Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung has now released a plume of ash strong enough to cover the provincial capital of North Sumatra.
The residents of Medan now have to don masks to be able to breathe when they step outside of their homes or businesses. The city is located 31 miles from the volcano and has a population of 3.4 million people.
The monitoring post watching the mountain says seven hot ash avalanches slid down the mountain on Wednesday for a distance of 10,500 feet. The ash cloud from the eruptions rose over a mile into the sky.
Mount Sinabung, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, had been dormant for 400 years before roaring to life in 2010. Scientists who are investigating the rebirth of dormant volcanoes have published a study suggesting that earthquakes could be the cause.
Solid Earth, the journal of the European Geosciences Union, suggests that “megathrust earthquakes” in the region around previously dormant volcanoes could be the cause of new eruptions. In the case of Mount Sinabung, three megathrust quakes between 2005 and 2007 could have sparked the volcano’s 2010 awakening. These earthquakes include the magnitude 8.6 earthquake in 2005, the magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2007, and another magnitude 8.4 earthquake in 2007.
The massive 7.8 earthquake that rocked Nepal and left hundreds dead still hasn’t been fully noted by the government but a report on the state of the healthcare system shows the country is in serious trouble.
A new report given to the Nepal planning commission shows that one third of the nation’s healthcare system has been destroyed or severely damaged to the point it is currently inoperable. Almost 450 public health facilities in the nation were completely destroyed by the quake and its aftershocks.
Over 700 public health facilities have been reported with significant damage although they are still able to provide some services.
The total value of the damage is estimated to be around $58 million and the estimate cost to rebuild is close to $110 million over the next five years.
The situation is being complicated by the monsoon season with landslides threatening some of the remaining damaged healthcare structures.
The WHO said Nepal was one of the worst nations in the world for healthcare before the quake, with only 2.1 doctors per 10,000 residents of the population. The WHO says native doctors head for more industrialized nations in search of better pay and working conditions.
“Health services must be rebuilt and made accessible to all, while risk-reduction programmes must be implemented at the sub-national level,” Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, wrote last week. “Soil testing, the enforcement of health facility-related building codes, and investment in design of quake-proof facilities and homes must be encouraged across the country.”
The death toll has climbed to 16 from a Friday earthquake in Malaysia.
The 5.9-magnitude quake struck around Mount Kinabalu in Sabah state. The quake rained boulders and rocks down around the mountain and blocked hiking trails, trapping climbers on the country’s highest peak.
One survivor told the Associated Press that rescue efforts were scarce and that they “waited for a helicopter that never came.”
One group of 21 climbers on the mountain trekked down the mountain after promised helicopter rescue didn’t arrive for them either.
“There were risks of us dying up there of cold overnight,” said 23-year-old Sabah native Amanda Peter. “The guide said we either die of waiting or we die trying. So we all chose to try walking down ourselves.”
Peter noted her group saw two dead hikers laying on rocks as they made their descent.
“It really affected me as it could have been me. I was lucky to be given a chance to live,” she said.
Among the dead were six children from Singapore on a school trip. Their teacher and guide also perished.
Local officials admitted it was “easy to pick on weaknesses” of the rescue operation and that they would be examining shortcomings after the current incident has passed.
Japanese seismologists are warning citizens to prepare for “Big One” after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the country’s coast Saturday night.
The quake, more than 540 miles from the nation’s capital, was strong enough to make buildings in the capital shake for more than a minute. No serious damage was reported and no tsunami was issued for the country.
However, a dozen people were injured, mostly from falls.
“This was a very big quake… the shaking was felt over a broad area… fortunately, because it was deep, there is little danger of a tsunami,” Naoki Hirata, of the University of Tokyo’s earthquake research center, told the BBC.
The Saturday quake was followed Sunday morning by a 6.2 magnitude quake.
Experts are saying that the recent seismic activity around the country, which includes the eruption of Mt. Shindake, could mean that active crustal changes are taking place.
“I can say Japan is in an active stage now,” said Toshiyasu Nagao, head of Earthquake Prediction Research Centre at Tokai University.
“Considering the geographic location of Japan, we can say the current activities are rather normal and it was too quiet [before the 2011 earthquake],” Nagao told AFP. “We should be vigilant by knowing that an earthquake sizeable enough to affect our society can occur any time in the future.”
The death toll from the massive earthquakes and aftershocks in Nepal has become the largest in the country’s history.
Officials confirmed the death toll has passed 8,500.
The official count of 8,583 passed the previous record of 8,519 set in 1934. The 1934 quake also led to the deaths of thousands in neighboring India which was spared the same level of devastation in the dual quakes.
Officials also reported over 250,000 homes confirmed destroyed by the quake or resulting landslides.
Hundreds are still missing including 112 foreigners, although officials said those foreigners could have simply left the country without informing officials they were survivors of the quake.
United Nations officials say the death toll in the region could go higher in the coming months as refugees who lost their homes and belongings have to face disease, starvation and the upcoming monsoon season. The UN reports impassable roads and the country’s looming monsoon season are hampering relief efforts.
