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.
The center of Severe Tropical Cyclone "Tino" passed over Tonga on January 18, 2020, as a Category 3 cyclone. Luckily, it only grazed the capital Nuku'alofa, previously expected to suffer a direct hit. Tino's eye passed between the Ha'apai Group…
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit near Bristol Island, South Sandwich Islands, Southern Atlantic Ocean at 06:51 UTC on January 20, 2020. The agency reported at depth of 91.3 km (56.7 miles). EMSC registered it as M6.1 at a depth of 115 km (71.4…
More than 200 000 people have been affected since the Taal volcano started erupting on January 12, 2020. The Alert Level 4 remains in effect – hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days. The eruption affected a total of 203 763 people in Batangas,…
Starting at about 09:30 UTC (00:30 AKST) on January 19, 2020, the eruption at Shishaldin volcano in Alaska intensified, and about 13:30 UTC began generating a more ash-rich volcanic plume. The Aviation Color Code was raised to RED and the volcano Alert Level to…
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit near the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, at 16:58 UTC on January 19, 2020 (00:58 LT, January 20) at a depth of 118.1 km (73 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 138 km (85.7 miles). The epicenter was…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit southern Xinjiang, China at 13:27 UTC (19:27 local time) on January 19, 2020. The agency is reporting a depth of 11 km (6.8 miles). EMSC is reporting M5.8 at 10 km (6.2 miles). China Earthquake…
Eruptive activity at Shishaldin volcano resumed on January 18, 2020, with lava flows visible on the NE flank. The Aviation Color Code remains Orange and Alert Level Watch since January 7. A weak plume, possibly containing a small quantity of ash, is visible in…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Papua, Indonesia at 16:38 UTC on January 18, 2020 (01:38 LT, January 19). The agency is reporting a depth of 33 km (20 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 60 km (37 miles). The epicenter was…
A rapidly intensifying winter storm brought intense blizzard conditions to parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada on Friday, January 17, 2020, forcing St. John's authorities to issue a state of emergency. Epic snowfall rates of more than 10 cm (3.9 inches)…
New activity/unrest was reported for 4 volcanoes from January 8 to 14, 2020. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 13 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Fernandina, Ecuador | Krakatau, Indonesia | Kuchinoerabujima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | Taal,…
