Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Magnitude 2.5 Earthquake - NEW YORK

M2.5 - NEW YORK

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude2.5
Date-Time
28 Oct 2015 20:42:13 UTC
28 Oct 2015 16:42:14 near epicenter
28 Oct 2015 15:42:13 standard time in your timezone
Location43.033N 74.397W
Depth8 km
Distances
3 km (1 mi) NW of Johnstown, New York
4 km (2 mi) WSW of Gloversville, New York
20 km (12 mi) WNW of Amsterdam, New York
44 km (27 mi) WNW of Schenectady, New York
67 km (41 mi) NW of Albany, New York
Location UncertaintyHorizontal: 2.0 km; Vertical 1.1 km
Parameters Nph = 44; Dmin = 49.1 km; Rmss = 0.77 seconds; Gp = 46°
Version =
Event IDus 200040bf
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Monday, October 26, 2015

Navy destroyer to sail near disputed Chinese islands

USA Today

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy plans to sail a guided missile destroyer near disputed islands China has built up in the South China Sea, a Defense official confirmed on Monday.

The USS Lassen is steaming toward the man-made islands, which China has constructed by pouring sand onto coral reefs, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the movement of a ship. It is possible the Lassen may not pass within 12 nautical miles of the islands, which is the territorial limit of the islands.

Last week, in another show of force in the region, dozens of U.S. and Japanese warships, including aircraft carriers, conducted a highly publicized military exercise. Top U.S. Navy officials have signaled for weeks their intention to sail near the islands to uphold the rules of international navigation.

China has built up reefs in the Spratly Islands to assert claims of sovereignty that would give them control of resources and fishing rights in the South China Sea. U.S. officials maintain they are international waters and open to navigation. Moreover, even if the islands were Chinese territory, the U.S. Navy could pass within 12 miles under the rule of "innocent passage," which allows ships to sail if they are not conducting military maneuvers.

Final Supermoon of 2015

Star-gazers set for final supermoon of 2015

File photo - A supermoon appears behind a house after a total "supermoon" lunar eclipse in Brussels Sept. 28, 2015. (REUTERS/Yves Herman)


Star-gazers are gearing up for the final supermoon of 2015, which will occur Monday night through early Tuesday.

A supermoon occurs when a new or full moon is at its closest to the Earth, making it appear much larger and brighter than usual.  This is the sixth supermoon of 2015, according to EarthSky.
Tonight’s occurence, however, will be less spectacular than last month’s raresupermoon eclipse, which was the first time that a supermoon had coincided with a lunar eclipse since 1982.

EarthSky notes that the full moon on Monday and Tuesday is also the Northern Hemisphere Hunter’s Moon. The Hunter’s Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon, which refers to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. This year’s Harvest Moon occurred Sept. 27 to Sept. 28 on the night of the supermoon eclipse.

LIFEWAY PEDDLING GAY-AFFIRMING PROSPERITY PREACHER FOR PROFIT

Christian research network

LIFEWAY PEDDLING GAY-AFFIRMING PROSPERITY PREACHER FOR PROFIT

Pulpit & Pen brings to our attention Ed Stetzer’s continuing lack of discernment. This is important because Stetzer runs the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention so he has a lot of clout in the Christian community. According to P&P:
Remember the large kerfuffle that started last year involving Lifeway, the media retail branch of the Southern Baptist Convention, and their peddling of heretical materials for profit? It all began when Pulpit & Pen confronted Ed Stetzer, Executive Director of Lifeway Research about Lifeway’s promotion of Heaven Tourism books and other heretical materials in their retail outlets. Stetzer’s response was to brush off the complaints and counter attack with ad-hominems while ignoring the issue. This sparked a widespread movement, known as #the15 on Twitter, which after much investigation and uncovering ofevidence of wrongdoing by Lifeway’s leadership, eventually led to Lifeway removing Heaven tourism books for good.

Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake - HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/images/globes/35_70.jpg

M7.7 - HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude 7.7
Date-Time
26 Oct 2015 09:09:32 UTC
26 Oct 2015 13:39:33 near epicenter
26 Oct 2015 04:09:32 standard time in your timezone
Location 36.463N 70.712E
Depth 213 km
Distances
45 km (27 mi) SSW of Jarm, Afghanistan
73 km (45 mi) S of Fayzabad, Afghanistan
77 km (47 mi) WSW of Ashkasham, Afghanistan
77 km (47 mi) E of Farkhar, Afghanistan
256 km (158 mi) NNE of Kabul, Afghanistan
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 6.6 km; Vertical 4.4 km
Parameters Nph = 127; Dmin = 74.8 km; Rmss = 1.23 seconds; Gp = 21°
Version =
Event ID us 10003re5
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Friday, October 23, 2015

Will Hurricane Patricia Trigger a West Coast Earthquake?

As Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded strikes Mexico...will it cause an earthquake event for the West Coast of Central and North America?


Severe Weather Triggers Earthquakes


Extreme weather events may set off quakes and recognizing those patterns may help us better forecast tremors.

THE GIST

Cyclones, hurricanes and monsoons add stresses that can interact with the timing of tectonic stresses triggering earthquakes.
Someday, scientists may be able to use weather patterns to help forecast the timing of impending earthquakes.
Monsoons, hurricanes and other extreme weather events may trigger earthquakes when faults are ready to rumble.
The new research presented this week at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in San Francisco does not suggest that all earthquakes are caused by storms or that all storms cause quakes. But by identifying some of the many conditions that put stress on faults, the new work may help scientists better forecast future tremors.
Experts hope to develop more accurate ways to warn the public before massive devastation ensues.
"There's a holy grail for any geophysicist being able to one day predict earthquakes," said Thomas Ader, a graduate student in geophysics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "All we're doing now is trying to understand, after earthquakes happen, why they happened."
"If you push on a fault, how is it going to respond?" he added. "It's a question we don't understand clearly right now."
Ader works in Nepal's Himalaya Mountains, where the monsoon season often brings a meter (3.3 feet) or more of rain each summer. The weight of all that water bends the whole underground system of tectonic plates, Ader said, which scientists can measure through slight seasonal movements in the positioning of GPS stations around the country.
The bending however puts pressure on the plates that's in opposition to the tectonic stresses. If the plates are like pages in a bent book, sliding slightly past each other, the rains act to put that book back to normal, Ader said.

UPDATE Oct. 26, 2015


Earthquake event

M5.1 - 20km N of Tres Palos, Mexico, 2015-10-25 14:47:54 (UTC)


Mexico braces for strongest hurricane ever recorded

Mexico braces for Patricia, strongest hurricane ever recorded


The Mexican government is urging residents to prepare for Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded by the National Hurricane Center,  which was churning off the country's Pacific coast Friday.
The storm is expected to make landfall today as a powerful Category 5 hurricane. As it approached, Mexican authorities appealed to residents to take precautions and stay indoors and away from windows.
"We ask everyone to stay calm, to take care of their families, their lives, we all have a high responsibility,” said Luis Felipe Puente, the director of civil protection, according to Mexican news reports.
Authorities evacuated several coastal communities and set up dozens of hurricane shelters in the areas that were likely to be affected.
Classes were also canceled in many schools, airports and ports were shut down, and electricity and gas sales were temporarily suspended in some areas.
Patricia's maximum sustained winds were near 200 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in a Friday advisory

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Mmagnitude 7.3 Earthquake - VANUATU

M7.3 - VANUATU

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude 7.3
Date-Time
20 Oct 2015 21:52:02 UTC
21 Oct 2015 08:52:02 near epicenter
20 Oct 2015 16:52:02 standard time in your timezone
Location 14.861S 167.307E
Depth 131 km
Distances
34 km (21 mi) NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu
75 km (46 mi) NNE of Luganville, Vanuatu
335 km (207 mi) NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
670 km (415 mi) N of We, New Caledonia
810 km (502 mi) N of Paita, New Caledonia
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 7.6 km; Vertical 5.6 km
Parameters Nph = 111; Dmin = 66.0 km; Rmss = 0.85 seconds; Gp = 32°
Version =
Event ID us 10003q0q
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards

