USGS shake map for the first Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake

Three large earthquakes have rocked the Christchurch, New Zealand region. The first, currently listed as a magnitude 5.8 by the US Geological Survey, struck at 1:58 pm local time. It was followed by a shock measuring magnitude 5.3 at 2:06 pm. A third earthquake of magnitude 5.8 occurred on the south Island of New Zealand while this report was being prepared. (Third quake may be an error by USGS.)

The New Zealand region was devastated by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on February 21, 2011. That quake all but wiped out the central business district of Christchurch, resulting in dozens of deaths and millions in property damage.

The local Christchurch Emergency Operations Center has been activated. Initial reports are that rockfalls and some liquefaction has occurred. The local airport and the central business district (CBD) are closed. No deaths and only very minor injuries are being reported at this time. There is no tsunami threat.

Sam Law was in the Riccarton mall. His tweets from the earthquake:

Wow large aftershock. The mall is terrifying.
Standing in Stevens while glasses and plates break and people scream and run. My hands are shaking but I’m ok.
Normally people are fairly calm but this time upstairs in Riccarton mall was pandemonium. People dropping things to run to the escalators.
I assume people freaked out because we haven’t had a good shake in a while, and there were so many people in the mall.

News from Twitter:

• @3NewsBreaking
• @nzherald
• @Project7NZ_eqnz

A Japanese home is seen adrift in the Pacific Ocean. Ships and aircraft from the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group are searching for survivors in the coastal waters near Sendai, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord

One of the most iconic photos to appear after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan was that of a house, floating alone in the sea. The U.S. Navy photo illustrates the nature of the tsunami, which not only damaged buildings ashore but swept debris from the shore out to sea. Estimates vary on the amount of debris but KITV-4 in Hawaii quotes experts as saying it may range from five to twenty million tons.

An aerial view of debris from an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck northern Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord

A Russian sail training ship, the STS Pallada, ran in to the debris field about 700 miles northwest of Midway atoll in September. Researchers at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC), University of Hawaii at Manoa modeling the anticipated movement of the mass of debris were startled since the field has moved east much faster than expected. Under the direction of Nikolai Maximenko, senior researcher on the project, new estimates are being produced that project the arrival of tsunami debris at various locations in the Pacific.

Jan Hafner, from the IPRC, reports in an e-mail, that the debris should begin to reach the Midway atoll in January 2012. Hawaii should see the debris washing ashore from December 2012 onward. The U.S. Pacific West Coast should begin to see the debris in late 2013 and early 2014.

The Russians report seeing much more than just wood and plastic floating in the debris field. They recovered a small fishing vessel, and have seen televisions, refrigerators, boots and even a drum. They encountered the floating objects for hundreds of miles as they sailed towards Vladivostok. Their Geiger counter revealed no radiation threat from the material that they saw.

Midway is home to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, which was heavily damaged by the tsunami that generated the debris. Miriam Goldstein, a doctoral student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, writes on the site Deep Sea News that Hawaii will see two hits from the debris field. The currents will carry the debris west to east through the islands and then after reaching the U.S. West Coast, carry them back east to west.

The debris will impact both Midway and the Hawaiian islands but the extent is presently unknown. It is not known what preparations public authorities are making. Attempts to reach the Governor of Hawaii’s office, the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor and the National Wildlife Service’s Midway office have been unsuccessful at this time.

With only the observations of the Russian ship, the IPRC is eager to receive additional reports and GPS data. They are interested in the following data:

GPS location, time and description of the debris, state of the sea and weather

Photos would also be appreciated. Jan Hafner would like any reports sent to him at jhafner@hawaii.edu .

Vermont and Ihio National Guard Engineers work to repair a bridge washed out by Tropical Storm Irene floodwaters on Vt. Rte 113 in Cavendish, Vt. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrea Sheeran

The mission: Rebuild a road that is now a 65-foot-deep, 141-foot-long hole in a hillside in the town of Cavendish.

The call went out from the Vermont National Guard for heavy equipment and personnel and among other states, Ohio answered. In less than two days, Joint Task Force Tipper, which consists of the 1192nd and 1191st Engineer Companies, 200th RED HORSE Squadron, and Force Support Company and Headquarters and Headquarters Company from the 216th Engineer Battalion, arrived with 33 vehicles and 84 Guardsmen.

The 131st Engineer Company of the Vermont National Guard and JTF Tipper are working from dawn to dusk in Cavendish to complete this mission. With the Green Mountain Boys getting the project started and working out the engineering and the Ohio National Guard bringing in 20, 20-ton dump trucks and 3, 10-ton dump trucks the coordination has worked seamlessly.

Vermont and Ihio National Guard Engineers work to repair a bridge washed out by Tropical Storm Irene floodwaters on Vt. Rte 113 in Cavendish, Vt. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrea Sheeran

“Vermont was ready for us and accepted us. As soon as we got here, they had everything set up and ready to go. They have treated us like one of their own,” said 1st Lt. Timothy Sutter, the Project OIC.

With the JTF Tipper equipment and personnel in state, Capt. Annaliese Baumer, Commander of the 131st Engineer Company, discussed the scope of the project explaining that it will take 3,500 20-ton dump trucks loads back and forth from the quarries to the jobsite. The project will require so much material, the quarries had to blast to fill the need of 70,000 tons of material.

