MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“TYPHOON Ma hit Japan early thismorning, injuring dozens as it crossed the southern part of Tokushima prefecture on Shikoku, Kyodo News reported.

Torrential rain and lashing winds from the typhoon injured at least 47 people in 15 prefectures, while another person was reported missing and public transportation was disrupted, Kyodo News reported.

In Okayama prefecture, a man collapsed and fell unconscious during the storm, while in Kochi prefecture, an 84-year-old man went missing after going to check on a boat.

Powerful winds also overturned a truck on the Seto-Chuo Expressway, with the driver suffering slight injuries, police told Kyodo,

Stars and Stripes reported that the typhoon had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

But as of 8:30am local time today, as the typhoon moved north-northeast, it was still packing winds of up to 120kph near its centre, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.” Read more.

“An Indonesian volcano erupted twice on Monday following its biggest eruption in weeks over the weekend, a government volcanologist said, forcing people to remain in safety shelters.

‘The two eruptions happened within ten minutes which sent a column of ash and smoke up to 600 meters into the air,’ government vulcanologist Freddy Korompis said from a monitoring post.

The 1,580-meter-tall Mount Lokon experienced its biggest eruption on Sunday with huge clouds of ash propelled 3,500 meters into the sky.

More than 5,200 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters since the volcano erupted on Thursday and its alert status was placed on the highest level.

It last erupted in 1991, killing a Swiss tourist.” Read more.

By Dave Samuhel – “Typhoon Ma-On, now packing the strength of a Category 3 hurricane, continues to threaten Japan.

Landfall in southern Japan is a distinct possibility as early as Monday night local time and recent data is even more threatening.

Winds in Ma-On strengthened from 105 mph to 135 mph on Friday before weakening slightly. The storm has since re-strengthened slightly today and further intensification is expected as it passes across the extremely warm waters of the Philippine Sea.

Ma-On will reach its peak intensity later this weekend, and it may become a super typhoon with sustained winds near 150 mph range.” Read more.

“Thousands of people on an Indonesian island have been forced to flee a fierce volcanic eruption.

Mount Lokon, on Sulawesi, started erupting at around 2230 local time (1530 GMT) on Thursday, according to reports.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The last month has seen a significant rise in volcanic activity in the area, and the alert status was raised to the highest level just days ago.

The eruption saw ash, sand and rocks thrown 1,500m (4,800ft) into the air, government volcanologist Kristianto was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

A 3.5-km (two mile) evacuation zone was established last weekend, within which around 28,000 people live, of whom 4,400 have been moved so far.” Read more.

“SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A 15-year-old girl is dead after heavy rains caused a huge sink hole to open on a northeastern Utah highway, swallowing one vehicle and causing her father’s SUV to careen off the road.

Authorities said the crash that killed Justine Barneck and injured her father, Michael Barneck, late Wednesday night happened when the road collapsed in front of them, leaving a patch of asphalt on the edge of the hole that the vehicle hit, causing the fatal accident.

At about the same time, a second car actually went into the 40-foot-wide, 30-foot-deep hole, said Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Johnson. The driver of that vehicle, 37-year-old Helen Paulson, was hurt, but the extent of her injuries was not immediately clear.

The accidents near Tabiona, about 90 miles east of Salt Lake City, came about 15 minutes after a heavy storm began at about 11:30 p.m., quickly overflowing a clogged culvert and washing out the two-lane state road, Johnson said.” Read more.

By Colin Barr – “Call this the year of catastrophes – and not just the financial kind that the guys in Washington and Brussels seem resolved to lead us into.

Halfway through, this year is already the costliest on record for natural catastrophes, insurer Munich Re said Tuesday in its first-half review. Losses hit $265 billion in the first six months of 2011 – which exceeds the $220 billion in losses in the biggest previous year for natural disasters, 2005.

Most of the losses this year stem from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which caused more than 15,000 deaths and accounted for $210 billion in economic losses. That is another record, beating out the $125 billion in losses caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Losses tied to the quake have already taken a toll on insurance industry profits. First-half insured losses hit $60 billion, Munich Re said – five times the annual average over the past decade.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), which last year took a big stake in Munich Re, said in April that it would likely report an insurance underwriting loss this year for the first time in almost a decade, thanks to the Japanese disaster and other calamities, mostly in Asia.” Read more.