Magnitude 2.4 Earthquake - ILLINOIS

Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude 2.4
Date-Time

20 Oct 2015 07:03:12 UTC
20 Oct 2015 02:03:13 near epicenter
20 Oct 2015 02:03:12 standard time in your timezone

Location 38.405N 90.124W
Depth 22 km
Distances
6 km (3 mi) SSW of Millstadt, Illinois
17 km (10 mi) SW of Belleville, Illinois
17 km (10 mi) ESE of Oakville, Missouri
18 km (11 mi) SW of Swansea, Illinois
160 km (99 mi) SSW of Springfield, Illinois
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 0.3 km; Vertical 0.7 km
Parameters Nph = 22; Dmin = 21.6 km; Rmss = 0.12 seconds; Gp = 43°
Version = 5
Event ID nm 60119841
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
Center for Earthquake Research and Information
U.S. Geological Survey
University of Memphis

Monday, October 19, 2015

M3.5 - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA

M3.5 - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA

M3.5 - SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude 3.5
Date-Time
19 Oct 2015 23:21:11 UTC
19 Oct 2015 16:21:11 near epicenter
19 Oct 2015 18:21:11 standard time in your timezone
Location 37.794N 121.966W
Depth 7 km
Distances
1 km (0 mi) NE of San Ramon, California
4 km (2 mi) SE of Danville, California
8 km (4 mi) SE of Alamo, California
10 km (6 mi) NNW of Dublin, California
96 km (59 mi) SSW of Sacramento, California
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 0.2 km; Vertical 0.4 km
Parameters Nph = 24; Dmin = 7.9 km; Rmss = 0.07 seconds; Gp = 56°
Version = 3
Event ID nc 72540760
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
CISN Northern California Management Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Berkeley Seismological Laboratory

http://www.cisn.org/ncmc.html
Disclaimer

Typhoon unloads deadly, flooding rain in Philippines

Capital Weather Gang

Typhoon Koppu unloads deadly, flooding rain in Philippines in record-breaking season

By Angela Fritz October 19 at 2:11 PM  

Philippines hit with lashing winds and floods from Typhoon Koppu

Tens of thousands of people are being evacuated as Typhoon Koppu makes landfall in the northern Philippines. In the cities of Maddela and Cabanatuan, the storm has brought 100 mph winds, heavy rain and flooding. (Youtube/Earth Uncut)

The island of Luzon in the Philippines is being ravaged by the heavy rain of former-Typhoon Koppu this week, with rainfall totals already approaching 3 feet in just two days. Koppu, which helped set a record for number of intense tropical cyclones in a single year, could end up being one of the Philippines costliest disasters if rainfall forecasts are correct.

Typhoon Koppu, or “Lando” in the Philippines, made landfall in the Aurora province of Luzon on Sunday as the equivalent of a strong category 4 hurricane. The damage there was catastrophic as the storm’s 150 mph winds raked over the sparsely populated region.

[Koppu leaves at least 11 dead in the Philippines]

At least 11 people have died in the storm and 65,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Aurora, the AP reports. Philippines news website Rappler reportsthat there is nearly 100 percent damage to infrastructure in Casiguran, where the typhoon came ashore. “Electricity and phone signals remain cut off in the area, making it difficult to get supplies and aid to at least 27,000 affected people,” Rappler reports.

Fears of deadly flash flooding and mudslides began to grow last week as forecasts suggested the storm would slow down to a near-stop as it passed over the island of Luzon. Even a weak tropical system can dump an incredible amount of rain if it lingers too long over a single location. This effect is enhanced when storm passes over mountainous terrain, which acts to wring moisture out of the air like a wet rag.

