Thursday, February 24, 2011
Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake near Christchurch, NZ
At 12:51 p.m. local time on February 22, 2011 (11:51 p.m. February 21 UTC), a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. Several smaller aftershocks followed. The quake occurred near the city of Christchurch, a community of some 400,000 residents on the east coast. The initial death toll was 65, according to news reports, and authorities warned that the toll could rise sharply as search-and-rescue efforts continued.
This map shows the earthquakes that occurred near Christchurch since September 3, 2010. On that day a magnitude 7.1 quake struck to the west of Christchurch. Black circles represent earthquakes from September 3, 2010, until February 21, 2011. Red circles show the locations of the magnitude 6.3 quake and aftershocks on February 22 and the morning of February 23. Larger circles represent stronger earthquakes. Yellow shows urban areas, including Christchurch.
The USGS characterized the 6.3-magnitude quake on February 22 as an aftershock of the quake that struck to the west, in Darfield, New Zealand, on September 3, 2010. Darfield lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west-northwest of Christchurch. Although no specific tectonic structure linked the two events, numerous aftershocks of the September quake occurred along a roughly east-west line, as this image indicates. The USGS stated that the quakes were associated with regional tectonic plate boundary deformation. The Pacific Plate and the Australia Plate interact under the South Island of New Zealand.
The Darfield earthquake in September 2010 caused no casualties, even though it had a higher magnitude. Besides striking closer to a major population center, the 6.3-magnitude Christchurch earthquake had a depth of just 5 kilometers (3 miles). The New Zealand Herald reported that, whereas the Darfield quake happened in the early morning hours, the February 22 quake struck at the “worst possible time” of day—at the lunch hour when city streets were crowded with shoppers, diners, office workers, and school children. Moreover, some of the buildings that collapsed may have been weakened by the September 2010 quake.
Effects of the Christchurch earthquake were felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) away, along the South Island’s west coast. A 30 million-tonne (33 million-ton) chunk of ice broke off from the Tasman Glacier, and slid into Tasman Lake. In fact, officials had expected ice would break off the glacier, although they expected the event to result from heavy rainfall caused by La Niña.
South India Rainfall on 23-Feb-2011
Aruppukottai (Virudunagar dt) recorded a heavy rainfall of 7 centimetres:
Chengannur (Alapuzha dt) 6, Venkatagiri Town (Nellore dt), T.Narsipur (Mysore dt), Kancheepuram, Thamaraipakkam (Tiruvallur dt) and Valparai 5 each, Kuppady (Waynad dt), Thrithala (Palakkad dt), Mavelikara and Mancompu (both Alapuzha dt), Chickodi (Belgaum dt), Manthala (Bidar dt), Sravanabelagola (Hassan dt), Bhagamandala (Kodagu dt), Srirangapattinam (Mandya dt), Uthiramerur (Kancheepuram dt), Tiruvallur, R.S.Mangalam (Ramanathapuram dt), Shenkottah (Tirunelveli dt), Mettupalayam (Coimbatore dt) and Coonoor 3 each, Tada (Nellore dt), Chalakudy (Thrissur dt), Kozha (Kottayam dt), Kollam, Dharwad, Harangai (Kodagu dt), Krishnarajpet (Mandya dt), Nanjangud (Mysore dt), Vadipatti (Madurai dt), Mahabalipuram (Kanceepuram dt), Cheyyar (Tiruvannamalai dt), Pappireddipatti (Dharmapurai dt), Periyanaickanpalayam (Coimbatore dt), Gopichettipalayam (Erode dt), Madurai Airport, Watrap and Srivillipudur (both Virudunagar dt) 2 each and Kavali, Rapur (Nellore dt), Sankeshwar (Belguam dt), Afzalpur (Gulbarga dt), Gulbarga, M,M,Hills (Chamrajnagar dt), Halli Mysore (Hassan dt), Napoklu and Somwarpet (both Kodagu dt), Krishnarajasagara (Mandya dt), Sholavandan (Madurai dt), Maduranthagam and Sriprumpudur (both Kancheepuram dt), Tindivanam (Villupuram dt), Rameshwaram (Ramanathapuram dt), Needamangalam (Tiruvarur dt), Tenkasi (Tirunelveli dt), Pechiparai (Kanyakumari dt), Walajapet (Vellore dt), Kundhabridge (Nilgiris dt), Uthagamandalam and Sivakasi (Virudunagar dt) 1 each.
4pm, More heavy rain / snow over Kashmir and Himachal, Rain over S, S-W Karnataka and S.central Kerala ... http://ow.ly/i/8v9N
Early forecasts favour normal pre-monsoon, monsoon seasons
India might just be looking at enhanced probabilities for normal to slightly above normal rainfall during both the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons as per earliest available assessment by leading global long-range weather forecasters.
These are early indicators subject to updates on a month-to-month basis and should be viewed with caution, independent analysts warn.
The La Nina conditions in the equatorial and east Pacific, which are normally identified with a successful Indian monsoon without direct cause-effect relationship, has peaked over.
The hyper-active equatorial Pacific is now expected to relapse into what is said to be ‘neutral’ conditions (neither La Nina nor contra-indicative El Nino) to coincide with the Indian monsoon.
But the very fact that the probabilities of much-feared El Nino, whose tenure in the warmer east and equatorial Pacific has in the past suppressed rainfall over this part of the world, may not rear its head is reassuring enough, according to one expert.
The last word has not been said yet, he cautioned.
But global models – including the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University; the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; the UK Met Office; and the Tokyo Climate Centre as well as the Regional Institute for Global Change under the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology - projected a normal to slightly above-normal Indian monsoon, 2011.
There are bound to be individual pockets of below-normal rainfall, though, a list of which would be closely watched. Global models differed in their interpretation of the spatial distribution of rainfall.
Some of them indicate southern peninsula may witness some deficiency because of anticipated above-normal pre-monsoon (March-April-May) showers and incidental cooling of the landmass.
Some others see the regional deficit panning out in a pattern reminiscent of the season before (2010 monsoon) that saw east, east-central and northeast India bearing the brunt of the deficit.
A third opinion looked to the usual suspect, northwest India, to throw up a deficit but without attributing any specific reason.
Our previous post was mentioned as "11:30pm" ... actually its "11:30am" ... 11:30am, S, S-E Bay is having lots of convective activity ... and S. Kerala coast is also active ... http://ow.ly/i/8uQj
11:30pm, S, S-E Bay is having lots of convective activity ... and S. Kerala coast is also active ... http://ow.ly/i/8uQj
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