Tsunami warning maintained for Tasmania

Sunday September 30, 06:30 PM

A potential tsunami threat has been dropped for the coast of south-east Australia but maintained for Tasmania following an earthquake in the Southern Ocean."At this stage a threat is no longer expected for the NSW and Victorian coasts," the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said in a bulletin issued at 6.06pm AEST."But there is still a possibility for a tsunami to affect coastal regions about south-east Tasmania."

A strong 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit 500 km (300 miles) southwest of New Zealand. Currently there were no reports of damage and authorities discounted the risk of a major tsunami.The quake occurred at around 6:24 p.m. local time, and was felt throughout the south of New Zealand's South Island, said Warwick Smith of state agency GNS Science. The quake was near to the Auckland Islands, a group of seven uninhabited islands 467 km south of South Island.Update Note: Tsunami alert has now been canceled. NOAA's official statement: "Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected".
September 30, 2007 Sunday 6.6 Major EQ
Location: 49.377S, 163.221E
REGION: AUCKLAND ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND REGION
150 Miles WNW from Auckland Island, New Zealand
315 Miles SW from Invercargill, New Zealand
790 Miles SW from Wellington, New Zealand
1200 Miles SSE from Canberra, A.C.T., Australia
[6.2 Miles Deep]
EMSC - 6.8 EQ

september 30, 2007 8:40am Central
September 30, 2007 Sunday 7.3 Major EQ
Location: 49.416S, 163.843E
REGION: AUCKLAND iSLANDS, NEW ZEALAND REGION
125 Miles NW from Auckland Island, New Zealand
295 Miles SW from Invercargill, New Zealand
770 Miles SW from Wellington, New Zealand
1220 Miles SSE from Canberra, A.C.T., Australia
[6.8 Miles Deep]
USGS - 7.3 EQ
EMSC - 7.4 EQ
September 30, 2007 8:30am Central

Meteorite

This is on ABC news today
Locals fall sick after meteorite lands in Peru
Posted 1 hour 44 minutes ago
More than 100 people in a remote province of Peru have been struck by a mystery illness after a meteorite crashed there at the weekend.
Authorities say villagers living near the Bolivia border fell ill after going to the see the 20-metre wide crater. Their complaints include headaches, vomiting and nausea.
Hundreds of people say they were overcome by a strange odour when they went to the site after the fireball fell to earth. Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also fell ill and there have been several reported animal deaths. Specialist teams have begun to arrive at the crater to collect samples.Source: Agencia Andina, RPP Noticias,

Date: 09.18.07

Peru: Meteor Crash in Puno Leaves a Crater 30 meters in Diameter

An unidentified luminous object fell from the sky, leaving a hole six meters deep by 30 meters in diameter in the community of Carancas on the Bolivian border, according to the Puno based Direccion Territorial Policial (Dirtepol). The alleged meteorite alarmed local residents. The community is located in the Desaguadero district of the Province of Chucuito.

At 23:45 hours yesterday, residents heard a stentorean noise that they believed was produced by an airplane, according to police sources. They then witnessed the impact of a luminous object in flames, which resulted in a loud explosion, according to the Agencia Andina news agency.Remains of an unknown calcinated mass were found at the impact site. As it occurred in an unpopulated area, the incident did not affect any local residents. However, after the strange object gave off bits of lead and silver as it fell to earth, and the peasantry is worried that some illness may come about, according to RPP Noticias. Police and curiosity-seekers reported to the site. Puno: Seven Policemen Become Ill After Gathering Meteor Samples

Puno, Sept. 17 (Agencia Andina) - Seven policemen took ill after collecting samples from the area where the alleged meteorite crashed in the community of Carancas (Puno) according to regional health director Jorge Lopez Tejada. He explained that the officers showed symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and dizziness and were sent to the Desaguadero Hospital and then to the Hospital de Sanidad de la Policia in Puno.

They were given oxygen and rehydration at Desaguadero, and were transferred to the other hospital after being stabilized, according to RPP Noticias.[Tejada] also noted that a strong odor emanates from the impact site and which is not native to the area. This has caused commotion among settlers."Our cleanup crew has already reached the area and says that there is a hole filled with water. The odor is strong and (would be) affecting neighboring communities. There are some 500 families nearby and symptoms of nausea, vomiting, headache and body aches," he remarked. He added that the has recommended that police authorities and the regional government should form a perimeter to keep people from coming near the site. He repeated that a medical brigade will set out from Puno and Julí tomorrow to perform the corresponding tests upon the locals. Lopez Tejada called upon the authorities in Lima to send out a special brigade equipped with suitable equipment to gather samples from the alleged meteor more efficiently, as his office lacks such facilities. He explained that according to the settlers, the object fell on midday Saturday and the hole it left behind has an estimated depth of five meters and a width of 15 meters.

This incident has been considered by the locals as a bad omen.

Tsunami warning for Australian islands

A preliminary tsunami warning has been issued to residents of Christmas and Cocos islands following a massive 7.9-magnitude undersea earthquake off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The undersea earthquake, which hit at 6.10pm (2110 AEST), struck in the sea about 100 kilometres south-west of the city of Bengkulu, at a depth of roughly 15 kilometres

The quake was strongly felt in the capital Jakarta, some 600km away, where it caused tall buildings to sway.The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) issued a potential tsunami threat warning at 9.44pm (AEST) on Wednesday saying that a tsunami could start affecting Christmas and Cocos islands from 7pm local time.The centre is seeking confirmation that a tsunami has been generated."People in coastal areas in threatened regions should move out of the water and away from low lying foreshore areas and should then listen for further advice from state emergency authorities," a JATWC statement said."Tsunami warnings will be issued, if necessary, by the regional offices of the Bureau of meteorology in affected states."
UPDATE

Residents of the Cocos and Christmas Islands braced for a tsunami after a SECOND EARTHQUAKE off the coast of Indonesia in 12 hours. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned a tsunami could hit the two islands off the coast of Western Australia just before 11am (AEST), but nothing happened and the warning was later cancelled. The Christmas Island based-administrator for both islands, Neil Lucas, said he was watching the ocean at the time any tsunami would have hit and nothing happened."The water was just dead flat. I was looking out the window at the wide expanse of water at the time it was predicted to come through here and didn't see a thing," Mr Lucas said. Nothing was reported at Cocos Island either, he said. Christmas and Cocos islands are largely protected from tsunamis because they sit on the top of huge sea mountains and the deep water saps most of the energy out of any surge, he said.
"We're just fortunate here that it's not really a big issue."Emergency services were on standby and residents told to identify a safe area on higher ground that could be quickly and easily reached. An earthquake, reaching 8.4 on the Richter scale, hit 130km off the coast of the Sumatran city of Bengkulu at 9.10pm (AEST) on Wednesday. The quake was followed by an aftershock slightly further north at 9.50am (AEST) on Thursday, measuring 7.9. Geoscience Australia project scientist Dr Jonathan Bathgate said the magnitude of the earthquake was significant and comparable to the quake in Peru last month that killed hundreds of people. "Last night's shock and the aftershock are both significant earthquakes in terms of magnitude," Dr Bathgate said. "With an earthquake of 8.4 you would expect significant damage associated with an earthquake of that size." Dr Bathgate said residents of the Cocos and Christmas Islands were told to stay away from the coast until the tsunami warning was cancelled.

Cloud formations

These clouds are unique.
What do you think? In order to see what I'm talking about click on each photo and scroll across, you will then see what I mean.

One for the books

well, have you ever heard of this one?
Question: why was Fluffy's egg so small?
Answer: because it had no yoke in it at all!!!

I've never come across an egg without a yoke. Have you?