Hong Kong typhoon; Siberian fires

Hong Kong closes ports, shuts schools as Typhoon Kai-Tak nears

Hong Kong suspended port services and shut schools as the city issued a gale warning in preparation for the second typhoon in a month.

Bloomberg,

17 August, 2012

The Hong Kong Observatory issued the No. 8 storm signal, the third-highest indicator, at 10:15 p.m. local time, according to a statement on its website. Winds with mean speeds of 63 kilometers (39 miles) per hour or more are expected as Typhoon Kai-tak approaches, the bureau said.

At 10 p.m., Typhoon Kai-tak was centered about 270 kilometers south of Hong Kong and is forecast to move at about 25 kilometers per hour toward the coast of western Guangdong province, according to the statement.

“According to the present forecast track, Kai-Tak will be closest to Hong Kong in the next few hours, skirting within 250 kilometers south-southwest of Hong Kong,” the bureau said in its bulletin. “Local winds will strengthen further. Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 will stay in force for some time. The public should be on alert and pay attention to the latest news on the tropical cyclone.”

The city’s marine department suspended pilotage services, while the education bureau earlier announced a suspension of classes at all schools. Hongkong International Terminals Ltd. and COSCO-HIT Terminals (Hong Kong) Ltd. suspended some container operations at the city’s ports. Cathay Pacific, the city’s biggest carrier, said flights may be disrupted from midnight.

Severe Typhoon Vicente, the most serious storm to hit Hong Kong since 1999, felled trees throughout the city and damaged a coal conveyor belt at a CLP Holdings Ltd. (2) power station last month. Plastic pellets owned by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. were spilled into the city’s waters from a ship during the storm, affecting fishermen

Image of the Day: Satellite view of smoke from Russia wildfires approaching North America

Modis Web,

26 April, 2012

The fires that have been plaguing Russia for months are causing smoke to drift across the Pacific Ocean towards North America. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on August 8, 2012 at 21:50 UTC.

In this image a broad band of gray smoke (center) curls across the North Pacific Ocean between two banks of clouds. In some areas, particularly in the east off of British Colombia, Canada, smoke mixes with the clouds.

According to various reports, the intense heat from the Russian fires has driven smoke high into the atmosphere – as high as 12 miles. At these high altitudes, winds carry the smoke across the North Pacific Ocean and to the shores of Canada and the northern West Coast of the United States. One obvious effect, visible to residents of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, is intensely colored, exceptionally beautiful. The particulates, however, can also create poor air quality and health hazards.

The fire season in Russia has been intense this year, driven by very dry and hot weather through the spring and summer, which followed a dry and warm winter. Fires continue to burn across Siberia and the Russian Far East.

There was recently a 7.7 earthquake in the region

Ivan Groznyy volcano erupts in Kuril Islands

Extinction Protocol,

16 August, 2012

August 16, 2012 – KURIL ISLANDS - The Ivan Groznyy (“Ivan the Terrible”) volcano erupted early on Thursday morning on the island of Iturup, part of the Kuril group in Russia’s Far East. The volcano spewed a column of ash onto the surrounding area. Local people in the nearest towns, Goryachiye Klyuchi (9 kilometers away) and the city of Kurilsk (25 kilometers), noticed a faint smell of hydrogen sulfide gas, which disappeared later. The eruption poses no threat to nearby human settlements. Scientists recorded signs of the impending eruption on Wednesday, when gas emissions on the volcano’s northeast slope increased, a Sakhalin region Emergency Ministry representative told RIA Novosti. Observation of the volcano continues. –RIA Novosti

 

The last time the volcano erupted was in 1989