During the first twenty days of April, there were eighteen earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater, and a deadly flood almost every day.
Earthquakes
Some people think that earthquakes measuring 6.0 are no big deal, but residents of Taiwan might disagree. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake in February killed 27, injured 500, and collapsed this 17-story apartment building:
Southern Japan had over 600 earthquakes, a volcanic eruption, and several landslides in just five days:
6.4 quake strikes southwest Japan (photos, videos)
Japan earthquake update:Tens of thousands flee in fear of aftershocks and volcanoes
New powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near Japan’s Kumamoto, tsunami warnings issued
I don’t know that anyone has yet figured this one out:
Japanese city of Fukuoka, covered in mysterious foam after earthquake (VIDEOS)
Ecuador had the largest earthquake during this period:
7.8 Magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador
Ecuador quake deaths pass 500 with hundreds still missing
Magnitude-6.1 aftershock hits Ecuador following deadly earthquake
The Pacific island Vanuatu has been hit five times by magnitude 6.0 or greater quakes in the last several days:
7.2 magnitude quake strikes off Vanuatu islands
Magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes northwest of Vanuatu
Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes Vanuatu; THIRD large quake in region this week
6.0 earthquake strikes off Vanuatu coast; 4th quake in a week
Magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes off Vanuatu Islands; FIFTH + 6.0 quake in recent days
And deadly quakes have struck around the globe:
Myanmar earthquake: Two killed, 70 injured in Assam
Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes Afghanistan: Strong tremors felt in India and Pakistan capitals
Magnitude 6 earthquake shakes Zamboanga, Philippines
Strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake shakes Alaska, no tsunami warning
6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Guatemala
Barbados rocked by magnitude 6.9 earthquake
Volcanoes
In the 20th Century, there were 35 volcanic eruptions on average over the entire year; this year, there are 38 volcanoes in an active state of eruption right now! This is non-trivial. Mitch Battros posted this today:
BREAKING NEWS: Volcanoes Responsible for Climate Change Through Much of Earth’s History
A new study in the April 22 edition of the journal ‘Science’, reveals that volcanic activity associated with the plate-tectonic movement of continents may be responsible for climatic shifts from hot to cold throughout much of Earth’s history. The study, led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, addresses why Earth has fluctuated from periods when the planet was covered in ice to times when polar regions were ice-free…
…cooling periods tended to correlate with the assembly of Earth’s supercontinents, which was a time of diminished continental volcanism, Horton said. The warming periods correlated with continental breakup, a time of enhanced continental volcanism.
So enhanced volcanism leads not only to the melting of the icecaps and thus strongly rising sea levels–sea levels would rise over 200 feet if the icecaps melted–it is also “correlated with continental breakup.“ In such a situation, one would expect a big increase in earthquakes, which is occurring, as demonstrated above.
Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano erupts sending ash almost two miles into the sky
Yellowstone Volcano: “Whole lot a shakin’ goin’ on”
Floods
This April period has had a deadly flood somewhere in the world nearly every day. This record storm is expected to dissipate in the next couple of days:
Cyclone Fantala: Indian Ocean’s most powerful storm on record
28 people killed by floods in Ethiopia
24 killed as torrential rains wreak havoc in northern Pakistan
Update: Rains, landslides and floods kill over 200 in northern Pakistan
Floods in Malawi leave at least 12 dead and force thousands to evacuate
Malawi declares ‘State of Emergency’ as flooding kills dozens
23 killed by flooding in Afghanistan
Flooding hits Nairobi, Kenya after 96mm of rain in 6 hours
Flooding displaces thousands after 4 days of heavy rainfall in Argentina and Uruguay
Severe weather leaves 7 dead and over 3,000 displaced in Uruguay
Tornado kills 4, injures hundreds in southwestern Uruguay
This was the first deadly tornado in Uruguay in 30 years…
More than 200 people suffered injuries and about 400 structures have been affected, said Uruguayan Sen. Guillermo Besozzi. Images from the city showed overturned cars piled on top of one other, shattered windows and decimated buildings…The National Institute of Meteorology has yet to determine the scale of the tornado. “There are businesses in the center of the city, completely destroyed. Schools, churches destroyed. This is something never seen before. This is something out of the normal for our country,” Besozzi said.
Heavy rains and flooding kill 18 people, with 900 rescued from cars in Saudi Arabia
Cars swept away as Arabian peninsula is slammed with deluges of rain and hail
Devastating mudflow sweeps cars away and destroys shops in Jizan, Saudi Arabia
Several killed as heavy floods hit Iran
Flash floods kill 2 during rain storm in Oman
Four killed as torrential rain, hailstorms lash southern China; hailstones the size of eggs hit Hunan
Floods hit Santiago, Chile; water service to millions cut
Houston flooding: 7 dead, 1,200 rescued — and more rain to come
3,500 evacuated following widespread flooding in Fiji
Record breaking rain causes flash floods in Las Vegas, over a hundred road crashes
Sinkholes
Sinkholes are becoming so commonplace that they have been draining small lakes and ponds, and now they have drained three rivers in Mexico. The photo below shows the before-and-after of the Atoyac River:
New sinkholes drain 2 more rivers in Mexico
Segments of Atoyac River in Mexico disappear overnight after giant crack opens
Lightning
I found nine headlines about deadly lightning strikes in April such as:
Update: 30 killed by lightning strikes within 10 days in Bangladesh
Hail
If you find yourself in a hailstorm, take cover! These things are getting increasingly nasty:
Hailstones the size of BASEBALLS pound Texas, smashing windows, cars and buildings
Baseball-size hail slams Texas for second consecutive day
4 inch hailstones damage 1,000 houses in Vietnam
Freak hailstorm drops several inches of ice on Darjeeling, India
Freak hailstorm strikes Saudi Arabia
Thundering Heard
Does this give you an idea of why this site is called Thundering Heard? Each heading in this post could have been shown as “Thundering Heard: Earthquakes” or “Thundering Heard: Volcanoes,” but that would have been annoying. Still, the idea is always there. There is thundering heard on the horizon across much of the energetic spectrum. Beyond earth changes, think about national politics, geopolitics, the state of the oceans, the financial system, health care, the legal system, the oil business, education, and so forth. All systems seem to be experiencing convulsions; many are being shaken to their core. We are now all accustomed to hearing words like deflation, decline, destruction, failure, and collapse in a variety of contexts.
This site tries to remind of some of these thunderings as food for thought.
As Lao Tsu said:
Trouble is easily overcome before it starts.
Part 2 will cover major developments and earth change statistics for 2015.
Thundering Heard 