Baja,California : "Magnitude 7.2 Quake"

A strong earthquake south of the U.S. - Mexico border Sunday swayed high-rises in downtown Los Angeles and San Diego and was felt across southern California and Arizona knocking out power lines and breaking pipes in some areas but causing no major damage.

The 7.2 quake struck at 3:40 p.m. in Baja California, Mexico, about 19 miles southeast of Mexicali, according to the Geological Survey. It was initially reported as a magnitude -6.9 quake. The updated magnitude was still an estimate, according to USGS seisologist Lucy Jones.

The area was hit by magnitude-3.0 quakes all week. It's been quite a while since we've had an earthquake this large.. The last time we had an earthquake this large in either Baja or California was in 1992 with the Landers earthquake, which was 7.3.

Strong shaking was reported in Coachella Valley and Riverside. The earthquake rattled buildings on the west side of Los Angeles and in San Fernando Valley, interrupting Easter dinners, Chandeliers and wine jiggled in glasses. In San Diego, there were reports of shattered windows , broken pipes and water main breaks in private buildings, but no reports of injuries. Coronade Bridge over San Diego Bay was briefly closed by the California Highway Patrol as a precaution.

One woman called firefighters and said she was stuck in an elevator descending from the 34th floor in a building in Century City.

Clint Norred, a spokeman for Yuma, Ariz., Police Department , said the quake was very strong there but he'd heard no reports of injuries or major damage. "Yuma gets tremors from time to time", he said," but Sunday was probaby one of the better ones that I can remember, and I was born here."
My spin: We have to be watchful, the quakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and thunder storms can pop up anywhere without notice. Question: Is it climate change? Answer: Yes it is.

Thousands Evacuate In Face of Powerful Typhoon - Philippines

MANILA - Philippine authorities declared a state of calamity and evacuated 33,000 people from the east of the main island as a "super typhoon" bore down on Friday, a week after flash floods in and around Manila killed nearly 300 people. Typhoon Parma, about 150 km (93 miles) east of Luzon island, was gaining strength as it churned west-northwest toward the coast, bringing heavy rain.

It was expected to make landfall in or near the northeastern province of Isabela on Saturday. The area is mountainous and not heavily populated, but Parma was likely to lash Luzon with rain over the next two days, making life worse in flood-hit regions.
"We're concerned about the effects of more rain on the relief work in flooded areas because the water level could rise again," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in a briefing aired on national television.

The weather bureau said Parma, with gusts of up to 230 kph (143 mph) at the center, would be the strongest typhoon to hit the country since 2006. The top U.S. commander of the Pacific region, Navy Admiral Timothy Keating, said two ships off the coast of Manila stood ready "with hundreds of Marines and medical assistance if more help is required."
"The weather forecast is pretty grim for the north part of Luzon," he told reporters in a Pentagon teleconference. "We think the threat to downtown Manila is lower than it is to the north part of Luzon."

At least 70,000 people fled their homes in the central Bicol region after Parma passed north of the area on Friday, bringing heavy rain. Officials said they had received some reports of landslides, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. The Asia-Pacific region has been hit by a series of natural disasters in recent days, including Typhoon Ketsana that killed more than 400 in the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Tens of thousands were also displaced in southern Laos and flash floods were reported in northern Thailand.

Two powerful earthquakes rocked the Indonesian island of Sumatra, with the death toll likely to be in the thousands, and a tsunami battered American and Western Samoa, killing nearly 150.
In Taiwan, authorities identified 12 villages for mandatory evacuation ahead of Parma and another storm in the Pacific, Typhoon Melor.
The Taiwan government came in for heavy criticism after a deadly typhoon in August killed as many as 770 people.

Climate change is affecting the whole planet. People are dying as a result of it. It will continue until we can slow global warming. Write your congressman and ask him to push for greater efforts to control climate change. We are seriously not doing enough.

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