MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Chana Ya’ar – “At least four people are dead and two more are missing in a typhoon that smashed into Japan from the Pacific Ocean.

Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are bracing for the worst as the storm heads their way.

‘We have taken every possible measure against the typhoon,’ Naoko Tsunoda, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the plant, told reporters.

‘We have tied down cables and hoses while fixing equipment so that radioactive materials will not spread [in the violent winds].’ All ground and sea operations have been suspended, he added.

Winds were raging at up to 130 miles per hour at the center of the storm, with heavy rains pouring down.

Four people were found dead in central and western Japan. A young boy disappeared on his way home from elementary school, and another person has disappeared as well in the central prefecture of Gifu.

The storm, dubbed Typhoon Roke by Japan’s Meteorological Agency, made landfall near Hamamatsu in central Japan at about 2:00 p.m. local time Wednesday, and was on course to move northeast across the island of Honshu.” Read more.

By NASRULLAH ROA – “MOUNT TAMBORA, Indonesia — Bold farmers in Indonesia routinely ignore orders to evacuate the slopes of live volcanoes, but those living on Tambora took no chances when history’s deadliest mountain rumbled ominously this month.

Villagers like Hasanuddin Sanusi have heard since they were young how the mountain they call home once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded – an 1815 event widely forgotten outside their region – killing 90,000 people and blackening skies on the other side of the globe.

So, the 45-year-old farmer didn’t wait to hear what experts had to say when Mount Tambora started being rocked by a steady stream of quakes. He grabbed his wife and four young children, packed his belongings and raced down its quivering slopes.

‘It was like a horror story, growing up,’ said Hasanuddin, who joined hundreds of others in refusing to return to their mountainside villages for several days despite assurances they were safe.

‘A dragon sleeping inside the crater, that’s what we thought. If we made him angry – were disrespectful to nature, say – he’d wake up spitting flames, destroying all of mankind.’

…People here are jittery because of the mountain’s history – and they’re not used to feeling the earth move so violently beneath their feet. Aside from a few minor bursts in steam in the 1960s, the mountain has been quiet for much of the last 200 years.

Gede Suantika of the government’s Center for Volcanology said activity first picked up in April, with the volcanic quakes jumping from less than five a month to more than 200.

‘It also started spewing ash and smoke into the air, sometimes as high as 1,400 meters (4,600 feet),’ he said. ‘That’s something I’ve never seen it do before.'” Read more.

“VLADIVOSTOK – A volcano has erupted on Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, with ash rising to an altitude of 10 km above sea level, RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.

During the eruption, a crevice with a depth of about 30 meters was formed on top of the volcano. An earthquake that lasted seven minutes was also recorded, a representative from the Russian Academy of Sciences was quoted as saying.

The volcano’s 10-km ash column was the highest during the past month, breaking the record of 8200 meters.

Currently there is no danger for local communities near the Shiveluch volcano, though the ashes may spread to nearby villages, the representative said.” Read more.

By Sarah Graham – “Britain was today lashed by winds of up to 80mph which tore roofs off buildings, uprooted trees and knocked power out to thousands of homes.

In the worst storm to hit the UK in 15 years, ferries were cancelled and motorists were warned to take extra care when driving.

A couple from Wales have told how they were woken in the night to discover their entire roof had blown off in Hurricane Katia’s 60mph gales.

Grandparents Margaret and Derrie Yeardle were amazed at the strength of the winds which ripped off the top of their home in Mount Pleasant, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.

Margaret, 61, said: ‘We are really shocked, I never expected anything like this to happen – we’ve lived here for 40 years and now our house is ruined.

‘In some ways we are lucky. It could have so easily come down on us while we were in bed.’

Ports around Britain have been battered by huge waves leading to the cancellation of ferries while trees have been uprooted, causing damage to cars and houses.

The swirling remnants of Hurricane Katia have crossed the Atlantic and hit land by this morning, sweeping across large swathes of the country.

The pensioners were woken at four in the morning by a huge crash and rushed downstairs to discover their roof lying in middle of the street.

Margaret, a retired home support worker, said: ‘I saw blue lights flashing through our curtains.

‘I looked out in to the road and there was huge mess. I thought: ‘There’s a nasty accident outside’.

‘So I went downstairs, opened the front door and the girl across the road said: ‘Are you alright?

That’s the roof of your house in the road’.” Read more.

“On the morning of 8 September 2011, the New Southeast Crater of Etna has produced its 13th paroxysmal eruptive episode of the year 2011, generating a tall eruption column that moved south-southeast, and provoking ash and lapilli falls on numerous population centers including Trecastagni, Viagrande, San Giovanni La Punta, and the eastern part of Catania.

During this paroxysm, brief explosive events occurred also from various spots on the northern flank of the New Southeast Crater cone.” Source.

“Officials in the Pennsylvania area along the Susquehanna River have ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes. The rivers waters have continued to rise following Tropical Storm Lee and the river is expected to crest at 41 feet by 8pm.

According to one county commissioner speaking with the Standard Speaker:

‘We want people to heed our order and leave,’ while they add, ‘It’s significant. We want them to leave.’

Pennsylvania residents aren’t the only one’s experiencing problems brought on my flooding, an evacuation notice was also issued for Eastern New York as the Hudson and Mohawk are expected to spill over.

As a safety precaution officials in Binghmaton, NY have closed all bridges in the area and ordered an urgent notice, telling residents ‘you need to move now.’ The urgent evacuation notice came after the Army Corps of Engineers shut down two major dams, while the areas sewage plant was taken offline due to flooding.

Residents in areas where flooding is likely are being asked to conserve fresh water in the event that filtration plants are also shut down for flooding.

According to WGAL 8 the circumstances surrounding the flooding are dangerous and have already led to the deaths of at least three people in Pennsylvania.” Read more.

“The lava dome at a remote Alaska volcano has resumed growing, prompting officials to raise its alert level.

The dome now fills the floor of the crater at Cleveland Volcano, 940 miles southwest of Anchorage.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Tuesday raised the volcano’s alert level to watch status. The threat level was dropped on Aug. 30, but raised against after a persistent thermal anomaly started Saturday. Observatory officials say in a news release that’s when the lave dome likely started growing again.

The dome was 262 feet in diameter on Aug. 30, but is now about 394 feet in diameter.

Officials say if that continues, lava flows could start on the flanks of the volcano. The growing dome also increases the possibility — but doesn’t ensure — an explosive eruption.” Source.

By Junko Ogura and Yoko Wakatsuki – “Tokyo (CNN) — The death toll from Talas, which swept across western Japan, has risen to 29, local authorities said Monday.

Another 56 people are missing, according to a tally of casualties compiled from various prefectural police.

The storm unleashed record rainfall that triggered landslides and flooding.

The Japan Meteorological Agency briefly classified the storm as a typhoon before it made landfall. But the Joint Typhoon Warning Center recorded the storm making landfall in Japan as a tropical storm.

‘I have been working for the prefectural office over 40 years, but this is the worst in my memory,’ said Tsutomu Furukawa of Wakayama prefecture. Wakayama is one of three prefectures on the mountainous Kii Peninsula, where damage from Talas was concentrated as the storm swept across the area on Saturday.

In the town of Nachi Katsuura in Wakayama, a river flooded into a residential area, and mudslides swallowed several homes, officials said.” Read more.