Now those forecasts are coming to fruition as Koppu has slowed down to a near-halt just west of the Philippines coast, with heavy thunderstorms hovering over western Luzon. Baguio City, home to over 318,000 people, has recorded nearly 3 feet of rain — 30.6 inches — since the storm began there. Over 6 inches of that fell in just three hours from 8 to 11 p.m., on Monday, Philippines time.

Unfortunately the rain is far from over for the Philippines as Koppu, now a tropical storm, makes a turn northwest and back over Luzon. Through Wednesday, models are forecasting an additional 2 feet of rain on top of what has already fallen in western Luzon.

“At a minimum, we can expect widespread storm totals of one to two feet of rain across much of northern Luzon,” writes Weather Underground’s Bob Henson. “Multi-day rainfall totals of over two feet will result in widespread flooding and mudslides, and major agricultural damage can be expected as well.”

“Koppu could still end up as one of the top-five most costly natural disasters in Philippine history,” Henson added.

Typhoon Koppu was the 19th category 4 or 5 storm of 2015, followed quickly by the 20th, Super Typhoon Champi, setting a new record for intense hurricanes in the northern hemisphere in one year. Just one of these storms was in the Atlantic Ocean, and that was Hurricane Joaquin.

The previous record was 2004, which had 18 category 4 or 5 storms and was also an El Nino year. El Nino drives up typhoon numbers with its warmer than average ocean temperatures. This year’s El Nino is likely to be among the top three strongest on record when it peaks in the next few months.





Saturday, October 17, 2015

Magnitude 6.0 Earthqake - SALTA, ARGENTINA

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/images/globes/-25_-65.jpg

M6.0 - SALTA, ARGENTINA

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude 6.0
Date-Time
17 Oct 2015 11:33:09 UTC
17 Oct 2015 08:33:09 near epicenter
17 Oct 2015 06:33:09 standard time in your timezone
Location 25.479S 64.436W
Depth 17 km
Distances
24 km (14 mi) ESE of El Galpon, Argentina
42 km (26 mi) WSW of El Quebrachal, Argentina
50 km (31 mi) SSW of Joaquin V. Gonzalez, Argentina
124 km (76 mi) SE of Salta, Argentina
684 km (424 mi) W of Asuncion, Paraguay
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 6.8 km; Vertical 3.8 km
Parameters Nph = 193; Dmin = 472.2 km; Rmss = 1.01 seconds; Gp = 37°
Version =
Event ID us 10003pc9
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Day 2 Solar Assault Continues


Brace for severe weather, significant geological events next 7-10 days.

China, Brazil Dump US Debt

China, Brazil Dump US Debt In Latest Signal Of Global Emerging Market Slowdown
By Angelo Young @angeloyoung_ a.young@ibtimes.com on October 07 2015 11:15 AM EDT

The foreign feast on U.S. debt is over. For years, the central banks of emerging market countries have devoured U.S. debt in order to bolster their foreign currency reserves. The trend intensified amid booming trade surpluses fueled largely by the sale of commodities, from soybeans to crude. Now, amid a global economic slowdown spurred by China, large purchasers of U.S. Treasury bonds -- including China, Russia and Brazil -- are dumping U.S. debt at a rapid pace to increase government revenue.

The recent sell-off is the biggest decline in foreign official demand for U.S. notes and bonds since records began in 1978. Deutsche Bank Securities says foreign central banks have sold in the 12 months ended July $123 billion in U.S. Treasury debt maturing within a year. That's compared with a peak of $230 billion in purchases of U.S. debt in the year ended January 2013.

As major holders of U.S. debt unload bonds, the Wall Street Journal reported there’s still plenty of demand from foreign and U.S. companies that are buying U.S. debt to shore up their safe-harbor investments amid a global economic downturn. As a result, U.S. Treasury bond yields are likely to remain low because central banks are finding plenty of private buyers. Bond yields increase when demand for bonds falls; so far there are plenty of buyers of U.S. debt to keep rates low.

