Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
A very strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.7 hit southeast of Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia at 02:57 UTC on May 19, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 37.7 km (23.4 miles). EMSC is reporting M7.7 at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles).
New activity/unrest was reported for 2 volcanoes from May 10 – 16, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 22 volcanoes.
Explosive eruptions at Popocatepelt volcano, Mexico released large amounts of ash over the past couple of days, forcing the government of Puebla to suspend face-to-face classes in at least 11 municipalities.
At least 455 lives were lost after the landfall of Tropical Cyclone “Mocha” just north of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, on Sunday, May 14, 2023.
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit Guatemala at 23:02 UTC on May 17, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 252 km (156 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 255 km (158 miles).
A strong solar flare measuring M9.6 erupted from an active region located on the southeast limb of the Sun at 16:43 UTC on May 16, 2023. The event started at 16:31 and ended at 16:51 UTC.
A significant debris flow occurred in Mount St. Helens’ South Coldwater Creek at 20:45 LT on May 14, 2023, leading to the destruction of a SR 504 bridge. This incident cut off access and power to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, prompting the evacuation of a dozen people and a dog by helicopter.
Extremely heavy rains hit parts of Croatia over the past 6 days, dropping as much as 300 mm (11.8 inches) in just 2 days and causing widespread floods, most notably in the towns of Gračac and Obrovac. Forecasters predict further downpours in the coming days, exacerbating the already severe conditions.
Extremely dangerous Tropical Cyclone “Mocha” made landfall near Sittwe, the capital city of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, south of the Bangladesh border, at about 07:00 UTC (13:30 LT) on Sunday, May 14, 2023, with maximum sustained winds of 250 km/h (155 mph), and wind gusts up to 305 km/h (190 mph). Mocha damaged and destroyed homes, uprooted trees, downed pylons and cables, and created a 3.5 m (11.5 feet) tidal surge that inundated streets in the low-lying region.
Several tornadoes, described as large and extremely dangerous, wreaked havoc across various parts of Nebraska on Friday, May 12, 2023, causing considerable damage, including destroying farm buildings and downing power lines.
