WHAT IS HAPPENING AT WHITE ISLAND VOLCANO??? New Zealand/Kermadec & South Pacific QUAKE/VOLCANO WATCH

Witnesses tell of CTV collapse

The director of Southern Demolition found charred furniture as rubble was cleared from the CTV building's wreckage.

Eyewitness accounts of the building's collapse were being heard by the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission today.

Alan Edge said in his evidence that by February 23, the fire that started near the lift shaft had travelled some distance under the main rubble.

Edge was at the company office at Mowbray St when the February 22 quake hit.

He received a call from the fire service and police asking for Southern Demolition to go to the CTV building, as it had collapsed.

He arrived with four operators, two high reach diggers and a 30 tonne excavator after about two hours.

He said the demolition his company carried out was solely for the purpose of finding survivors and bodies.

When he arrived the fire was already smouldering and he could see smoke. At that stage it was localised to the lift shaft area.

Eventually flames became visible, indicating the fire was burning underneath, he said.

He estimated a third of the building was smouldering.

He stayed at the CTV site for 19 hours, went home to sleep for 2-3 hours, then returned for another 18-19 hours.

When he returned the fire was still smouldering but he did not recall seeing flames.

As rubble was pulled away, charred furniture was visible underneath.

Edge said this confirmed the fire had travelled some distance from the lift shaft under the main rubble.

The fire continued for a few days, he said.

ROOFER THREW MATE TO SAFETY

A roofer working on the Canterbury Television building when the February 2011 earthquake hit grabbed his workmate by the toolbelt and threw him to safety.

Leonard Fortune was waterproofing the western wall of the building at the time of the collapse.

He had first arrived at the site on February 21.

The task was to level the walls, add timber battening and seal the wall with sheets of iron. The demolition of a building to the west of the CTV building had left three floors of the western wall exposed.

On February 21, 2011, he had to go inside the building to run a lead to do the work.

The building made "weird groaning noises" even when demolition was not going on nearby.

He told his colleagues that people should not be working in there.

"It just didn't feel right.''

As part of the work they were doing, the crew had to drill into the building to put up cladding.

He said they found that the top rows of masonry blocks along each section of masonry work were hollow and did not appear to be lined up correctly.

At one point during their work, someone told him that some masonry blocks had fallen through to the other side of where they were working, which was the level 1 car park.

The crew was halfway through the second day of a two-day job when the quake hit on February 22.

Fortune and colleague James Askew were standing on a scissor lift and when the shaking started, the scissor lift and the building seemed to jump, he said.

"The vertical movement was probably about 200 millimetres," he said.

Fortune looked up and saw the top of the building had swayed about 1.5 metres to the west.

When the masonry blocks started spitting out into the cladding paper "it was at this point I could see we had to get away from the building", he said.

Seeing Askew struggling to get to the door, he grabbed him by his toolbelt and threw him over the scissor lift in a bid to get him to safety.

At this point, he saw that a column between levels 2 and 3 had cracked. The steel had fractured out and the column was buckling under the weight.

He pushed a piece of concrete coming towards him out of the way, which thrust him out of the lift. He then curled up on the ground next to the wheel.

He said from his view it "looked like a war zone".

The masonry blocks he had been working on had "completely disintegrated".

"It looked like the building had fallen into a hole.''

rest of article and some photos
[link to www.stuff.co.nz]

Lightning strikes planes in Auckland

Two planes were struck by lightning shortly before landing at Auckland Airport and a passenger claims the wild weather left a hole in the tail of one aircraft.

Christchurch woman Nancy Higgins said her Air New Zealand flight with 144 passengers was about 10 minutes from landing just before 8am yesterday when she heard "a loud bang".

She said a friend was on a Jetstar flight, which had departed about 10 minutes before the Air New Zealand flight, and her aircraft was also struck by lightning.

A Jetstar spokesman confirmed the plane had been struck and said it had suffered "minor damage". He said the aircraft was being assessed by engineers.

