• Active volcanoes in the world: February 15 – 21, 2017

    New activity was reported for 5 volcanoes between February 15 and 21, 2017. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported at 14 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Barren Island, Andaman Islands (India) | Krakatau, Indonesia | Lanin, Central Chile-Argentina…

  • Thick cloud of Saharan dust moving over SE Europe

    A large amount of Saharan dust was swept up into a low pressure system over north Africa on February 21, 2017. Thick dust cloud has already reached Spain and Portugal and is now moving east, toward Italy, Malta and the Balkans. The event is expected to last into…

  • Worst flooding in 100 years hits San Jose, California

    Some 14 000 residents of San Jose, a large city in California's Bay Area, are under mandatory evacuation orders with another 36 000 in the recommended evacuation area after Coyote Creek, Santa Clara County's longest, overflowed in what officials are calling…

  • After California, strong storm aims US Midwest, Plains

    Some 6.6 million people in the United States are under winter storm watches as strong winter storm threatens Midwest and Plains Thursday, February 23. This is the same storm that dumped heavy rain and flooded California earlier in the week. This storm is now named…

  • Significant storm to bring damaging winds, rain and snow to UK

    A significant winter storm, named Doris by the UK Met Office, is expected to bring damaging winds, rain and some snow to the UK on Thursday, February 23, 2017. A deep low pressure system developing in the Atlantic is expected to track across Northern Ireland and…

  • Study finds 6 600 spills from fracking in just four US states

    Each year, 2 to 16 percent of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill hydrocarbons, chemical-laden water, hydraulic fracturing fluids and other substances, according to a study published yesterday in Environmental Science & Technology. The analysis,…

  • Earthquake swarm shaking Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    GeoNet's seismometer network between Taupo and the Tongariro National Park has been recording a swarm of small earthquakes since February 13, 2017. The swarm, a very common characteristic of the greater Rotorua-Taupo area, known as the Taupo Volcanic Zone,…

  • Tropical Cyclone “Bart” forms SE of American Samoa

    Tropical Cyclone "Bart" has formed southeast of American Samoa on February 21, 2017, as the 7th named tropical system of the 2016/17 Southern hemisphere tropical cyclone season. At 15:00 UTC on February 21, the center of Tropical Cyclone "Bart"…

  • Thousands of homes flooded after heavy rain hits Jakarta

    Heavy rains hit Indonesian capital Jakarta on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, flooding thousands of homes and causing traffic chaos. At least 1 person has been killed and more than 110 displaced. More than 180 mm (7 inches) of rain was reported within 24 hours in…

  • Very deep M6.5 earthquake hits Chuquisaca, Bolivia

    A strong and deep earthquake registered by the EMSC as M6.5 hit Chiquisaca, Bolivia at 14:09 UTC on February 21, 2017. The agency is reporting a depth of 598 km (370 miles). USGS is reporting the same magnitude and depth. According to the USGS, the epicenter was…