7 of 10 SINKING & S American Rolls; Thailand: Fault lines are scattered around the country! Paraguay: Floods affect 90% of the Chaco! Colombia: 42 death toll from floods and landslides!

7 of 10 S American Rolls

Colombia:

/ The number of people killed due to heavy rains that hit Colombia today rose to 45, with the death of 3 children in the last hours by landslides in the departments of Tolima and Antioquia. On Friday, relief agencies delivered a balance in which they fixed in 42 the death toll from floods and landslides and 76.616 affected in 28 of the 32 provinces affected by the rains. According to the official report, the rainy season, which began a month ago, also left 35 injured, 7 missing, 14,000 houses damaged and 148 more destroyed, as that 200 roads damaged. /

Paraguay:

/ Floods affect 90% of the Paraguayan Chaco /

7 of 10 SINKING Sunda Plate

Thailand quakes:

/ Fault lines are scattered around the country, but are not a major problem.

In April this year, the India plate moved against the Sunda plate, prompting earthquakes of 8.6 and 8.2 magnitudes with after shocks. On April 16, when a 5.3 aftershock occurred in the Andaman, almost at the same time the Khlong Marui fault became active, resulting in a 4.3 magnitude earthquake and a series of smaller ones. However, Mr Thanawat and his colleagues have become concerned about an undersea transform fault line next to the India/Burma subduction zone which runs from Sumatra to Burma. The transform fault is closer to Thailand and connects to another major transform line in Burma called Sakeng. /

China:

7 of 10 SINKING Caribbean Islands

Haiti & Dominican Republic:

/ More than 11 dead and 21 000 displaced persons leave rains in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. /

7 of 10 New Madrid Adjustment

Canada:

/ Pair of city streets closed because of large sinkholes. Sections of two Winnipeg streets are closed as city crews work to repair sinkholes. Source /

U.S:

/ Roof Collapse Injures 3
Three people were hurt in Mount Morris Saturday afternoon when a roof collapsed on them. Source /

/ Large Sinkhole appears on Washington Fields Road. Source /

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Paraguay:

Floods affect 90% of the Paraguayan Chaco

    Flooding caused by heavy rains that have fallen in recent days affecting 90 percent of the Paraguayan Chaco region (north), where more than 60,000 people homeless, has revealed this Friday Gladys Cardozo, head of the Ministry of Emergency national (SEN).

    Most damaged communities are found in the western Chaco, where thousands of homes have been affected by the flooding of the River Pilcomayo. The situation is equally critical in Alto Paraguay, due to a flood from the south of Bolivia, has indicated Cardozo was quoted by local daily "ABC Color '.

    The rains have left some 60,000 homeless in the Chaco region, as estimated by Cardozo, however, the Government of Fernando Lugo There may well be some 80,000 people affected due to the extent of the damage.

    Damage to crops have not been calculated by the SEN, but Cardozo has warned that there will be losses in the millions, considering that most of this region depends on livestock and crop production. It is expected that members of the Executive to meet with farmers and producers to design a recovery plan in the long term.

    Despite this murky picture, Cardozo has said that the situation in the Chaco is improving thanks to the rains stopped. "We are slowly returning to normal. Not so fast the falling water," he stated.

http://www.europapress.es/latam/paraguay/noticia-paraguay-inundacio...

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Haiti & Dominican Republic:

More than 11 dead and 21 000 displaced persons leave rains in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

The National Meteorological Center said that the departments most affected by the rainfall in southeastern Haiti are especially Nippes, Granda and the western ÖAnse

At least 11 people dead and 21 000 displaced is the balance left by the heavy rains that have fallen in recent days in Haiti and the Dominican Republic's north, officials reported Thursday.

According to the Directorate of Civil Protection in Haiti, rainfall for the last three days have left a toll of 10 killed at least among which is a six year old, as well as more than 10 000 injured and a dozen wounded in addition to several neighborhoods and flooded streets.

Added to this, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations Organization (UNO), said the situation is critical in Port au Prince in at least 35 refugee camps in the earthquake that hit the country in 2010.

Also in the Haitian capital and its suburbs were also seen flooding, damage to crops and homes.

The National Meteorological Center said that the departments most affected by the rainfall in southeastern Haiti are especially Nippes, Granda ÖAnse and west.

Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, about 11 thousand 500 people have been displaced from their homes and about three thousand homes were damaged in the northern region and the border with Haiti.

The Emergency Operations Center (COE) reported that at least one person was killed trying to cross the river Higuamo with some animals.

The agency said that the provinces are on yellow alert in the country are Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata, Santiago, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsignor Nouel and San Jose de Ocoa.

Similarly, those who remain in green are Valverde, Santiago Rodriguez, Elias Piña Dajabón, Hermanas Mirabal, Duarte, especially the Lower Yuna, Monte Floor, Hato Mayor, San Pedro de Macoris, El Seibo, Azua, Peravia, San Cristobal, Santo Domingo, Barahona and San Juan de la Maguana.

The COE also added that on Thursday it expected large accumulated rainfall in the South and elsewhere in the country, as well as alerts will remain in the provinces because the rain will last until the weekend.

http://www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve/multipolaridad/mas-11-muertos-y-...

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Colombia:

Heavy rains leave 45 dead in Colombia

Bogota. - The number of people killed due to heavy rains that hit Colombia today rose to 45, with the death of 3 children in the last hours by landslides in the departments of Tolima and Antioquia.

