A strong earthquake registered by the JMA as M6.1 hit near the coast of Hokkaido, Japan at 13:27 UTC (22:27 LT) on February 25, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 60 km (37.3 miles). The USGS is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 50.2 km (31 miles); EMSC M6.1 at a depth of 50 km (31 miles).
A historic winter storm is currently affecting parts of California, particularly the San Francisco Bay area, where a 132-year-old daily temperature record was broken on Friday, February 24, 2023. In addition, a rare blizzard warning is in effect for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino. This is only the second such warning on record for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the first for San Bernardino County’s peaks.
Severe weather in Ecuador has led to the death of at least six people in recent days due to flooding and landslides, with a total of eleven fatalities recorded since the beginning of the year. The most affected provinces are Chimborazo, Esmeraldas, Los Ríos, Loja, Manabí, El Oro, and Guayas.
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit Halmahera, Indonesia at 20:02 UTC on February 23, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 97.1 km (60 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
On February 22, 2023, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) raised the alert level of Trident Volcano to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW due to an increase in seismic activity beneath the volcano. The last eruption at this volcano was in 1974 (VEI 3).
Two powerful winter storms are bringing widespread areas of wintry precipitation from coast to coast, leaving some 900 000 customers, or estimated 2.2 million people, without power. While heavy snow, significant icing, and blizzard conditions are affecting portions of the Upper Midwest eastward into the Northeast, heavy rain, snow, wind, and cold temperatures are impacting much of California. Dangerous travel conditions are expected.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has raised the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW and the Volcano Alert Level to ADVISORY for Aniakchak volcano on February 23, 2023, following an increase in seismic activity. The last eruption at this volcano took place in 1931 (VEI 4).
MetService, the national weather agency of New Zealand, issued an Orange Warning for Heavy Rain for the Hawke’s Bay region, as a complex weather system continues to affect the country. The agency has grave concerns for vulnerable areas due to the already saturated terrain.
A very strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.8 hit Tajikistan at 00:37 UTC on February 23, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
New activity/unrest was reported for 5 volcanoes from February 15 to 21, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 17 volcanoes.