Passengers had reported seeing a hole in the plane's tail, however the spokesman said the only visible damage was a small scorch mark.

"These incidents are not uncommon when flying in adverse weather and our aircraft are perfectly capable of dealing with these situations when they arise."

Higgins said when lighting struck her flight there was ''a huge pop and the plane sort of wobbled a bit''.

''At first I thought the engine was on fire but then I looked out the window and saw a red flash and the stewardess who was sitting in front of me - we were coming down to land - said there had been a lightning strike," she said.

"I got off the plane and was going to tell my friend what happened, but then she was telling me about it as well, so we both had the same experience."

Higgins said passengers were calm and the pilot made no announcement over the loudspeaker to tell them the plane had been struck.

However, the pilot on the Jetstar flight told passengers once they had landed that the plane had been struck by lightning.

"It was interesting that the plane ahead of us was hit five or ten minutes before and we must have gone into the same storm," said Higgins.

An Air New Zealand spokesman said the plane "encountered lightning on approach to Auckland", but the pilot landed the plane without incident.

[link to www.stuff.co.nz]

4.8 2012/06/26 12:32:37 -21.807 -176.666 187.6 FIJI REGION

4.2 2012/06/26 08:04:11 -31.164 -179.763 345.5 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION

nz quakes listed for yesterday

2.7 13:55:56 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 49.7171 km

3.5 12:37:45 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 7.0308 km

3.7 12:28:52 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 8.9825 km

3.2 11:38:11 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 5.1309 km

3.1 09:55:07 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 151.7482 km

2.7 08:41:22 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 22.333 km

2.0 05:19:15 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 30.9121 km

3.5 04:02:03 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 113.26 km

1.8 02:57:05 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 3.488 km

2.9 02:31:17 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 44.4393 km

2.6 02:19:03 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 38.7563 km

2.1 01:53:36 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 27.9389 km

2.1 00:36:57 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 12.0 km

map to see locations
[link to quakemap.co.nz]

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Harmonic seismic tremors continue under El Hierro volcanic island

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]
diagram and seismograph

June 26, 2012 – CANARY ISLANDS – While the unusually strong earthquake swarm under El Hierro Island continues, harmonic volcanic tremor has reappeared short time ago at about 16h10 UTC. The tremor, a low-frequency ground vibration, is thought to be caused by moving magma. It had been strong yesterday and correlated well with a southward propagation of earthquake locations, suggesting that magma at about 20 km depth flew from underneath the El Golfo area towards the EL Julan (south) coast, in a similar way as before the Oct 2011 eruption, but became blocked there, and did not reach the southern rift zone near La Restinga. After the cease of tremor in the afternoon, earthquakes still continued at high rate, marking a record figure with over 180 quakes larger than M2 yesterday alone, and more than 150 quakes larger than M1.5 so far today. In other words, pressure continued to cause wide-spread rock fracturing underground and cause small intrusions of fluids. Now, the re-appearance of tremor could mean that magma is moving again somewhere underneath the island. Where to and whether or not it might reach the surface and initiate a new eruption is difficult to know at the moment. It is essential to continue to monitor location and magnitude of earthquakes. –Volcano Discovery

Moderately strong eruptive acvity reported at Italy’s Stromboli volcano

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]
photo

June 26, 2012 – ITALY – Our colleague Marc Szlegat just returned from a visit to Stromboli volcano whose activity has recently been increasing. Marc observed that there were 5 active glowing vents within the crater terrace. The most spectacular explosions took place from the eastern vent, the cone that had been building since 2009. They occurred roughly every 20 minutes, with sometime powerful explosions ejecting lava bombs up to 300 m height, many of which falling onto the Sciara del Fuoco. Frequent eruptions also occurred from the western vent, with typical ejection heights of 50-100 m, and occasionally up to about 200 m. A third vent in the central crater and rarely a vent at the extreme western end of the crater erupted occasionally as well–Volcano Discovery

