Canary Island Of La Palma ROCKED By Over 70 Earthquakes

The Canary island of La Palma has been rattled by another swarm of earthquakes. This new swarm reignites fear that the Cumbre Vieja volcano could erupt just four months after a swarm of 200 earthquakes rocked the island.

According to the Express UK, the Spanish archipelago was struck by up to 70 small quakes, recorded between Monday and Wednesday, reaching between magnitude 1.5 and 2.6 on the Richter scale. Government officials announced more quakes were felt between 3 am and 6:30 am this morning at magnitudes of between 2.1 and 1.5. Most of them were located in the area of Los Canarios, in Fuencaliente, and in El Pueblo, Villa de Mazo, although they have also been registered in El Paso and Tazacorte.

The Canary government, however, is desperate to know why the earthquakes have begun again. They also want to know what could happen in the future.

A statement by government bosses read:

“Given the increase in seismic activity recorded on the island of La Palma, the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Sustainability and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, in application of the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care for Volcanic Risk (PEVOLCA), has convened tomorrow Friday, February 16, a meeting of the Scientific Committee of Evaluation and Monitoring of Volcanic Phenomena.

“On the agenda of the meeting, which will be chaired by the Deputy Minister of Environment and Security, Blanca Delia Pérez, will be to discuss the precursors and parameters of seismic activity on the island in recent weeks; assess the activity and evolution forecast, and appoint the sole representative of the Steering Committee.

“The Scientific Committee for Evaluation and Monitoring of Volcanic Phenomena is formed, in addition to the Government of the Canary Islands and representatives of the General State Administration, by the National Geographic Institute (IGN); the Superior Council of Scientific Investigations (CSIC); the Canarian Volcanological Institute (Involcan); the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME); State Meteorological Agency (AEMET); Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO); specialists of the two Canarian universities (ULPGC and ULL) and representatives of other prestigious institutions in the study and research of volcanology in the Canary Islands.”

As with every seismic event,  experts stressed there is no imminent danger of an eruption and say the movements that struck at a depth of between 14 and 30 kilometers are considered “normal” for a volcanic island. Nonetheless, La Palma is being monitored closely to detect every single movement, even though they have not been felt by the public.

Following the quakes in October, scientists stepped up monitoring in the Cumbre Vieja area with more seismic stations and GPS antennas, together with a continuous radon measurement station.

Yellowstone ALERT: 200 Earthquakes In 10 Days As Ring Of Fire Awakens

Scientists in Yellowstone have detected over 200 earthquakes at the supervolcano in the last 10 days. With reports coming in that the Ring of Fire could be awakening as well, many are preparing for the worst.

Although scientists are still telling the public there’s no need to be alarmed, reports of immense pressure in the magma chamber under Yellowstone, coupled with this new report claiming 200 earthquakes have been recorded in the last ten days are reigniting fears of a potential supervolcano eruption. According to The Daily Mail, this latest earthquake swarm began on February 8.

Experts with the US Geological Survey say that this latest swarm began in a region roughly eight miles northeast of West Yellowstone, Montana and, it’s increased dramatically in the days since. While the earthquakes are likely caused by a combination of processes beneath the surface, the current activity is said to be “relatively weak,” and the alert level at the supervolcano remains at “normal.” The USGS says the new swarm is occurring in about the same location as the Maple Creek swarm last summer, which brought roughly 2,400 earthquakes in a four-month span.

Experts also say there are likely many more earthquakes in the Yellowstone region that have gone undetected.  “The present swarm started on February 8, with a few events occurring per day,” according to USGS. “On February 15, seismicity rates and magnitudes increased markedly. As of the night of February 18, the largest earthquake in the swarm is M2.9, and none of the events have been felt. All are occurring about 8 km (5 mi) beneath the surface.”

“Swarms reflect changes in stress along small faults beneath the surface, and generally are caused by two processes: large-scale tectonic forces, and pressure changes beneath the surface due to accumulation and/or withdrawal of fluids (magma, water, and/or gas),” USGS explains. “The area of the current swarm is subject to both processes.”

“While it may seem worrisome, the current seismicity is relatively weak and actually represents an opportunity to learn more about Yellowstone,” USGS says. “It is during periods of change when scientists can develop, test, and refine their models of how the Yellowstone volcanic system works.” However, the experts did lace a warning into their statement. “The earthquakes, too, serve as a reminder of an underappreciated hazard at Yellowstone – that of strong earthquakes, which are the most likely event to cause damage in the region on the timescales of human lives.”

 

Iceland’s Biggest Volcano Is ‘Ready To Erupt’ As Europe Faces A Disaster

Iceland’s biggest volcano has been rocked by the strongest earthquake since it last erupted in 2014.   With swarms of earthquakes occurring in the French Alps too, Europe is facing what could be one of the largest natural disasters in history.

Last week, the 6,591-foot tall Bardarbunga, a “powerful and versatile” volcano, was rattled by the four largest earthquakes since it last erupted in 2014.  The earthquakes, measuring in magnitudes of 3.9, 3.2, 4.7, and 4.7 on the Richter scale, struck the caldera region over several days last weekend. Another magnitude 4.1 earthquake hit the 200km long and 25km wide volcanic system earlier last week and several tremors struck in September.