The main concern for Capt. Tanner Dunlap, JTF Tipper Commander, is time.

“We estimate this project will take six weeks but our orders don’t extend that long. Our job is to support the Vermont National Guard and we will get done as much as we can while we are here,” says Dunlap.

This will prove to be a difficult task as one roundtrip to get material takes two hours. The quarries where the material is coming from are difficult to get to as the roads that would go directly to them, have been washed out. JTF Tipper is forced to find and what once was a 30-minute trip is now a 60-minute trip one way.

Vermont and Ihio National Guard Engineers work to repair a bridge washed out by Tropical Storm Irene floodwaters on Vt. Rte 113 in Cavendish, Vt. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrea Sheeran

Dunlap expressed that the safety of his troops on site is also a main concern. There is a lot of material they have to bring in and there are also site hazards that are of concern. The hill on the other side of the jobsite looks like it may give away and create a landslide. Dunlap says that they will do what they can on the project they were brought in to help with and if any issues come up while they are working they will have to address them at that point. Playing the “what if” scenarios, Dunlap says, is never ending. For now, JTF Tipper will focus on the mission at hand and adjust if they need to.

The engineers of the 131st are integrating all of the support seamlessly into their fold. And it is a good thing. The project is massive and without the heavy trucks and operators from Ohio that are running 12 hours per day, the 131st would not be this far in the schedule.

The 131st is split between Dover and Cavendish with both working on Route 131. It is the magnitude of projects across the state that has brought welcomed support from Ohio. The multi-state mission being led by JTF Green Mountain Spirit continues and many National Guardsmen are working diligently to ensure reliable access to towns and residents across the State.

by 1st Lt Dyana K. Allen
DVIDS

Tech. Sgt. Kelli Sweeney is interviewed by local media before deploying as part of Task Force Irene on Saturday, August 27. Air Force Photo/SMSgt Ray Lloyd

Tech. Sgt. Kelli Sweeney, member of the 107th Airlift Wing Security Forces, was on her way home after working at the base on Friday, August 26. She was almost to her home in Middleburgh, NY, nearly 300 miles away, when she got the call from the 107th saying they needed all available personnel to report. Hurricane Irene was headed for downstate New York and anyone who could volunteer would be appreciated. She agreed to help out and stopped at her house to gather her gear. There were concerns that Middleburgh would have some flooding, so she made some minor preparations.

“I picked up anything near the floor and put it up higher. I thought maybe we’d get a few inches of flood water, so I wasn’t too concerned,” she said.

With that, she packed up her gear and headed back to Niagara Falls where she and 44 other members of the 107th Airlift Wing processed and boarded the unit’s C-130 in the early morning hours of Saturday, August 27. They proceeded to Camp Smith near Albany, NY the base from which they would work throughout the hurricane response.

They assisted the citizens of Sloatsburg, NY. They brought aid in the form of supplies, water and ice. They also used their Humvees to transport people through the flooded area.

Meanwhile, back at Tech. Sgt. Sweeney’s home, Middleburgh was hit hard by Irene, which by that time had been downgraded to a tropical storm. Flooding rains made rivers rise to record levels and knocked out power. Complicating issues, a petroleum spill leaked fuel into the water soaking homes in the foul-smelling water.

Monday morning Tech. Sgt. Sweeney received a call from her landlord with some bad news. Unfortunately, her home was one of those affected by the severe flooding. It was not only flooded by the petroleum-contaminated water but it was swept off of its foundation and displaced about 40 feet from its original location.

Although it was offered, Tech. Sgt. Sweeney did not rush home to attend to her own affairs. She stayed the course and continued to help in the relief efforts.

“There was not much I could do at home. I may as well have been helping out,” she said.

Senior Airman Michael Maio worked with her through the hurricane response. “She stayed positive through it all. Absolutely,” he said.

Upon returning to Niagara, Master Sgt. Jason Folckemer, Master Sgt. Michael Owczarczak, and Staff Sgt. Shawn Hare drove with Sgt. Sweeney to survey the damage and to see what could be saved.

Nearly all of Tech. Sgt. Sweeney’s belongings were destroyed. Only a few wooden furniture items could be salvaged.

Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the Catskill Mountains region a disaster area. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse Tech. Sgt. Sweeney only for what they deem to be ‘essential items.’ She has found a new apartment to live in as she attends college in nearby SUNY Cobleskill, majoring in wildlife biology.

The 107th Airlift Wing family has responded to Tech. Sgt. Sweeney’s needs. Security Forces Squadron was able to give her money to use immediately from their flight fund. Contributions were also given by individual security forces members. In addition, they helped her by purchasing items that she needed like a microwave, dishes, and silverware.

Family Readiness Group and Security Forces applied for two grants in her name, one federal grant and one from the National Guard and Naval Militia Relief Society of New York, Inc. The wing plans to provide additional assistance to alleviate her hardship.

by Elaine J. Nowak
107th Airlift Wing
New York Air National Guard

There is no good way to create an RSS feed for those articles that I write for Yahoo! News. This link pulls most of them up, but they cannot be sorted by date. Curiously, Google seems to do a better job indexing these pieces than Yahoo.
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