Kamchatka’s Shiveluch volcano unleashes twin pillars of ash
Posted on June 26, 2012

[link to theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com]
photo

June 26, 2012 – KAMCHATKA – The Shiveluch Volcano, which is currently erupting in Kamchatka, threw up two pillars of ash, to a height of 6.5 km. It has been assigned an aviation hazard level of code orange according to the Geological Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The ash particles can damage to aircraft engines and mechanisms and caused an aviation disaster. Seismic activity is above the norm but there is no danger to human settlements. Shiveluch has seen increased since May 2009. –VOR

Gales to join snow, ice

[link to www.stuff.co.nz]
photo

Strong winds are expected to lash the South Island today as heavy snow and ice covering parts of the country close roads and make driving treacherous.

Affected by the weather? Send your newstips, photos and videos to [email protected]

Snow had fallen to near sea levels in some areas, including Fiordland and Southland, and about 200m in Buller and Westland.

The snow had closed Arthurs and Lewis passes, SH93 from Clinton to Mataura, and SH87 from Outram to Kyeburn and SH94 from Te Anau to Milford Sound in the South Island.

SH94 from Mossburn to Te Anau and SH6 from Haast to Makarora had vehicle restrictions.

The Transport Authority advised drivers to be cautious on SH99 from Riverton to Tuatapere, SH96 from Riverton to Tuatapere, and SH8 from Omarama to Tarras.

A 24-year-old man was in serious condition with head injuries after his car slipped in black ice and crashed into a pole on Maclaggan St in Dunedin about 3.30am today.

Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken of Dunedin police warned motorists to take care and to drive to the conditions.

"Don't travel unless it's really necessary, certainly until a little bit later in the morning when the frost comes off," he said.

Major detours were in place in the central North Island as heavy snow closed a 90km section of State Highway 1 from Turangi to Taihape, including the Desert Road, as well as part of State Highway 4.

That meant motorists travelling north and south through the North Island would have to use State Highway 3 to the west as an alternate route.

The section of State Highway 1 had been closed since 5.30pm yesterday and it was unknown when it would reopen as snow continued to fall.

State Highway 49 linking Waiouru and Ohakune was also closed.

Police highway patrol senior sergeant Kris Burbery said people needed to be more aware on the roads this morning.

"Our plea is for people to take care and accept that there is going to be more traffic," he said.

"Be prepared for a change in the weather especially on days like today."

In the past 24 hours, Mount Ruapehu's Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields had a dumping of snow between 30 and 41cm, respectively.

Both ski fields were closed today.

Snow was also forecast above 700m in Taumarunui, Taihape, Whanganui and Manawatu in the central North Island.

Heavy snow falls were also expected to continue today in Fiordland, Southland, Buller and Westland, where another 10 to 15cm of snow could accumulate before easing this morning.

GALES EXPECTED

MetService meteorologist Daniel Corbett said the cold southwesterly flow would slowly loosen its grip through the course of the day.

However, there was another surge of strong wind expected, he said.

Gales of up to 120kmh were expected to hammer the Clutha and Dunedin districts from tonight until tomorrow morning.

Central Hawke's Bay and the Tararua District could also experience strong winds at times, particularly this afternoon and early evening.

Winds of that strength had the potential to topple trees, damage powerlines and make driving hazardous.

Corbett said thunderstorms were also likely to hit Taranaki, possibly as far south as Kapiti this afternoon.

"It's still going to be windy in places, still some showers as you go towards to Thursday.

"By the time we go to Friday, high pressure is starting to build in from Australia and by Saturday it's finally quiet and a dry, sunny day for many of us," he said.

Pet's killing linked to drilling - owners

[link to www.stuff.co.nz]
photo

The owners of a dog found with its throat slit believe it is linked to opposition to a proposed oil drilling venture on their land.

Mark and Annabel Franklin found the body of their 14-year-old jack russell, Pip, on the deck of their farmhouse about 20 kilometres southeast of Dannevirke on June 9.

