being hampered by both a sandstorm and a heavy snowstorm, blocking the pass to the affected county of Yushu. 2000 people were killed by the quake and thousands more left homeless.

Earthquake Rocks Northern Afghanistan, 7 Confirmed Dead

Last Sunday an earthquake hit the Samangan region of Afghanistan, killing at least 7 people and hundreds of cattle, and damaging 300 houses.

If you liked Eyjafjallajokull wait till you see Katla.

The recent Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption that has wreaked havoc on European air travel pales in comparison to the eruption its neighbor volcano Katla is capable of. Scientists say its eruption would be 10 times higher and much larger than its smaller volcano friend.

Fortunately, Katla is covered by the glacier Myrdalsjokull, which adds a layer of 550 yards of solid ice, which would take a significant explosion to break through. It shows no signs of activity, but... the last three times Eyjafallajokull has exploded, Katla has also, and... since Katla hasn't erupted since 1918 but usually erupts every 80 years, it may be a little overdue. I'm not saying it will erupt, but I'm also not buying a summer house on the slopes of Iceland.

Many have attributed the violent nature of Katla's eruptions to its insecurity at having a much shorter name, even though it is the much larger volcano. A larger ash cloud produced by this volcano would continue to impede flight across the world on a much larger scale than the first eruption, and would leave a much larger number of disgruntled vacationers and business people. Which means, now would not be a bad time to take a week off of work to go to Europe (only make sure to pack for a bit longer).

6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Samoa! (But no one feels it)

Actual quote by Samoan law enforcement officer: "We didn't feel any earthquake". This is similar to the question of if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise?

70 Earthquakes so far this year!

More earthquakes higher than magnitude 4 this year than any other this past decade! Significant quakes could be on the way! Don't buy a house in California, as it may be prone to slide up into Alaska at any time!

Iceland eruption winds down, as does recently rejuvenated influx of tourism.

As Iceland's volcanic eruption slows down, so does the spike in tourism. This had actually helped out the Icelandic economy (which basically collapsed 18 months ago) quite a bit. Be careful though, as Iceland's government may try to incite these eruptions in the future to bring back the tourists.

Friendly Volcano gives Europe too much secondhand Smoke

Our neighborhood Icelandic Volcano has caused quite a stir across Europe. It seems the ash cloud spewing from its mouth has block air traffic all over Europe. This has proved quite detrimental to both traveler and the travel industry. Delays and cancellations have put many vacationers in a bad mood, and the governments of many European countries have tried to do all they can to get their citizens back home.

While most will simply have to take a train or wait it out, Great Britain has pledged to send warships to escort those worthy back to their country of origin. Meanwhile travelers had to either open their pocketbooks to stay in a hotel or simply sleep in the airport, which, last time I checked, is almost never comfortable (unless you can find one of those few nice sofas scattered about.)

This volcano has already burned through a glacier, and now with this spewing of steam and ash, seems to be much more detrimental to the environment than anything we could create. ironically it proves that you can be your own worst enemy (nature, in this case.) Though most people seem far more concerned with missing work or their kids missing school than with environmental impact.

I can assure you that anyone missing work for this has a pretty good excuse: Well, I would've been back at the office, but this giant volcano sprouted up in Iceland and puffed smoke in front of all the airplanes in Europe so I got stranded at the beach in Marseille. Please people, just enjoy the extra vacation, its not every day a volcano erupts and interrupt you from your busy schedule. Wake up and smell the pyroclastic debris.

Monks ordered to stop helping earthquake victims in China

Buddhist lamas in Yushu county of China are told to cease relief efforts and return to monasteries. A reason for these orders was not given, however they were strictly enforced. Lets hope it was more for the safety of the monks than for the detriment of those they were helping.

Devastating Tornado Crashes Through India

Almost 1 million people in India are left homeless as tens of thousands of homes are flattened by a tornado with winds of up to 75 mph. This was caused by a Nor'wester weather pattern, which usually occurs in the Bay of Bengal during the summer.

New England Floods, Rhode Island almost completely disappears underwater

Recent floods across New England wreak havoc to travel and local business. Business districts hit by the flooding suffering deep economic stress. President Obama issued an Emergency Proclamation for Rhode Island and sent national guard troops to take over... um, just kidding... I mean to help out.

Over 153 people were killed in a recent landslide that hit a Rio de Janeiro slum in early April. Over sixty houses were buried in the disaster, and it is believed that as many as 200 lives may have been lost. The slum had been built on top of a garbage heap that had been accumulating for decades, which made is especially susceptible for the ground to give out.

These landslides are caused by heavy rains and are most dangerous to the poorly placed slums and shanty towns surrounding Rio. Sixteen inches of rain have fallen there over the past month and 10,000 houses are currently labeled as at risk to future mudslides. City officials have pledged to evict citizens in at risk areas but it is unclear whether they will provide these people a safer alternative location for them to live.

The city of Rio didn't seem to care about its many less privileged residents living in these slums until this recent public relations disaster, they now almost seem more concerned with saving face than actually caring for those affected. All districts of Rio were affected by the heavy rains, and this city of 6 million was basically shut down with damages everywhere, but most of the deaths occurring were in the lower class areas, due to unsafe structures and an unstable foundation.

The Rio they want you to see is the white sandy beaches, excessive parties, and the host for the future World Cup and Olympic games, while the shantytowns and slum are ignored. This disaster, though a horrible tragedy, may help serve to bring awareness to the plight and destitute situation of the lower classes in Rio, who have had nothing left to do but live on a mountain of garbage susceptible to deadly mudslides. Hopefully this unfortunate event can help to bring across action by the local and national government in Brazil to prevent situations like this from occurring in the future.

Toads may be able to predict Earthquakes, study shows

A recent study discovered another major difference between frogs and toads: toads may have the power to sense earthquakes! This almost makes them worth the worts.

Peru reopens Machu Picchu, no comment from Incan Empire

After heavy flooding that caused the Peru's number one tourist attraction to close in January, the site reopens in April.

Busy Hurricane Season Ahead

According to an article in the Baltimore Sun on a study done by Colorado State Researchers, we can expect a heavy amount of Hurricanes this season. It seems like they have predicted this the past few years too, though fortunately they have been wrong in the past.

Volcano Neglects Global Warming sanctions, Erupts near Glacier.

An Icelandic Volcano erupted beneath a glacier on Sunday, becoming the next battle in the constant struggle between fire and ice. Fire, of course, always wins in the short run, and thus is quick to disappear, while ice slowly lingers on. Or does it? The latest global warming debates seem to predict an end to the polar ice caps as well as life as we know it. These rogue Icelandic Volcanoes don't seem to be helping things either.


This explosive occurrence happened to be under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, 100 miles east of Reykjavik, Iceland. Speculation abounds that the volcano may have gone mad trying to pronounce the name of the glacier it was stuck under and finally blew its top. The glacier declined to comment.


Floodwaters from the now faster melting glacier may pose a danger to the surrounding countryside (and country, because of the relatively small size of it), and authorities evacuated several hundred people as a precaution. Luckily, it seems that no one was injured in the event, not even the brave undocumented daredevils who attempted to kayak the floodwaters down to Kirkjubeajarklaustur (actual city in southern Iceland). Okay the whitewater enthusiasts may have been exaggerated, but you can't prove they weren't there.


This incident shows that while Global Warming may be more and more imminent, there is always the hope of Volcanic Glacial water slides to help take our mind off of it.