“U.S. bond yields are not going to rise significantly unless we have much stronger growth and higher inflation,” Michael Pettis, professor of finance at Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in Beijing, told the Journal, addressing concerns that China would disrupt global markets by selling too much of its U.S. debt.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. T-bill is hovering around 2 percent this week, down from around 3 percent in 2013. That's well below the 4 to 5 percent yields before the global economic downturn in 2009.

NATO chief says prepared to send troops to defend Turkey

REUTERS

NATO said it was prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally after violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets bombing Syria and Britain scolded Moscow for escalating a civil war that has already killed 250,000 people.
Officials at the U.S.-led alliance are still smarting from Russia's weekend incursions into Turkey's airspace near northern Syria and NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels with the agenda likely to be dominated by the Syria crisis.

"NATO is ready and able to defend all allies, including Turkey against any threats," NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for the meeting.
"NATO has already responded by increasing our capacity, our ability, our preparedness to deploy forces including to the south, including in Turkey," he said, noting that Russia's air and cruise missile strikes were "reasons for concern".
As Russian and U.S. planes fly combat missions over the same country for the first time since World War Two, NATO is eager to avoid any international escalation of the Syrian conflict that has unexpectedly turned the alliance's attention away from Ukraine following Russia's annexation of Crimea last year.
The incursions of two Russian fighters in Turkish airspace on Saturday and Sunday has brought the Syria conflict right up to NATO's borders, testing the alliance's ability to deter a newly assertive Russia without seeking direct confrontation.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 7

Space Weather Message Code: ALTK07
Serial Number: 100
Issue Time: 2015 Oct 07 1909 UTC

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 7
Threshold Reached: 2015 Oct 07 1909 UTC
Synoptic Period: 1800-2100 UTC

Active Warning: Yes
NOAA Scale: G3 - Strong

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.
Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.

Navigation - Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent.

Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 6

Space Weather Message Code: ALTK06
Serial Number: 377
Issue Time: 2015 Oct 07 1852 UTC

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 6
Threshold Reached: 2015 Oct 07 1850 UTC
Synoptic Period: 1800-2100 UTC

Active Warning: Yes
NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms.

Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.

EXTENDED WARNING: Geomagnetic K-Index of 6

Space Weather Message Code: WARK06
Serial Number: 303
Issue Time: 2015 Oct 07 0908 UTC

EXTENDED WARNING: Geomagnetic K-Index of 6 expected
Extension to Serial Number: 302
Valid From: 2015 Oct 07 0510 UTC
Now Valid Until: 2015 Oct 07 1400 UTC
Warning Condition: Persistence

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms.

Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

BEHOLD THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES


Sunday Evening, September 27 thru Monday Evening, October 5

Joseph Farah, WND

So, as we approach Sukkot, the Hebrew word for Tabernacles, let’s take a look at what His Word tells us.

Zechariah 14:16-19: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

“And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

“And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

“This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”

Looks like everyone on earth will be expected to observe the Feast of Tabernacles in the Kingdom.

That begs the question: If the feasts were for Moses and the prophets and for Jesus and His disciples, and they will once again be for all nations and all people in the Kingdom to come, why are they not for His disciples today?

I’m sure I’ll get a lot of explanations from readers.

I always do.

And I’m always willing to listen to them.

But it’s a question worth asking. I don’t think most Christians ever earnestly ask themselves and seek answers from His Word rather than from their teachers.

As I read the gospels, I see Jesus emphasizing one point over and over again. It’s the message He gave repeatedly to the Pharisees of old: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

What was He saying? He was telling them to get back to Scripture only – the divinely delivered Word of God. These were the “heavy burdens” that were laid by men on other men’s shoulders, not the eternal teachings of God.

Pray about that through Sukkot this year, which begins at sundown Sunday, Sept. 27, and lasts eight days. Learn about it, if you are so inspired. Take it to the Lord in prayer and humility.

If you want to learn more about it, I can recommend no better exposition on all the feasts than those offered by Mark Biltz, better known as “the Blood Moons guy.”