Dannevirke police have been informed and are investigating.

"It knocked the socks off both of us," Mr Franklin said. "It was just a disgusting, despicable thing for someone to do."

The fourth-generation farmer of the property in Mangatuna Rd told The Dominion Post the family had been severely shaken by the action, which they believed was linked to a resource consent application by oil companies TAG/Apache to build a well pad on their property.

Mr Franklin said he could understand opposition to the proposal but struggled to believe it could provoke this sort of behaviour.

He said a community meeting of residents discussing the application had been held on the Wednesday before the dog was killed. The Franklins attended and "walked into a bit of an ambush".

"It was quite hostile and there seemed to be a lot of facts that didn't seem to apply to our situation. We were quite shaken after that."

It was enough to prompt the couple to speak to their lawyer about getting out of their contract with TAG/Apache. The companies had been very understanding and excellent to deal with, he said.

The companies, which hold permits to explore the North Island's east coast, have lodged an application with Horizons Regional Council to build an access road and a well pad at another property east of Dannevirke. Applications to drill an exploratory well will follow.

Plane turbulence: Storms present new front

[link to www.stuff.co.nz]

Australian researchers have discovered storms can cause turbulence more than 100km away - a revelation which they say should prompt a complete re-write of aircraft safety guidelines.

New research out of the Melbourne University's Centre of Excellence has shown thunderstorms could produce unexpected atmospheric gravity waves more than 100km away from storm cells.

Chief investigator Todd Lane said air safety guidelines worldwide did not take them into account.

"It is likely that many reports of encounters with turbulence are caused by thunderstorm generated gravity waves, making them far more important for turbulence than had previously been recognised," he said.

"Previously it was thought turbulence outside of clouds was mostly caused by jet streams and changes in wind speed at differing altitudes, known as wind shear, but this research reveals thunderstorms play a more critical role."

The research, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, showed thunderstorms could have far more reaching effects.

Lane said it was now recognised that thunderstorms significantly modified the airflow, strengthening the jet stream and enhancing wind shear at a significant distance from the storm cell itself.

Many flights, including those operating in New Zealand, detoured around storm cells.

However, Lane said the research indicated they could still be close enough to encounter gravity waves and clear-air turbulence.

The researchers said the unexpected turbulence could lead to passenger injuries.

It is estimated about 97 per cent of injuries caused by turbulence during flight occurred because people were not wearing seatbelts. On average, around 15 people are injured every year due to turbulence.

Beyond the immediate safety concerns, it has been estimated that turbulence costs the aviation industry more than $100m a year globally due to associated rerouting and service checks, Lane said.

Despite this, he said little research was being carried out even though advances in technology now made it possible.

"Ten years ago, we didn't have the computing power and atmospheric models to answer some of the important questions around turbulence.

"Now we can answer some crucial questions but there are only a few groups working on this problem. We need more researchers to become engaged to improve the guidelines and passenger safety," Lane said.

Strong winds about central NZ

[link to nz.news.yahoo.com]

A very strong west to southwest flow is expected to affect New Zealand during Wednesday and Thursday.

Very strong west to southwest winds are expected to affect the central North Island, the northwest of the South Island and the southeast of the South Island during Wednesday and Thursday.

A Warning is in force for severe westerly winds in central Hawkes Bay and the Tararua District during Wednesday afternoon and evening,there is also the possibility that winds could rise to severe strength again in this area early Thursday morning.

A Wind Warning is also in force for severe winds in Clutha and Dunedin from this evening until late Thursday morning, and this Watch also covers the possibility that winds could reach severe gale in Southland as well from this afternoon until Thursday morning.

Strong southwesterly winds are also expected at times through the Nelson region and about coastal Buller from this afternoon until Thursday morning, and a Watch for the possibility of winds rising to severe gale in these areas will also be maintained.

