Posts Tagged ‘East Coast’

MOSCOW  Tsunami waves 0.8 meters tall destabilize Russia, precisely in the east coast of Russia, Kamchatka Peninsula, following a major earthquake in Chile. Lucky, it does not cause damage means.”No damage or casualties were reported,” said a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Disaster as reported by Reuters on Sunday (28.2.2010).Although no major damage, some local residents have been evacuated to a location that is considered more secure.

As is known, Kamchatka is a region located on the eastern side of Russia. Where is the Soviet Union had not broken, the area became a military area. Now, the center of the platinum mines, gold, copper, and nickel.Previously, approximately hundreds to thousands of Japanese citizens were evacuated due to fear of tsunami waves as high as three meters, which made possible the country will shake the sunrise.The reason Japan Meteorological Agency said, waves as high as 10 centimeters, which is the impact of SR 8.8 quake recorded in Chile has touched Ogaswara Island, late afternoon.

MOSCOW Tsunami waves of up to 0.8 meters hit Russia’s east coast on Sunday following a major earthquake in Chile, but no damage was reported.A series of waves hit the Kamchatka Peninsula, northeast of Japan, peaking at around 80 cm (2 ft 7 in), an official at the Sakhalin Tsunami Center said. Waves were continuing to hit the nearby Kuril islands, she said.

The tsunami alert was lifted on the Kamchatka Peninsula, a spokeswoman for the region’s Emergencies Ministry said. “No damage has been reported,” she said.The volcanic Kamchatka peninsula is Russia’s easternmost region, nine time zones east of Moscow. Heavily militarized during the Soviet Union, it is now a center for mining of platinum, copper, gold and nickel.

Dozens of people were evacuated from coastal homes on the Kuril Islands, the state-run RIA news agency reported, quoting a local official. Most of the residents of the islands live on high land, the official said.The remote archipelago of sparsely inhabited islands stretches northeast from Japan to the Kamchatka peninsula. Japan claims four of the islands, and the territorial dispute has soured relations with Russia since the Second World War.

A number of boats left ports to take refuge from the waves in the open sea to the west of the islands, an official from the regional administration told RIA.Japan evacuated hundreds of thousands of people over fears that 3 meter waves could hit. The tsunami was racing across the Pacific from Chile where the 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday, killing more than 300 people.(Reuters)

An outgoing tide has eased the tsunami threat along Australia’s east coast, but authorities are still warning people to keep out of the water.Rising sea levels have been recorded at Norfolk Island, Southport in Tasmania and Port Kembla in New South Wales.A tsunami alert, issued after a massive earthquake in Chile, remains in place for Queensland, News South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.Sea rises of 10 to 50 centimetres have spared coastlines, but officials warn there is still the risk posed by strong currents caused by accelerating tidal movements.

The Bureau of Meterology’s spokesman, Alasdair Hainsworth, says the threat is abating now the tide is on the way out.”We’re no longer talking about any kind of foreshore flooding. We’re simply now concerned about strong currents,” he said.Phil Campbell, from the NSW State Emergency Service, says beachgoers should not go swimming under any circumstances.”We’re advising people that they should not engage in any recreational boating in small boats, particularly as there are those strong currents that are likely to make that quite hazardous,” he said.

“For those people thinking of taking part in some rock fishing or fishing from beaches, we’d also recommend against those activites as well.”The weather bureau says the tsunami has not caused any measurable increase in wave movement in Queensland, but a marine alert remains current for the state’s waters north from the NSW border to St Lawrence.

South of Sydney, Port Kembla measured a rise of 10 to 15 centimetres above the water table, with water levels still increasing.The bureau says a second spike is being recorded at Norfolk Island, with the surge expected to continue towards Queensland.In Sydney, hundreds of people lined the promenade at Bondi Beach, waiting to see what impact the Chile earthquake would have on Australian shores.

Beachgoers were directed off the sand shortly before 8.30am AEDT and the beach was closed.But many people remained on the beach and in the water in defiance of the warnings.Surf Life Saving NSW says it is concerned several local councils have decided to open beaches despite the tsunami warning.Spokesman Steven Leahy says larger waves and stronger currents and rips are expected along the state’s coastline this afternoon.”Our advice is that the risk has not declined and in fact over the next couple of hours there is still every possibility that we will see some tsunami event,” he said.

TasmaniaElsewhere, the tsunami warning forced the cancellation of surf lifesaving activities on Tasmania’s east coast and southern beaches.The first signs of the tsunami in Tasmania were recorded at Maria Island off the state’s south-east coast, just after 8:00am (AEDT).

The weather bureau says the waves were expected to get bigger, and Marine Safety Tasmania says people should delay launching boats until the threat passed.It is considered unlikely the tsunami will have an effect on land.Much of Australia’s east coast was put on tsunami alert late yesterday with boats urged to return to harbour.The alert was issued after a massive 8.8 magnitude quake hit Chile, killing hundreds of people and sending giant waves speeding across the Pacific.Meanwhile, waves up to 1.5 metres high rammed into New Zealand’s east coast.