And don’t forget next Sunday evening begins another “appointed time” – one filled with extraordinary prophetic promise – the Feast of Trumpets. It is preceded Sept. 13 by the Hebrew date Elul 29 – the end of the Shemitah year. If you want to learn about the significance of that date, I can recommend no better teaching than those offered by Jonathan Cahn.

Shabot Shalom.

Magnitude 2.7 Earthquake Shelbyville, Kentucky

M2.7 - 9km NNW of Shelbyville, Kentucky

Time

  1. 2015-10-06 02:52:13 (UTC)
  2. 2015-10-05 22:52:13 (UTC-04:00) in your timezone
  3. Times in other timezones

Nearby Cities

  1. 9km (6mi) NNW of Shelbyville, Kentucky
  2. 28km (17mi) ENE of Jeffersontown, Kentucky
  3. 30km (19mi) E of Lyndon, Kentucky
  4. 32km (20mi) ENE of Fern Creek, Kentucky
  5. 35km (22mi) WNW of Frankfort, Kentucky

South Carolina’s catastrophic 1,000-year rainfall event

The meteorology behind South Carolina’s catastrophic, 1,000-year rainfall event

The rains are tapering off in South Carolina after a disastrous weekend that brought over two feet of rain and catastrophic flooding. Dams have been breached, rivers are at record flood stage, homes and cars are filled with water and multiple people have been reported dead in the disaster.

Authorities in South Carolina on Monday urged people to stay home if it was safe to do so, saying that flooding was expected to continue in more than half the state for several days. On Sunday, authorities responded to hundreds of reports of trees in roadways and hundreds of reports of flooded roads. Tens of thousands of sandbags were used by state and local agencies, while a stretch of Interstate 95 was shut down and traffic rerouted. Overnight, several cities and counties declared curfews, while others have declared states of emergency.

According to statistics compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, South Carolina’s torrential weekend rain has well surpassed a 1,000-year rainfall event — one that, on average, we would expect to see about every 1,000 years. A three-day, 1,000-year rainfall event for Charleston County would have been 17.1 inches. A four-day, 1,000-year event would have been 17.5 inches. Boones Farm Plantation, just north of Mount Pleasant, in Charleston County, reported more than 24 inches of rain through Sunday morning, which essentially blows NOAA’s 1,000-year events scale out of the water  


Monday, October 5, 2015

Magnitude 2.0 Earthquake - GEORGIA, USA


M2.0 - GEORGIA, USA
Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude 2.0
Date-Time
4 Oct 2015 03:22:17 UTC
3 Oct 2015 23:22:18 near epicenter
3 Oct 2015 22:22:17 standard time in your timezone
Location 33.221N 83.315W
Depth 4 km
Distances
13 km (8 mi) SSE of Eatonton, Georgia
17 km (10 mi) NNW of Milledgeville, Georgia
51 km (31 mi) NE of Macon, Georgia
65 km (40 mi) SE of Covington, Georgia
115 km (71 mi) ESE of Atlanta, Georgia
Location Uncertainty Horizontal: 0.6 km; Vertical 2.5 km
Parameters Nph = 11; Dmin = 25.8 km; Rmss = 0.17 seconds; Gp = 83°
Version = 8
Event ID se 60013508 ***This event supersedes event US10003ka2.
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
Southeast US Seismic Network
U.S. Geological Survey
University of Memphis
89

Friday, October 2, 2015

Vatican and Palestinian Fly Flags at U.N.

Vatican, in Switch, Will Join Palestine in Flying Flag at U.N.

Palestinian, Vatican Flags To Fly At UN

"...The Holy See flag will be raised on Friday morning, when the pope addresses the General Assembly. There will be no ceremony, the archbishop said.

The Palestinians are planning a ceremony at the rose garden of the United Nations compound on Sept. 30, when their president, Mahmoud Abbas, is scheduled to address the delegates. The pope’s envoy will be among those attending the ceremony, as will the president of the General Assembly."

