Indonesia Volcano and Tsunami

     The Indonesian volcano Mt. Merapi erupted Tuesday and has erupted 4 times after that, the latest being a little after midnight on 10/30 (IST.)  The last time Merapi erupted was 4 years ago.
      I thought it was really interesting that while we are learning about volcanoes, this volcano erupts. It just seemed to me that volcano eruptions were not very common occurrences, and if I did by chance hear about on, it was catastrophic. Now I know that volcanic eruptions are just very irregular.
      Also I figured that this volcano was probably considered pretty active because it last erupted 4 years ago and now it is erupting multiple times. Upon looking into the history of it, I saw that it does erupt very often. So I thought it was really weird that some people are deciding to stay near the volcano even though they are urged to leave. The article in the Hindustan times says that some of these people are trying to protect their property. This makes me wonder what the hazard education and population is like in the Mt. Merapi area.  I would have thought that the people would know, seeing as the volcano is really active, the danger and risk it poses. It should be noted, however, that it is estimated that only 36 people have died.
      Another interesting factor to this volcanic eruption is the fact that a tsunami struck Indonesia at almost the same time. The volcano and the site where the tsunami hit were only a couple hours apart.  The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake, and therefore the volcanic eruption may have been initiated by the quake as well. This area is also the area where the Boxing Day tsunami/earthquake took place. So far the tsunami/earthquake has only taken about 400 lives with about 300 people missing. So the area is already doing much better than it did in the Boxing Day disaster. Not only does this probably have something to do with education, community preparedness,  and stronger buildings but also the magnitude of this quake was much less (7.7 as compared to 9.)


Links

Article on the latest volcanic eruption:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Indonesia-volcano-belches-hot-ash-in-new-eruption/Article1-619736.aspx

Eruption history of Merapi:
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0603-25=&volpage=erupt

Articles on tsunami and volcanic eruption:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20101030/tap-indonesia-tsunami-volcano-aeccaac.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=DTN+Asia%3A

http://www.ncnnews.org/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?sid=10000006&id=10009695

Video showing dust from Merapi:

Storms in Midwest and South

Yesterday the weather was horrible. So when I was just about to go to bed my roommate asked me to look ath the weather for the next day, to see if it would clear up. Instead I found out about what has been and will be going on in the Midwest and South. These storms are apparently of historically epic proportions. The winds are causing tornadoes and property damage. And the low pressure record was broken in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Being a part of this crazy storm we all know it was really windy, rainy and cold yesterday. But if my roommate had not asked me to look at the weather for today, would I have known that this is not only a problem here but for much of the Midwest and Southern states as well and that it is a record-setting storm? Probably not. This just goes to show that I am as guilty as anybody for not being informed when it comes to hazard events and only notice when it is directly effecting me at that moment.

In addition to some people, such as myself, not being informed on the extent of the hazard event taking place right now, there is another example of what we talk about in class that can be noted. This storm is causing large amounts of damage throughout the US, but in one article I read, the website showed this picture:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/slideshow-midwest-wind-storm_2010-10-26

And added that this is a building in St. Louis that was built before 1920. Therefore, it was built at a time when maybe building codes were not as inforced and the structure had weakened with time. This makes me wonder how well newer buildings are holding up in comparison to these older ones. Also I believe that particularly here in Wisconsin we are used to strong winds, so are our buildings holding up any better than other areas that maybe have less frequency of strong winds?

Wind Chill in US today:
http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/currentweatherusnational/uscurrentwindchill_large.html?clip=undefined&region=undefined&collection=localwxforecast&presname=undefined

 

Links to the articles I read and used:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/slideshow-midwest-wind-storm_2010-10-26
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/midwest-storm-impacts-news_2010-10-25

Earthquake and Tsunami Detection

An article came out this week on pcmag.com about how now the IBM will be able to use computer hard drives to predict earthquakes and get details about ones that have happened. Also the hard drives can predict and track Tsunamis. The IBM have been able to do this since 2006 but the patent for it was employed until 2010. The article states that this method of forecasting could give people minutes to act before the earthquake would hit and gives information to rescue teams on the places most effected so that they can be more effective.  According to the text however, some of the longest warning systems for earthquakes only give people ten seconds, so this method seems to good to be true to me.  Fitting in with the text on the deterministic method, the article states that  the reliability of using this method is spotty, mostly because people could have laptops and be moving them around a lot so the data is inconsistent. Also not all people have computers so this method of detecting and recording earthquakes and tsunamis is very much so geared towards the MDCs, while the LMDs would have little to no use for this method.

Link to the article:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371337,00.asp

Video- Bob Friedlander talking about IBM method:

Oil Spills Taken Seriously in Canada and Not As Seriously in Caribbean

 

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/the-people-say-no-oil-tankers-no-problem/blog/26692

   

     An article at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-10/18/c_13563064.htm states that many Canadians are against having crude oil tankers ship oil from Canadian coastlines to other parts of the world.  They fear for the loss of habitat in case of a disaster and many realize that they have not given serious thought to a plan in case of an oil spill related emergency. Due to recent events, I believe the world in general is more aware of risks associated with oil production, and people percieve it as more of a threat now, even though the level of the threat has not really changed. However, this is a good thing in cases like the one in Canada because people are putting mroe thought into whether the risk outweighs the benefits, mitigation and emergencty plans to control the oil spills if they occur.
     In related news, an oil spill just recently occured in a steam leading to the Caribbean Sea, apparently due to thieves trying to steal oil, which is now causing problems in the Caribbean. The pipeline was fixed but already about 20,000 gallons was lost.   The way the article describes the situation is very suspicious becuase it says that the area that the theives tried to steal from was sparcely populated. This just makes it seem very easy for people to come along and try to steal oil.  As of right now it is just speculated that the spill was caused by people trying to steal oil, and maybe more news will be uncovered later in the development of the story.  In any case, the Ecopetrol, a Colombian oil company who own that pipeline, has not taken away the same lesson from recent events like they have in Canada.  Their emegency plan stopped the spill, but not before it released 20,000 gallons of oil into the water.  Also, if the thievery thing is true, they probably don't have a very secure pipeline that is monitored and difficult for civilians to encounter and break into.

