MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

North Korea has started preparing for a possible eruption of Mt. Baekdu, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday. Quoting sources in Ryanggang Province, North Korea, the station said two geography professors of Kim Jung-suk University of Education involved in a Mt. Baekdu expedition team have recently been to Pyongyang to attend a seminar on Mt. Baekdu volcanic activity.  Read more.

Another volcano erupts in Japan. Minami-dake crater at Sakurajima on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, erupted Tuesday, following volcanic explosions at Mt. Kirishima in the same region, speweing plumes of smoke and ash up to 2,000 meters into the air.  Read more.

Trees are down, cars have been swept away, roofs have been torn off and the sand on the beach is gone. “Nothing’s been spared. The devastation is phenomenal, like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” the veteran of at least five cyclones told the ABC.  Read more.

CAIRNS, Australia — Thousands of people fled their homes and crammed into shelters in northeastern Australia on Wednesday as the most powerful cyclone in the country’s history barreled toward a string of popular tourist cities lining the coast.  Read more.

Several airlines canceled flights to Indonesia’s top tourist destination island of Bali on Thursday because of volcano ash, an Indonesian government spokesman said. Mount Bromo, on eastern Java island and one of dozens of active volcanoes in the archipelago, started erupting in November. Ash from Mount Merapi, also on Java, disrupted flights in November. Read more.

A one-mile cordon was established around Shinmoedake on Mount Kirishima after it burst into life. Domestic flights have been cancelled, and raill lines and roads shut. Read more.