Russian Church Declares Holy War in Syria

Russian church’s declaration of holy war in Syria sparks calls for jihad

The statements made by the Russian Orthodox Church describing the war being fought by the Russian army in Syria and its role in protecting the Christians in the region as a “holy war” has sparked a wave of angry Arab responses and statements on social networking sites. Such statements have reached the point of declaring a jihad in response to the Russian statement.
Others have predicted the nearness of the Dabiq battle (the Apocalypse), which indicates the end of time.

Church’s blessing for war

The Russian Orthodox Church’s public affairs department quoted the Church’s Patriarch Kirill blessing the Russian forces’ fight in Syria, saying: “Russia took a responsible decision to use military forces to protect the Syrian people from the woes brought on by the tyranny of terrorists,” adding that the “Orthodox people have noticed many acts of violence against Christians in the area.”
Russia Today quoted the head of the Church’s Public Affairs Department, Vsevolod Chaplin, saying: “The active position of our country has always been connected with protection of the weak and oppressed, like the Middle East Christians who are now experiencing a real genocide. Any fight against terrorism is moral; we can even call it a holy fight.”

Annihilation of Syrian Muslims

On his part, Syrian journalist Faisal Al-Qassem criticised the military operations carried out of the Russian Air Force in Syria, accusing them of “annihilating Syrian Muslims” referring to the Russian Orthodox Church’s description of this as “a holy war”.
In his post on Facebook, Al-Qassem said: “A few days ago, the Russian president opened the largest mosque in Moscow, then he sent his planes to Syrian to annihilate the Syrian Muslims under the pretext of the Russian church leaders describing this as a holy war.”

Calls for jihad


Activist, Khaled Hamdi, tweeted: “The Russians are burning our Syria, the Jews are desecrating our Jerusalem, the Majoos (fire worshippers) are emptying our Iraq of Sunni Muslims, and our leaders are killing our free youth.”
“Our world is on the verge of exploding in anger and jihad. The toughest fighters are those who have nothing to lose, and our youth are so.”
He added: “Jerusalem is besieged, blood is being shed in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, justice in our countries is a thing of the past, and our youth are longing for jihad. Beware to the secular Russians from our Muslim youth who long to fight them and beware of the Zionists from the jihad that is coming; a jihad that their allies prevented us from carrying out. It seems that Syria will be the meeting point and from there we will return to Jerusalem.”

X-ray Event exceeded M5

Space Weather Message Code: SUMXM5
Serial Number: 142
Issue Time: 2015 Oct 02 0040 UTC

SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded M5
Begin Time: 2015 Oct 02 0012 UTC
Maximum Time: 2015 Oct 02 0013 UTC
End Time: 2015 Oct 02 0038 UTC
X-ray Class: M5.5
Optical Class: sf
Location: S19W65
NOAA Scale: R2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact centered primarily on sub-solar point on the sunlit side of Earth.
Radio - Limited blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication for tens of minutes.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Rick Warren Joins Rome In The Name of the Family

Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren Speaks at Catholics' World Meeting of Families



Pastor Rick Warren of California's Saddleback Church gave the final keynote address of the World Meeting of Families conference, sharing the stage with Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, in Philadelphia on Friday, the day before Pope Francis arrives in the city.

"Thank you for caring about the family," warren told the crowd as he began his address on the concluding day of the conference, and quoted Pope Francis as saying that the family is under threat, according to National Catholic Register.

..."It's important that Rick Warren is here," O'Malley was quoted as saying. "This is a witness of unity that's important in today's world, as we strive to proclaim the gospel of life: the need to protect every human being from the first moment of conception until natural death, to defend the family as a sanctuary of life, and family as a sacred calling described on the first pages of the Bible as a man who leaves his mother and father to be joined in one flesh to his wife. It's a great consolation to share this stage with a fellow Christian who is truly committed to preaching the Gospel. We are truly blessed by his presence and his friendship."

The family conference seeks to add depth of meaning to the Catholic understanding of families.