The head of the Risk Management Division (DGR), Carlos Ivan Marquez told reporters Saturday that the deaths occurred in the towns of Puerto Valdivia, in the north, and Fresno, in the southwest, bringing to 45 fatalities.

"In Fresno (Tolima) we had a landslide that hit a house, a 12 year old girl died and 5 people are injured and Puerto Valdivia (Antioquia) a house was destroyed and 2 children died," explained the work

On Friday, relief agencies delivered a balance in which they fixed in 42 the death toll from floods and landslides and 76.616 affected in 28 of the 32 provinces affected by the rains.

According to the official report, the rainy season, which began a month ago, also left 35 injured, 7 missing, 14,000 houses damaged and 148 more destroyed, as that 200 roads damaged.

http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/index.php?option=com_k2&view=ite...

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Thailand:

Fault lines are scattered around the country, but are not a major problem.

Experts say a future catastrophe is more likely to be generated way off the western coast by the Sunda, Burma and India plates

A frightening scenario of hundreds of buildings crashing down and tsunami surges devastating vast areas of Thailand is unlikely, experts say, even though numerous fault lines criss-cross the country.

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD: Residents enjoy an outing organised by Phuket provincial authorities to boost people’s confidence in public safety following a recent earthquake and rumours that the island would sink yesterday.

Thailand, they believe, faces a low risk of major damage from an earthquake. The main problem is fear itself based on ignorance, which was abundant recently in Phuket where residents have suffered tremors for two weeks.

Geological studies reveal at least 14 fault lines running through the north, west and south of the country.

Twelve are in the north and west and two _ the Ranong and Khong Marui fault lines _ run through Ranong, Phuket, Phangnga and Surat Thani provinces.

Over the past 60 years, Thailand has been hit by 80 earthquakes with epicentres located on land. Most measured between 2 and 4 on the Richter scale, with only eight having a magnitude greater than 5.

But all of Thailand's fault lines are classified as ''normal'', or diverging faults, which means the Earth plates move away from each other until there is land subsidence.

Major earthquakes are usually caused by transform faults, which are two plates moving horizontally in opposite directions.

Chulalongkorn University's Geology Department and the Mineral Resources Department believe that despite public concerns Thailand has little to fear from earthquakes.

''In the opinion of geologists like us, we consider we have a low earthquake risk from the fault lines,'' said professor Thanawat Jarupongsakul, of the department's Disaster and Land Information Studies unit.

But Thailand is at risk from three plates to its west _ the Sunda, Burma and India plates _ which have been moving against each other and causing subduction zones where one plate slips beneath another. Large slips result in major earthquakes.

The 2004 Asian tsunamai was caused by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake when the India plate slipped under the Burma plate off the coast of Sumatra, according to the US Geological Survey.

In April this year, the India plate moved against the Sunda plate, prompting earthquakes of 8.6 and 8.2 magnitudes with after shocks.

What the geologists are keeping an eye on is whether subterranean activities in the Andaman sea will have an impact on local ground activity.

On April 16, when a 5.3 aftershock occurred in the Andaman, almost at the same time the Khlong Marui fault became active, resulting in a 4.3 magnitude earthquake and a series of smaller ones.

Mr Thanawat said geologists would continue monitoring the after affects of the April 16 quake. If they continue to diminish in intensity he believes they can be regarded as routine and there is no long-term threat to public safety.

However, Mr Thanawat and his colleagues have become concerned about an undersea transform fault line next to the India/Burma subduction zone which runs from Sumatra to Burma. The transform fault is closer to Thailand and connects to another major transform line in Burma called Sakeng.

The fault line only came to local geologists' attention when they exchanged information recently with their Japanese colleagues, Mr Thanawat said.

After the major earthquake on April 11 they have paid closer attention to the fault line. Dr Thanawat said according to the Japanese, the fault has no record of activity for 50 years. He says geologists are now concerned it may become more active after the recent tremors.

The closest the fault line comes to Thailand is Barren Island opposite Ranong. If an earthquake triggered a tsunami it could reach Ranong within 30 minutes, Mr Thanawat said.

But he urged people not to be afraid and accept that Thailand is located in an earthquake and tsunami risk zone, so they should be prepared for the risks.

Amorn Pimanmas, associate professor of the Project Committee at the Engineering Institute of Thailand agreed that Thailand was at low risk of localised earthquakes. But he cautioned that in the event of a tremor, damage could be worsened by lack of preparation, such as not constructing buildings to minimise the impact.

Mr Amorn said improving earthquake safety would only add 10% to construction costs. ''We still have a low awareness about these kinds of disasters. We need to prepare ourselves as best we can as we don't know when they will strike,'' he said.

Lertsin Raksaskulwong, director of the Environmental Geology and Geohazard Bureau, said state authorities and geologists have been trying their best to develop a local body of knowledge about earthquakes and tsunamis based on quake history.

He agreed the country was at low risk from localised earthquakes.

Mr Lertsin urged the public to learn more about earthquakes. He said public awareness was still low which was why people choose to believe in rumours rather than facts, as is happening in Phuket at the moment.

''Earthquakes are beyond humans' knowledge in the sense that we have no idea when they will happen. But we can prepare ourselves better by learning more about them and therefore know better how to deal with them,'' Mr Lertsin said.