Páll Einarsson, a volcanology expert at the University of Iceland, said the latest quakes are part of a series that have been “in progress for two years”. Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Online, he said the volcano is “clearly preparing for its next eruption” within the next few years.

Fears are spiking even higher when considering the earthquake swarm that has been rocking the French Alps recently.

The 10,000-year-old volcano spewed out large volumes of sulfur dioxide during its last seven-month eruption which took place between August of 2014 and February of 2015. Although the eruption did not disrupt any flights, the emissions harshly impacted the air quality in Iceland, leading to health consequences across the country.

In spite of describing the volcanoes activity as “high”, the Icelandic Met Office has yet to issue any warnings about the possibility of Bardarbunga’s eruption. In fact, the warning code remains green; meaning the volcano is in a normal, non-eruptive state, according to the volcano monitor.

Seven years ago Iceland’s massive Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, spewing a choking veil of ash across Europe. Residents worry as memories of the 2014 eruption and the flight chaos caused by the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano resurface.  The deadly volcanic dust wiped out skies and grounded 100,000 flights, resulting in the economy losing £4 billion.

Should an eruption of Bardarbunga take place, it’s highly possible that there would be another even more drastic air travel restriction and poorer air quality.

Could Artificial Earthquakes Trigger Disaster? Oklahoma's Risk "Now Equal To That Of San Francisco"

Via Mac Slavo of SHTFPlan.com,

While Oklahoma has had a handful of notable earthquakes over the past century, it was essentially never an earthquake state.

And rightfully so, given that the USGS and other officials, up until quite recently, ranked Oklahoma’s earthquake hazard level at the second lowest level, with a patch of slightly elevated, but still moderately low areas:

According to the statistics that have been released, Oklahoma, in fact, had very few earthquakes (over a magnitude of 3.0) during the past half century – until the year 2009.

That date marks the expansion of fracking in the oil industry, as the Obama Administration signaled an attack on coal and fossil fuels, and the petroleum industry sought to flood market supply to manipulate the political power of oil in certain key regimes around the world:

Now, the low key heartland state of Oklahoma is suddenly rivaling San Francisco as the most earthquake-prone place in the United States.

According to the Daily Mail:

Oklahoma is the most at risk place in America for man made earthquakes caused by oil and gas drilling, a new USGS quake risk map has revealed.

In its annual national earthquake outlook , the U.S. Geological Survey reported Wednesday that a large portion of Oklahoma and parts of central California have the highest risk for a damaging quakes this year: between 5 and 12 percent.

Natural elevated quake risks exist through much of California, Seattle and the area where Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Illinois come together, known as New Madrid.

Seismologists say Oklahoma’s problem is triggered by underground injections of huge volumes of wastewater from oil and gas drilling.

[…]

From 1980 to 2000, Oklahoma averaged only two earthquakes a year of magnitude 2.7 or higher.

That number jumped to about 2,500 in 2014 then to 4,000 in 2015 as the use of an oil and gas production technique that uses millions of gallons of water boomed.

That’s an insane change in the pattern of earth-shaking seismic activity – and the blame has been cast squarely on man-made drilling and wastewater injection – i.e. fracking for natural oil supplies.

Despite the fact that Oklahoma has a very low risk for naturally occurring earthquakes, the state is experiencing more than just about anywhere else.

This chart, from a single day in 2015, shows how on a day where California sees several significant earthquakes, Oklahoma has dozens, perhaps hundreds of minor earthquakes.

With enough persistence, this is multiplying the region’s chances for these artificially-induced tremors to trigger a massive response from nature. As pressure points are set off, larger eruptions sometimes take place.

In the absolute worst case scenario, what would happen if a large enough earthquake – set off by fracking activities – were to set off a the fuse on the New Madrid fault, where a state over, one of the most critical danger spots for a large scale, mega-disaster to take place.

As this map released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows, there are three major shale gas deposits in Oklahoma, and thus there has been feverish underground activity in the region.

Why exactly this is creating major earthquake disruptions in Oklahoma and other key fracking areas – like North Dakota’s Bakken shale play – is not immediately clear, but extensive study of Oklahoma and debate inside the state government have led to the controversial, but certain link to fracking.

Oklahoma’s Corporation Commission set up regulatory restrictions on the industry requiring a 40% reduction of wastewater well injection activities, which has corresponded in a proportional reduction of earthquakes there – from a peak of about 4,000 per year in 2015, to something closer to 2,500 in 2016, still a huge problem.

So far, artificial earthquakes have not exceeded 5.6 in magnitude, meaning that the chances for a truly catastrophic emergency from fracking activities remains very low for the moment. However, the fact that an earthquake this large was recorded and attributed to non-natural causes raised eyebrows, making us all wonder how far things will go.

To be sure, there is technology already in existence and in the hands of scientists, that can induced man-made earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and the like on a grand scale. Conspiracy-minded observers have already pinpointed several major world events attributed to stealth-state attacks.

What is truly worrying about these artificial earthquakes is that they are becoming more unpredictable, more frequent and more likely to cause actual chaos.

But for now, the property damage is low, and the concerns are environment. In time, however, the concern may be significant loss of life and widespread destruction.