Links:

Canada story:
 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-10/18/c_13563064.htm

Story on Colombian pipeline:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/12437-fuel-spill-creates-environmental-emergency-near-santa-marta.html

Federal Aid Going to North Carolina

Yesterday, according to whitehouse.gov, President Obama official declared North Carolina an area of major disaster. The state has been having severe weeather problems since the tropical storm Nicole hit in late September, early October. The types of help people in North Carolina will recieve includes grants for housing needs, loans to help pay off uninsured losses and programs to help the people recover in general.  Also an emphasis will be placed on hazard mitigation.

I believe this example goes to show a bit of the inequity associated with federal aid because the governor of North Carolina is a democrat. Also in the past, North Carolina has contributed a high GDP to the US economy, meaning the government tends the favor those that have contributed the most. Also this is an example of how the federal government spends a lot of money on disaster relief, but it is good that they will emphasize disaster mitigation with part of the money.

Link to the whitehouse.gov press release:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/14/president-obama-signs-north-carolina-disaster-declaration

"FEMA tours Windsor, NC" from a week ago

Oklahoma Earthquake

There was an earthquake this morning in Oklahoma with a magnitude that varies depending on the source between 4.3 and 5.1. In one article on oknews.com they say this is the second biggest quake in the history of Oklahoma, but not damage was done. Apparently Oklahoma feels deals with many small earthquakes every year and so they are well equipped to prevent disaster. Also they probably applied more protective measures after the biggest earthquake on record in the state (a 5.5 in 1952). The video below adds to this by having interviews with people who were in the quake. The people generally had no idea what was happening and were very suprised since they are used to magnitudes in the 3's.

Another article I found was particularly interesting, and that was one with a really tiny bit about the earthquake and then the rest was Facebook or Twitter comments from Oklahomans who felt the earthquake. I thought this was really interesting, and something I had never really seen before. I think it goes to show how much we rely on the internet for news and communication.

Links:

Article on this quake being the second-largest on record:
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-earthquake-rating-upgraded-to-magnitude-5.1/article/3504094

Article with Facebook and Twitter comments:
http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/4.3-magnitude-earthquake-rocked-oklahoma-wednesday-morning

This is the video I mentioned in the post. It starts off kindof wierd , but the information gets better:

Volcanoes, Global Climate Change and the Media

     I read an article that came out today on guardian.co.uk on how large the carbon footprint of volcanoes is. I thought this would be an interesting article considering we have talked in class about how many disaster events are incorrectly linked to global warming.  I liked how this article dispelled the idea that volcanoes produce more carbon than humans do because placing some of the burden of carbon emissions on something out of our control seems like something some people would try to do.
     Also this article stated that sulphur dioxide and ash spewed from the volcano causes a bit of global cooling, but hints that it doesn't do enough to severely hinder global warming. I found all this information really interesting and was quick to believe it because I don't really have much previous knowledge on volcanoes. Since we discussed how naive views can be changed easily just by how the information is presented. Since this article on this website seemed nicely laid out and the facts seemed to make sense, I was quick to believe it. It is very possible that this could be untrue information, tricking ignorant people like myself, however, I highly doubt it. Just to double check I looked up more information on volcanoes and global cooling. In  an article on msnbc.com it also discusses how volcanoes cause a bit of global cooling.  This article in particular was from April about a volcano in Iceland. This article said that massive volcanic activity (like volcano Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991) must happen for any significant cooling to occur, which supported what was said in the guardian.co.uk article.

Links:

article on guardian.co.uk entitled "What's the Carbon Footprint of... a Volcano?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/oct/07/carbon-footprint-volcano

article on msnbc.com entitled "Volcano Could Mean Cooling, Acid Rain"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36556083

CBS news on the Ireland volcano (April), but also has information on Philippines eruption, volcanoes and global cooling in general

Predictions After the Okinawa Earthquake

     Off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 happened yesterday. Not much damage was sustained due to the earthquake happening not directly in an inhabited area, and also Japan is not unaccustomed to earthquakes of this magnitude. However, since it happened in the water, the Japan Meteorological Society sent out a tsunami warning for areas near where the earthquake took place.
     I think this prediction of tsunami is a perfect example of what we read in chapter five of the text book on warnings. Issuing warnings is tricky business because whether you issue a false warning or don't issue one at all when it is need, the public becomes mistrustful. So some places have levels of warnings such as was used in those areas of Japan. Had the JMS been more sure of a tsunami, they would have used the term "tsunami watch" rather than "tsunami warning" because the implications are stronger with the first term.
     It turned out that the JMS believed the "tsunami" arrived without notice and only a minute change in water level occured.  So they would have been fine not issuing a warning at all, but to be on the safe side they issued a less strong warning.
     Also this goes along with what Professor Hupy said yesterday about the percieved hazard of tsunamis since the tsunami in 2004. People today see tsunamis as a bigger threat because a large, damaging tsunami happened recently, but the risk of getting hit by a tsunami has not changed. So in Japan, they put out a warning even though the risk was slight because people are more fearful that a tsunami will happen.

Links:

Fox News story on the earthquake in Okinawa and on the tsunami warning:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/04/earthquake-strikes-japan-okinawa-island/