Indonesia’s Mt. Rokatenda spews ash, hundreds evacuated

Mount Rokatenda in Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), continues to spout volcanic ash.

Residents living around the volcano have reportedly been evacuated to the shelter at Hewuli village administrative office in Alok Barat district.

The Sikka Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reports that 196 residents living around Mount Rokatenda had fled to Maumere city.

The ash cloud from Mount Rokatenda has affected water kept in tanks on the roofs of houses around the volcano. Residents have collected rain water to offset the impact of an eruption. As many as six of 109 Awa village residents in the shelters have been taken to Maumere regency hospital suffering from various illnesses, such as respiratory, eye and skin irritation.

A team from Sikka Health Office recently provided evacuees with medical treatment against influenza, cough and respiratory infections. Sikka BPBD head Silvanus M. Tibo said the alert status of the volcano remained at level 3, with the highest being 1, according to the report from the Rokatenda volcano observation post in Ropa, Ende regency, so the volcano is not yet considered dangerous. -Jakarta Post

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake Kuril Islands, Russia

Strong earthquake measuring M 6.8 struck Kuril Islands, Russia at 18:12:42 UTC on November 16,2012 according to USGS. This is still preliminary magnitude, updates will be available soon. The epicenter was located 162 km (101 miles) SSW (198°) from Severo-Kuril’sk, Kuril Islands, Russia (49.200°N, 155.700°E) at depth of  4.9 km (3.0 miles). EMSC registered M 6.0 at the  depth of 60 km (37.3 miles).  Read Full Article Here

6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes the southern coastline of Chile

 

A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Aisen, Chile at the shallow depth of 9.7 km (6.0 miles). No tsunami warnings were issued for the region, and there have been no reports of damage. The earthquake struck the southern coastline of Chile and the epicenter was 338 km (210 miles) W of Puerto Chacabuco, Chile. This is the fourth major earthquake to strike the planet in 48 hours. -TEP

70% of Venice Underwater - Major Flooding in Haiti

70% of Venice slips underwater in the worst flooding in 140 years

 

     People sit at a table in flooded St Mark's Square in Venice, Italy Photograph: Luigi Costantini/AP

"High water measuring 1.49 metres (5ft) above the normal level of the Adriatic sea came with bad weather that swept Italy at the weekend, causing floods in historic cities including Vicenza as well in the region of Tuscany 250 miles further south.

Venice's high water, or "acqua alta", said to be the sixth highest since 1872, flooded 70% of the city and was high enough to make raised wooden platforms for pedestrians float away. The record high water in Venice – 1.94 metres in 1966 – prompted many residents to abandon the city for new lives on the mainland...." Read Full Article Here 

 Floods claim as many as 16 lives in Haitian city

 

   

"Flood waters inundated impoverished areas of Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, killing as many as 16 people, including three children, city officials said Friday.

 "The city has been struck by disaster. There are many dead and major damage. All the populous areas are flooded," Cap Haitien Mayor Wilborde Beon told AFP by telephone.

Beon said many people had to be rescued and given shelter from the high waters, which swept through the northern city Thursday night amid heavy rains in the region.

"The entrance to the city is completely flooded, all the rivers and ravines are swollen," he said, appealing for aid and support.

Preliminary estimates put the number of dead at 16, most of them when their homes collapsed in the flooding and heavy rains, the city's police chief, Kenel Pierre, told AFP..." Read Full Article Here

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake: Gulf of Alaska

"Strong earthquake with recorded magnitude 6.4 struck Gulf of Alaska on November 12, 2012 at 20:42 UTC according to USGS. Epicenter was located 289 km (180 miles) SW (221°) from Yakutat, AK and 370 km (230 miles) SSE (153°) from Cordova, AK at coordinates 57.544°N, 142.889°W. Recorded depth was 55.2 km (34.3 miles). EMSC also reported magnitude 6.4 but depth of only 2 km.
No tsunami warning was issued...."  Read Full Article Here