The UN is attempting to raise $423 million from countries around the world for relief in Nepal but only 16% of that goal has been raised.
The rescue efforts have also been hampered by ongoing aftershocks. A 5.7 magnitude aftershock struck the region Saturday.
Small earthquakes and changes in the level of the lava lake are causing concern for scientists monitoring Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano.
“Activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano continues to change, as shown by a pronounced drop in the level of the lava lake within Halema’uma’u Crater, a change in the summit area deformation pattern, and the concentrated earthquake activity in the southern part of the caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone” spokespersons with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a recent press release.
The pressure inside the volcano is to the level that an eruption is possible. Sensors monitoring the ground show that there is deformation in the surrounding rock.
“The magma storage system within Kilauea is highly pressurized at this time, and future changes in the location of unrest, and the potential for eruption could unfold quickly (in days to hours),” said spokesmen with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
But it’s not just Kilauea that’s becoming a focus. Mauna Loa is also showing activity that indicates magma is on the move.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that Mauna Loa is showing inflation in the Southwest Rift Zone and summit areas. There have also been minor earthquakes in the same area.
The scientists say the activity at Mauna Loa is lower than before eruptions in 1975 and 1984, however, the volcano has had periods of activity since 1984 without an eruption that has allowed pressure to continue to build within the mountain.
The HVO said they do not know how much pressure is involved or how much pressure the surrounding rocks can take before magma would move to the surface.
One baby boy is bringing light to a dark place just by being born.
Two weeks prior to his birth, his mother, Dolma Tamang, was buried under rubble after Nepal was hit by the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck on April 25. She managed to climb out from the rubble while being “heavily pregnant” and was able to receive help.
“I was so worried about the baby that I did not care about my own health, even though I had wounds everywhere and had trouble breathing,” Tamang told BBC.
On Wednesday, Tamang began labor and was transported to a Red Cross clinic by a mobile unit of Japanese clinicians.
“Even though we lost almost all of our belongings and live in a temporary shelter, I could not be happier and more thankful for this little miracle,” Tamang said. “This baby being born healthy is a sign of hope and second life for our whole family.”
All reports show that both mother and child are healthy.
Nepal, which has still not recovered from a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in April and left over 8,000 dead, has been hit with another massive earthquake.
The magnitude 7.3 quake struck Tuesday with at least 32 people confirmed dead from this second quake.
The quake caused an avalanche in a region about 30 miles north of the capital city of Kathmandu but CNN reports the area was sparsely populated after the April quake.
“For the first seconds, it was complete silence. By the fifth second, everybody started to scream,” documentarian Marc Sarrado told CNN. “It was really, really intense. Even when the shaking stopped, people were still screaming. They were completely panicked, because they knew exactly what it was.”
BBC reporter Yogita Limaye was in the mountains when the quake struck.
“The earth shook and it shook for a pretty long time,” Limaye said. “I can completely understand the sense of panic. We have been seeing tremors: it’s been two-and-a-half weeks since the first quake. But this one really felt like it went on for a really long time. People have been terrified.”
A U.S. Marine helicopter in the region to provide help has been reported missing by American commanders. Six Marines and two Nepali soldiers were on the craft.
Two men are quoting the Bible from memory in a 24 hour marathon in an effort to raise funds for relief efforts in Nepal.
Tom Meyer and Jason Nightingale of the ministry Wordsowers International began at noon Wednesday with a goal of all 100 percent of the raised monies going to help those who have been devastated by the Nepal earthquake.
“We have done similar events in the past but none of them have been streamlined online before. We tell the Bible as the sermon from memory weekly as a full-time ministry,” Meyer told the Christian Post.
Visitors to the campus of Shasta Bible College in Redding, California were also welcomed to watch the event taking place.
The group was inspired in part by the call for support from the United Nations.
“The United Nations estimates that more than 3 million people are in need of food assistance — and nearly half of those need it immediately. Emergency funding of $415 million is needed,” reported CNN.
“[Nepal Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat] said the quake had completely or partially destroyed nearly 300,000 houses.”
Rescuers digging through the rubble of what was once the village of Langtang have said it’s likely they will never be able to find all the victims of the earthquake and landslide.
“The entire village was wiped out by the mudslide. There were some 60 houses there, but they were all buried under rubble. It will be impossible to recover all the bodies,” government official Gautam Rimal said to CBS.
The village is only 35 miles north of the capital of Kathmandu, but because of damage to the region it now takes rescuers two days to reach the site. Helicopters can fly in but because they are in very short supply they cannot make regular relief runs to the town.
The death toll from the quake has officially passes 7,500.
Government officials say that one-third of the population of Kathmandu has left the city. While some have returned to try and find or help relatives, the bus stations are still packed with people who are trying to leave.
The population of the region with the capital city was 2.5 million at the time of the quake.
Some parts of the city are returning to normal with some markets reopening and fresh food and vegetables being made available to residents. USAID announced $11 million in emergency supplies for the region including safe drinking water.