Taipei 101

Taipei 101

PARIS jazzed up the Eiffel Tower with a multicolored, disco-style light display as the world basked in New Year’s festivities with hopes that 2010 and beyond will bring more peace and prosperity.From fireworks over Sydney’s famous bridge to balloons sent aloft in Tokyo, revelers across the globe at least temporarily shelved worries about the future to bid farewell to “The Noughties” – a bitter-tinged nickname for the first decade of the 21st century playing on a term for “zero” and evoking the word naughty.In New York City, hundreds of thousands of revelers gathered in chilly weather in Times Square to usher in the new decade. Organizers were preparing 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) of confetti that will be scattered when the New Year’s Eve crystal ball drops at midnight.Fireworks were set off at about 6 p.m. and the gigantic ball was lowered into place in preparation for midnight. Many people wore conical party hats and 2010 glasses that blinked colorfully, and some were jumping up and down to keep warm – the National Weather Service said the temperature will be in the low 30s and forecast snow for around midnight.Las Vegas prepared to welcome some 315,000 revelers with fireworks from casino rooftops, a traffic-free Las Vegas Strip and toasts at nightclubs from celebrities including actress Eva Longoria and rapper 50 Cent.

 Sydney Harbour

Sydney Harbour

Even as some major stock market indexes rose in 2009, the financial downturn hit hard, sending many industrial economies into recession, tossing millions out of work and out of their homes as foreclosures rose dramatically in some countries.”The year that is ending has been difficult for everybody. No continent, no country, no sector has been spared,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on national TV in a New Year’s Eve address. “Even if the tests are unfinished, 2010 will be a year of renewal,” he added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned her people that the start of the new decade won’t herald immediate relief from the global economic ills. South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, was more ebullient, saying the World Cup is set to make 2010 the country’s most important year since the end of apartheid in 1994.At midnight in Rio de Janeiro, about 2 million people gathered along the 2.5-mile (4 kilometer) Copacabana beach to watch a huge fireworks display and listen to dozens of music acts and DJs.

The multitudes came mostly dressed in traditional white clothing, a nod to the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomble but a custom followed by nearly everyone as it is thought to bring peace and good luck for the coming year.Officials said about 12,000 police were on duty during the New Year’s Eve party in and around Copacabana to provide security.Dressed in white and holding a glass of champagne in his hand, visitor Chad Bissonnette, 27, a nongovernmental group’s director from Washington, D.C., said, “This year was the toughest I’ve experienced – for the first time as an American I saw many friends lose jobs and businesses in my neighborhood close regularly.”

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hailed events in 2009 like the inauguration of the United States’ first black president, and international attempts to grapple with climate change and the global financial crisis.”The great message from 2009 is that because we’ve been all in this together, we’ve all worked together,” Rudd said in a New Year’s message.Australia got the some of the festivities rolling, as Sydney draped its skies with explosive bursts of crimson, purple and blue to the delight of more than 1 million New Year revelers near the harbor bridge.Concerns that global warming might raise sea levels and cause other environmental problems were on the minds of some as the year ended.

Venice revelers rang in the New Year with wet feet as high tide on its archipelago peaked just before midnight to flood low-lying parts of the city – including the St. Mark’s Square.The last year also offered its reminders of the decade’s fight against terrorism, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more recently, rising militant violence in Pakistan.Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, in a statement Wednesday, suggested that terrorism book-ended the decade, with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, and foiled plot by a Nigerian man to set off explosives on a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Eve.

“In late December we were reminded at this decade’s end, just as we were at its beginning, that there is a terrorist threat which puts our safety and security at risk and which requires us to take on al-Qaeda and the Taliban at the epicentre of global terrorism,” he said.

The American Embassy in Indonesia warned of a possible terrorist attack on the resort island of Bali on New Year’s Eve, citing information from the island’s governor – though local security officials said they were unaware of a threat.In a more upbeat theme, the Eiffel Tower was decked out for its 120th anniversary year with hundreds of multicolored lights along its latticework. It was seemingly retro in style, but decidedly 21st century as it showered the Iron Lady in a light show billed as more energy-saving than its usual sparkling lights.

Police blocked off the Champs-Elysees to vehicle traffic as partygoers popped champagne, exchanged la bise – the traditional French cheek to cheek peck – or more amorous kisses to celebrate the New Year.Spain rang in the start of its six-month presidency of the European Union with a sound and light show illuminating Sol square in Madrid and images from the 27 member states projected onto the central post office building.Partiers braved the cold – and a shower from sparkling cava wine bottles – in traditional style by eating 12 grapes, one with each tolling of the city hall bell.Despite frigid temperatures, thousands gathered along the River Thames for fireworks were fired from the London Eye attraction just as Big Ben struck midnight – an hour after continental western Europe.

Europe and the Americas may have partied harder than Asia. Islamic countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan use a different calendar; China will mark the new year in February.Still, in Shanghai, some people paid 518 yuan ($75) to ring the bell at the Longhua Temple at midnight and wish for new-year luck. In Chinese, saying “518” sounds like the phrase “I want prosperity.”