Snow showers in the cold southwesterlies have eased about the central North Island high country early Wednesday morning and the Watch for heavy snow for that region is lifted. However for Nelson above 400 metres there is the possibility of brief heavy snow from late Wednesday morning to early afternoon. Although it looks unlikely that warning amounts will accumulate the Watch for heavy snow will be maintained

Road closures, crashes as more snow falls

[link to nz.news.yahoo.com]

Several South Island highways and the Desert Road in the North Island are closed following heavy snowfall overnight.

In the South Island, State Highway 94 from Te Anau to Milford, SH93 from Clinton to Mataura and SH87 from Outram to Kyeburn are shut on Wednesday morning, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency.

SH7 through Lewis Pass and SH73 through Arthurs Pass are also closed.

[ [link to nz.yahoo.com] it snowing in your area? Send us your images of the big freeze.]


A police southern communications spokesman told NZ Newswire that some roads in Dunedin are covered in snow, making it difficult for motorists.

A car and logging truck had been stuck in snow just outside of Lawrence, west of Dunedin, for about two hours from 4.30am.

A Southern Fire communications shift manager says they had attended one crash in Dunedin on Tuesday morning which was ice-related.

The South Island, especially the lower part, has been hit with blistery weather this week.

Metservice warned on Tuesday that heavy snowfall and gales up to 150km/h would batter much of Southland, Canterbury, Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa.

Electricity company Power Net, which covers the Southland region, said a small number of customers were without power on Tuesday morning due to heavy snowfall.

Metservice warnings remain in place with a strong southwest flow expected to become more intense in the southeast of the South Island.

Gales up to 120km/h are likely across Southland until Thursday.

"Winds of this strength have the potential to topple trees, damage powerlines and unsecure structures and can make driving hazardous," the Metservice website said.

Heavy snow is expected in Fiordland, Westland, Buller and Southland.

More snow and wind on the way

[link to nz.news.yahoo.com]

More snow is expected to fall on the Desert Road today.

The road in the central North Island was closed last night because of snow.

In the South Island the Lewis Pass is closed, along with a number of other state highways in the deep south.

People planning on travelling on the Arthur's and Lindis passes are also urged to carry chains because of snow.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says winds will strengthen for many regions today and more squally showers and snow to low levels is expected.

Are you getting all the snow, T? I go through this most winters where I live.

hiya OG! xx

no, it is very rare around here, although we can often see some..

but having said that, last year we did get a wee sprinkling here, and other parts of the north island that don't normally get it

2.7 23:27:48 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 54.664 km

3.1 22:14:23 Tue 26 Jun 2012 Depth: 5.0 km

nz quakes listed so far for yesterday

2.7 11:16:47 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 50.394 km

2.7 10:31:16 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 40.6075 km

2.7 10:22:53 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 74.6824 km

2.8 09:47:29 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 24.6004 km

2.9 08:49:35 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 13.3242 km

2.8 05:30:50 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 7.0821 km

3.1 05:26:47 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 5.0 km

2.7 05:22:05 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 31.3022 km

3.0 05:05:27 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 33.0 km

3.3 04:53:13 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 7.7778 km

3.4 03:48:58 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 160.3957 km

2.6 03:36:33 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 30.9596 km

3.5 03:08:48 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 189.7268 km

2.9 00:01:30 Wed 27 Jun 2012 Depth: 7.2893 km

map to see where they were
[link to quakemap.co.nz]

the last quake listed was at 11.16am so presumably more will be added..

some interesting volcano camera shots

i wonder what the black spot(s) in the sky is
[link to postimage.org]

and look at this crazy cloud formation last night also
[link to postimage.org]

holy shit..

what is this on the denniston (upper South island )seismo??

[link to www.geonet.org.nz]

and this is not a good look on the tarawera seismo
[link to www.geonet.org.nz]

lets hope it returns to normal soon..

the nz volcano graphs

[link to postimage.org]

more red creeping into some

THE FUCKING SIGNAL IS GONE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

DAMN THAT I CAN'T DO SCREENSHOTS!!!!!!!!!