Earthquake of magnitude 5.6 strikes Peru-Ecuador border region, GFZ says
The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
VOLCANO erupts in Japan as country heads towards date of 'mega disaster' predicted by 'Baba Vanga' prophet and is hit by earthquake
A volcanic eruption has rocked southern Japan, sending an ash cloud soaring 2,800metres into the sky a day before a prophecy said a 'mega disaster' would hit. Japan's Meteorological Agency is now bracing for falling volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows within a near two mile radius of Mount Shinmoedake. Authorities have also warned residents to stay inside as it prepares for the worst. It comes as an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 was recorded off the coast of the Tokara island chain yesterday. A major natural disaster was predicted by manga artist Ryo Tatsuki, who has been likened to Bulgarian prophet Baba Vanga. In her book, The Future I Saw, based on her 'prophetic dreams', she warned that disaster would struck on June 5, 2025. After her prediction went viral on social media, there was a significant drop in flight bookings to the country. Although the artist herself has cautioned people about reading too much into her predictions, it has been enough to cause panic. Manga artist Tatsuki predicted in her book that there would be a major natural disaster in the country on June 5, 2025 The blast from Mount Shinmoedake, part of the Kirishima volcanic range on Kyushu Island, erupted just after 3:30pm local time on Wednesday. It covered parts of Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures in thick ash. Japan's Meteorological Agency had already sounded the alarm, raising the alert level to 3 nearly a week earlier on June 27, after detecting signs of rising volcanic activity. At a government volcano research committee meeting held just a day before the eruption, scientists noted swelling beneath the mountain and a spike in volcanic gas output. Although no fresh magma was detected, officials warned the threat of a magma eruption couldn't be ruled out. Shimizu Hiroshi, who chairs the committee, said: 'While this eruption doesn't currently involve new magma, the possibility remains. Close monitoring is essential.' Shinmoedake has a long history of fiery activity. A devastating eruption in 2011 triggered evacuations and flight chaos across the region. The volcano last erupted in 2018, though that event was far less intense. Shinmoedake has strong to popular culture - it was famously featured as the villain's secret volcano lair in the 1967 James Bond classic, You Only Live Twice. Authorities continue to monitor the mountain around the clock as residents prepare for potential aftershocks. It has been estimated that over 900,000 people live around the volcano.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Japan's Tokara islands hit by 900 earthquakes in two weeks
More than 900 earthquakes have shaken a remote island chain in southern Japan in the past two weeks, according to the country's weather agency, leaving residents unable to sleep and fearful of what might come next. Although no major damage has been reported, the Japan Meteorological Agency has acknowledged that it does not know when the quakes would end. 'Seismic activity has been very active in the seas around the Tokara island chain since June 21,' Ayataka Ebita, director of the agency's earthquake and tsunami observation division, said at an emergency news conference on Wednesday after a magnitude 5.5 quake was registered at about 3.30pm in the island chain, located south of the main Japanese island of Kyushu. 'As of 4pm today, the number has exceeded 900,' he told reporters, adding that residents should prepare to take shelter or evacuate given the possibility the area could be hit by even stronger quakes. The Mainichi Shimbun said a record number of 740 quakes had occurred across the island chain in the 10-day period up to Tuesday. The quakes were all recorded as 1 or higher on the 7-point Japanese seismic intensity scale, which is used to describe the level of shaking, with 7 being the strongest. A lower 5 is considered powerful enough to alarm people and force them to hold on to something stable. Tokara village said on its website that residents were tired as they had been unable to sleep. 'It feels like it's always shaking,' one resident told the regional broadcaster MBC. 'It's very scary to even fall asleep.' Another said: 'It's not clear when all this will end. I should think about whether to evacuate my kids.' Official data shows that the number of daily quakes peaked at 183 on 23 June, then declined to 15 on 26 June and 16 on 27 June. But the number rose again to 34 on 28 June and 98 on 29 June. On 30 June, 62 quakes were recorded. A similar period of intense seismic activity in the Tokara area was seen in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the meteorological agency. Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with about 700 residents in total. Experts say the unusual topography of the area around the Tokara islands makes it easier for pressure to build below the seabed that is then relieved in the form of earthquakes. Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific 'ring of fire'. The archipelago, home to about 125 million people, experiences about 1,500 tremors a year and accounts for about 18% of the world's earthquakes. The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth at which they strike. Nearly 600 people died after a massive earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on New Year's Day in 2024. In March 2011, more than 18,000 people died after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami that wrecked large parts of the coastline in north-east Japan. The quake also triggered a triple meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Japan's government this week said that more needed to be done to prepare for a possible 'megaquake' that experts believe has a strong chance of striking the Pacific coast in the next three decades. Although it is impossible to predict when, exactly, an earthquake will occur, a government panel in January marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough in the next 30 years to between 75% and 82%. According to a revised government estimate in March, a megaquake in the region accompanied by a tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause damage worth up to $2tn.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
As Europe sizzles, South America shivers under cold snap
BUENOS AIRES, July 1 (Reuters) - As Europe and North America swelter through heat waves, people in South America are contending with equally extreme weather at the other end of the spectrum: a sudden cold snap. In Buenos Aires on Tuesday, locals wrapped up in scarves, puffer jackets and wooly hats, and they sipped hot drinks as frost coated cars in the early morning. Temperatures in the city dropped below zero, a rarity even in the Southern Hemisphere's winter which is currently under way and runs opposite to the Northern Hemisphere's seasons. "I literally almost froze," said Juan Manuel Amnini, a 42-year-old engineer in Buenos Aires who wore a gray wool hat and a face covering against the cold. "You cover up with whatever you have. Under this, I'm wearing layers and layers of clothes like I'm an onion." In Europe meanwhile, Italy banned outdoor work in some areas, while France shut schools and part of the Eiffel Tower. Spain confirmed its hottest June on record as a severe heat wave gripped Europe, triggering widespread health alerts. In Barcelona, authorities were looking into whether the death of a street sweeper over the weekend was heat-related. High temperatures in the northern and middle swath of the United States have been consistent since late June. Heat warnings have been issued across large areas, part of a pattern linked to climate change with high temperatures arriving earlier and lasting longer. Asphalt and concrete in cities intensify the impact by absorbing and radiating heat. In Argentina - as well as neighboring Chile and Uruguay - the cold snap led to unexpected snowfall in some areas, with chill winds from the Antarctic to the south. Many homes and offices were not built for these conditions, residents said. "Right now I have a thermal underneath my clothes, a pair of trousers, and another pair of trousers on top of those," said Gael Larrosa, a student in Buenos Aires. "I have a really hard time with the cold. Here the cold kills you, it really kills you."