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries where New Year’s Eve is not celebrated publicly. Clerics in the ultraconservative country say Muslims can only observe their faith’s feasts of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. For them, any other occasions are considered innovations that Islam rejects.Unlike many Islamic countries where pigs are considered unclean, New Year’s in Austria just isn’t complete without a pig-shaped lucky charm – and stalls selling the little porkers did a good business Thursday. Some are made of marzipan or chocolate; others come in glass, wood, rubber or soap.

Herbert Nikitsch of the University of Vienna’s Institute of European Ethnology said the porcine phylactery may originate from the fact that pigs represented food and sustenance for farmers in preindustrial times.Some festivities went awry.In the Philippines, hundreds of people were injured by firecrackers and celebratory gunfire during the celebrations. Many Filipinos, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, believe that noisy New Year’s celebrations drive away evil and misfortune – but some carry that belief to extremes.At Zojoji, one of Tokyo’s oldest and biggest Buddhist temples, thousands of worshippers released clear, helium-filled balloons to mark the new year. Nearby Tokyo Tower twinkled with white lights, while a large “2010” sign glowed from the center.

Tokyo’s Shibuya area, known as a magnet of youth culture, exploded with emotion at the stroke of midnight. Strangers embraced spontaneously as revelers jumped and sang.In Istanbul, Turkish authorities deployed some 2,000 police around Taksim Square to prevent pickpockets and the molestation of women that have marred New Year celebrations in the past. Some officers were under cover, disguised as street vendors or “even in Santa Claus dress,” Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said.In Stonehaven, on Scotland’s east coast, the fireballs festival – a tradition for a century and a half – saw in the New Year. The pagan festival is observed by marchers swinging large, flaming balls around their heads. The flames are believed to either ensure sunshine or banish harmful influences.In contrast to many galas worldwide, the Stonehaven Fireballs Association warned those attending not to wear their best clothes – because “there will be sparks flying along with smoke and even whisky.” (AP)

Winter storm plods through West/ Dust Storm Accidents

Winter storm plods through West/ Dust Storm Accidents

DENVER  A fast-moving winter storm is promising to bring a white Christmas to parts of the West and Midwest, but not without threatening to cause long delays and tough driving conditions for countless holiday travelers.The storm is expected to dump more than a foot of snow on parts of Colorado and Southern Utah by midday Wednesday, and blow east into the Plains states through Christmas Day. Blizzard warnings were likely on Christmas Eve in Kansas.”Pretty much the entire central and southern Rockies are going to get snow, and then it’s going east and will drop more snow,” Stan Rose, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pueblo, Colo.With the snowstorm looming, holiday travelers scrambled Tuesday to adjust their plans.

In Denver, Sarah McAnarney and her husband planned to leave town Wednesday to visit family in Ozark, Mo., with their springer spaniel, Olive. But forecasts prompted them to skip a day of skiing in the Rockies and start driving a day early.

McAnarney said she was caught in a blizzard two weeks ago in the Rockies and needed four hours to drive 100 miles from Vail to Denver. She said she didn’t want to repeat the experience.”I was driving through a whiteout,” she said Tuesday at a truck stop east of Topeka, Kan. “You couldn’t see over your headlights.”

On Tuesday, blustery weather was already snarling traffic in Arizona, with blizzard-like conditions shutting down roads and causing a pileup involving 20 vehicles. South of Phoenix, a dust storm set off a series of collisions that killed at least three people.A tropical jet stream pumping in moisture from the storm’s south was likely to cause plenty of snow as the storm heads into the Plains states.South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds declared a state of emergency Tuesday, giving his state more flexibility to prepare.

A winter storm watch was in effect for most of southeast Colorado, the panhandle of Oklahoma and north Texas through Thursday. By Tuesday afternoon, light snow was falling in Salt Lake City. No major airport delays were reported there or in Denver, but holiday travelers across the region were warned to check with their airlines before arriving for flights.In western Nebraska, a Colorado woman was killed Tuesday on Interstate 80 when her SUV apparently hit black ice and slid across a median.

In Nevada, multiple wrecks were reported in and around Reno as snow blanketed the area shortly before the Tuesday evening commute. No serious injuries were reported, the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, many holiday travelers in the region decided to adjust their plans. Craig Rueschhoff and his girlfriend, Brenna Larson, planned to leave Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday night to make the 210-mile drive to Columbus, Neb., to visit his parents.Rueschhoff, 35, said they also planned to visit Larson’s parents in western Iowa on their way back to Des Moines but thought about skipping the annual trip.

“We’ve had both my mom and her mom encourage us not to come if the weather is too bad,” he said. “They wouldn’t feel bad if we didn’t come. We’ve gotten their blessing.”

The winter conditions follow a weekend storm that dropped record snowfall and interrupted holiday shopping and travel on the East Coast. Delays from that storm sparked an unruly crowd that included passengers still on standby Tuesday at the Delta Air Lines terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Police were called to help with crowd control.

Rose said holiday revelers in the West and Midwest should worry about the cold as well as the snow. Temperatures across Colorado on Christmas were not expected to get out of the 20s, with single-digits expected in the mountains.“It’s going to be cold to begin with, and then it’s going to get even colder,” Rose said.