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 powerful explosive eruption took place at Russia’s Sheveluch volcano at 13:10 UTC on April 10, 2023. As a result, KVERT raised the Aviation Color Code from Orange to Red. Very heavy ashfall — the strongest in 60 years — was reported in Klyuchi and other nearby cities and villages.
Some 50 homes have been damaged after severe thunderstorms spawned a destructive tornado in the Tasman District, near Nelson, South Island, New Zealand on April 10, 2023. The event happened about 16 hours after another damaging tornado swept through East Auckland, North Island on April 9.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea at 01:05 UTC on April 10, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M5.7 at a depth of 40 km (25 miles).
A strong explosive eruption occurred at Russia’s Bezymianny volcano at 05:38 UTC on April 7, 2023. As a result, the Aviation Color Code was raised to Red.
New activity/unrest was reported for 5 volcanoes from March 29 – April 4, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 22 volcanoes.
After three months of heavy rain and record snow, California is now facing the risk of floods due to melting snowpacks, as temperatures rise in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada regions.
Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, Tulare Lake in California’s San Joaquin Valley has reemerged due to heavy rains and snow in the first three months of 2023.
The Daisetta sinkhole, dormant for 15 years, started growing again on April 2, 2023, putting residents and officials on alert. The town, with a population of less than 1 000 people, is located approximately 89 km (55 miles) northeast of Houston. There are about 100 homes located in the immediate area.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit south of Panama at 22:18 UTC on April 4, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 12 km (7.4 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.5 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
Due to an increase in seismicity detected since March 30, 2023, Chilean authorities raised the Alert Level for Laguna del Maule volcanic complex from Green to Yellow on April 3, 2023.
