Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
7.2 Earthquake hits the Celebes Sea.
A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck under the Celebes Sea off the southern Philippines on Tuesday but was far too deep to cause any damage and casualties or generate a tsunami.
5.6 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
5.2 Earthquake hits Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada.
5.1 Earthquake hits the western Indian-Antarctic ridge.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
Newsbytes:
Thailand – Flash floods in southern Thailand washed out a bridge on the country’s main north-south highway on Tuesday, backing up traffic for 200 km (125 miles) as the death toll from days of unseasonable rain rose to 25, media reported. More than 360,000 households, or about a million people, have been affected by the floods that have damaged homes and schools and affected rubber and palm oil production.
California, USA – A massive storm system stretching from California into Nevada lifted rivers climbing out of their banks, flooded vineyards and forced people to evacuate after warnings that hillsides parched by wildfires could give way to mudslides. Northern California’s Russian River rose to its highest level since 2006, and schools and roads were closed across the wine-making region of Sonoma County, where thousands of people were without power. Avalanche concerns kept some California ski areas closed for a second day Monday in the Sierra Nevada. Forecasters said more snow and rain was on the way. Officials with Yosemite National Park reported the Merced River is over 2-feet beyond flood stage at the Pohono Bridge.
Interesting Images
A massive winter storm caused the Pioneer Cabin Tree, a giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, to tumble to the ground on Saturday Jan. 7.
Asteroid – Near Miss
Asteroid 2017 AG13 just missed Earth by 120,000 miles – and we had no idea it was coming.
The huge rock between 25 and 35 metres tall – around 10 storeys high – and was rocketing towards our planet at 16km every second. It was only spotted yesterday.
In 2013 a similarly sized asteroid exploded in the sky just about Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013. That blast shattered windows and caused minor damage to buildings over a wide area. More than a thousand people were injured by flying glass and debris.
Last month, the White House released a document outlining a Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy. The document highlighted how early warning remains an issue when asteroids are hurtling towards earth.
In the case of 2017 AG13, the asteroid would likely have exploded high in the atmosphere with the force of 700 kilotons.
Around five asteroids are being discovered every day. Asteroids vary in size, brightness and orbit – making many of them difficult to identify and track. They can range from a few metres to several kilometres across.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity
Colima (Western Mexico): Explosions continue to occur at the volcano. Although their frequency has decreased a lot compared to a few weeks ago, now often with intervals of 10+ hours, they are now often stronger, generating ash columns that rise 3-4 km above the volcano’s summit crater and showering the entire flank with incandescent bombs such as the one our friend Hernando took yesterday morning. The lava flow on the southern side is no longer active. What causes the change in activity is difficult to say, but it likely reflects a decrease in the magma supply rate, i.e. lower speed of magma rise inside the conduit, enabling a greater pressure build-up released less frequently, but during larger explosions.
Earth Report 