Two Pacific-sized disasters: the Samoan tsunami and Typhoon Ketsana
The Pacific spawned another huge natural disaster yesterday, when a magnitude 8.0 - 8.3 earthquake near Samoa generated a tsunami that devastated portions of American Samoa and neighboring islands. While the ocean surface was only displaced about three inches by the force of the earthquake near its epicenter, the rupture occurred near the 10,000 meter-deep Tonga-Kermadec Trench, along a swath 200 - 300 km long. A column of water miles deep and 200 - 300 km long accelerated downward by the force of gravity (or lifted upward by crustal motion) by three inches represents an massive amount of energy released into the ocean. The quake was able to generate a 1.5-foot tsunami on the Hawaiian island of Oahu 2,700 miles away, and a 0.6-foot tsunami on the Oregon coast, over 5,000 miles away.
Portlight.org is considering adopting an American Samoa family to help out in the wake of this huge disaster. They would like some feedback from their contributors on whether to go ahead with this idea, so stop by the Portlight.org blog to join the discussion.
Typhoon Ketsana
Typhoon Ketsana has finally dissipated, but not before bringing record flooding to Vietnam, two days after creating recording flooding and chaos in the capital of the Philippines, Manila. Ketsana made landfall Tuesday morning in Vietnam between Hue and Da Nang as a Category 2 typhoon with 105 mph winds. The storm dumped up to 20 inches of rain on Vietnam, according to satellite estimates. Some rivers in central Vietnam rose above the record flood heights recorded in an epic 1964 flood. In all, Ketsana has been responsible for 41 deaths in Vietnam and 11 in neighboring Cambodia, with many more missing. At least 350,000 people are homeless in Vietnam, joining the 380,000 left homeless in the Philippines from the storm.
Figure 1. NASA MODIS satellite image of Ketsana approaching Vietnam on Tuesday, September 28, 2009. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory.
The death toll in the Philippines from Ketsana has stabilized at 246, with another 38 missing. Residents of the islands need to keep a wary eye on Typhoon Parma, which is expected to intensify into a major typhoon and brush the northern Philippine island of Luzon on Saturday and Sunday.
Quietest September in the Atlantic since 1997
Well, it's the end of September, and what is traditionally the busiest month in the Atlantic was unusually quiet. We had only two named storms this September, the first time since 1997 we've had less than three September named storms. There were only 6.75 days in September with a named storm, which ranks as the 4th fewest September named storm days since 1950 (only 1962, 1970, and 1994 had fewer). The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index for September ranked as the 6th lowest since 1950. The quiet period is likely to continue for at least another week, as there are no threat areas in the Atlantic to discuss today, and none of the computer models are forecasting tropical storm formation over the next seven days. I'll post my first-half-of-October outlook for the Atlantic tomorrow.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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I have access to a boat that size, but wasn't seriously considering it. I did think you would find it amusing though.
Floodman - WTF is up with that beard and moustache? Are you going to try and outdo him?
You either abide by the agreement or you don't.
Maybe... But now right now. I would want to be in WAY better sailing shape that I am right now. And somehow I would have to get rid of my sea sickness tendency. I can go out for a day, but I don't think I could carry enough patches for the journey.
Check this out. The world's smallest (unclassified) nuclear weapon:
It's called the "Davy Crockett Bazooka"
The same way he weakened the US Consitution...
American Samoa, Samoa, Indonesia and Tonga need our prayers. They have a terrible mess on their hands. Hopefully the US Government and other nations will pitch in and will get them the help they need to clean up and rebuild.
Indonesia got slammed again with a 7.6 MW quake, 30 miles from a city with 900,000 residents, a terrible situation. Thankfully, no tsunami affected the area today.
The W PAC has a parade of storms to deal with, Melor, Paloma and TD 18.
Vietnam and the Philippines also got it bad! They need our prayers and support from the World communities to clean up and rebuild.
At least the Atlantic is quiet. Be blessed all!
By allowing India access to nuclear technology (India refuses to sign the NPT) which is in violation of the rules of the NPT, other countries who did sign and do follow the rules are undermined.
IAEA praises India, big time.
All was approved by the appropriate international bodies and it is all civilian use in India's case.
Also, here's a little about US disarmament in the Bush years.
Link
Plans to use five thermonuclear explosions to create an artificial harbor at Cape Thompson, Alaska, for Project Chariot in 1958. It was eventually cancelled amid controversy and protest. The outer-outline represents the "full scale" plan, which would require detonations totalling 2.4 megatons. The inner outline is a scaled down version, of 460 kilotons. It would be eventually be scaled down to 280 kilotons.
Those wild and crazy guys!
Mostly Cloudy
57 °F
(14 °C) Humidity: 60 %
Wind Speed: W 13 MPH
Barometer: 29.72" (1007.8 mb)
Dewpoint: 43 °F (6 °C)
Visibility: 10.00 mi
I do not possess the vocabulary to express just how much I love this!
When we was the planned use date?
500 years later after the radiation dissapated enough?
South Florida, were cold Fronts come to die :P. You will get your cold fronts in the 2nd half of October, don't worry I'll miss it when I have to endure Sub 40 degrees in January :(.
he???????? Who is that
Bush.. But please don't start a politicol discussion over a joke.
Under no circumstances would I try to do anything like that...the thing is dangerous...you could put your eye out with it!
He who is with sin!!!
It is the time of year I get back at all family and friends that live North of here.
You got that right!
LOL...a squirrel rifle
Will be my first mild winter I have to go through in its entirety. The lowest temperature I've ever been in is 16 degrees in Delaware. Dear lord was it bad.
OMG, who are you to call anyone an imbecile?
Hey, you get the game and cook it all at once...
What else? Napalm, baby!
Don't even know where to start on why your China excuse doesn't make any sense.
NEW DELHI: IAEA chief Mohammad El Baradei has hailed India as a "leading advocate" for nuclear disarmament and asked the world to listen to its "voice" on elimination of all nuclear weapons.
"India called for the elimination of all nuclear weapons as far back as 1948. It is important that India's voice should continue to be heard as a leading advocate for nuclear disarmament," he said addressing the International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy here.
And yet they still refuse to sign a treaty which has proven time and again its success in stabilizing the world from nuclear war, in a region where most experts think the next one will start.
You really should read that book. A wealth of info (and it's not about GWB).
WTF????
AND...
איך זען די אַסכאָול איז געווען איז צוריק.
had a high of 51.7 at 138 pm dropping off again down to 35 or lower tonight
next system organizing over high plains should be next col;d front for se by end of week/weekend
I don't so much worry about India. The most worrisome countries won't sign it anyway. Just my take. Not arguing. Just my thoughts. Really don't think India signing or not has much significance, imo.
Here's a good read from March of this year on just the topic of India and China and NPT.
Excerpt:
"For its part, India was left with the choice of remaining outside the NPT or relinquishing any possibility of maintaining even a minimal nuclear deterrent. In the light of perceived strategic challenges from both China and Pakistan, India chose a nuclear deterrent. However, it has been scrupulous in ensuring that its weapons material and technology are guarded against commercial or illicit export to other countries. Pakistan has been conspicuously unscrupulous, and China has been sometimes unduly flexible."
Link
I'm getting the first part of that, but the name escapes me
Nice hebrew, by the way...
וועלכע אַן אַסכאָול דעם דזשפוו באָכער, איז ...
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