SWITZERLAND: M4.2 earthquake rattles Montreux, Canton Vaud today

May 28, 2019: A light earthquake has been widely felt by people in western Switzerland on Tuesday morning.

According to the Swiss Seismological Service, the quake's epicenter was located 15 kilometres south west of Montreux in Canton Vaud. The earthquake occurred at 10:48 am local time.

Earthquake felt reports have been received from Vouvry, Vionnaz, Vevey, La Tour-de-Peilz, Montreux, Clarens, Veytraux, Aigle, Monthey, Ollon VD and Bex.

Montreux is a traditional resort town on Lake Geneva. The place is famous for its mild microclimate and the Montreux Jazz Festival, held in July. 

Mount Agung Volcano eruption in Bali cancels flights

May 25, 2019: A volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Bali at Mount Agung has resulted in the cancellation of some flights.

Some flights were canceled to and from Australia after the volcanic eruption, The Reuters reported.

According to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), the volcano eruption at Mount Agung lasted for four minutes and 30 seconds.

The volcano's alert level is at level three and a 4 kilometer exclusion zone has been established.

Magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Peru kills 1, injures 18

Update 11:45 UTC

One person died and at least 11 people injured in Peru. Another seven injured in neighboring Ecuador.

According to the Peru's National Emergency Operations Center, five schools have been damaged, two temples and four health centers.

Update 09:50 UTC

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake was of magnitude 8.0. The earthquake occurred as the result of normal faulting at an intermediate depth, approximately 110 km beneath the Earth's surface within the subducted lithosphere of the Nazca plate.

Update 07:58 UTC

According to Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, no Tsunami is expected from the earthquake. The earthquake has occurred at a greater depth causing no threat of Tsunami.

Update 07:54 UTC

The epicenter is located 84 km SE of Lagunas, Peru.

May 26, 2019: A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.6 has been recorded in peru at 02:41 am local time.

RUMOR: 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Hong Kong today - May 23, 2019

May 23, 2019: Rumor of 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Hong Kong today has panicked people causing thousands of people surfing search engines to know the details.

The rumor started from the Facebook mentioning magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Hong Kong on May 23, 2019. People started sharing mentioning the doomsday for Hong Kong.

A twitter handle Gemini mentioned that, "Few days ago, people here in Hong Kong panicked because of the news escalated on Facebook that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake will gonna hit today."

The news soon became viral after the South China Morning Post tweeted about a mega earthquake hitting Hong Kong this week. The tweet was soon deleted. 

SCM withdraw the news with heading "So will a big earthquake hit Hong Kong this week, as predicted by clairvoyant? Seismic experts weigh in" mentioning that, "this report has been withdrawn, in keeping with SCMP’s policy of being open and transparent. We acknowledge that the claims made in this story could be misleading and cause undue concern. We regret the error and offer our sincere apology to readers."

Q: Is something big going to happen on May 23, 2019?

A: Are you serious! Now who am I to answer it. If your question is "Is any major quake going to hit Hong Kong today?" The straight answer is NO. Better to say Sorry, I am not the one who predict earthquakes!

Q: If not you, Can anyone predict earthquakes?

A: Unfortunately, there is still no way to predict when an earthquake will strike. Scientists have a pretty good idea of where an earthquake is likely to strike, but there is still no way to tell exactly when it will happen, or how big it will be.

However based on scientific data, probabilities can be calculated for potential future earthquakes. For example, scientists estimate that over the next 30 years the probability of a major EQ occurring in the San Francisco Bay area is 67% and 60% in Southern California.

Neither the USGS nor Caltech nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake.

Hey, do you remember the biggest hoax of December 21, 2012, one of the claimed date for end of the world. And yes you are still alive!

5.0 magnitude earthquake recorded in Dhading today

May 17, 2019: Magnitude 5.0 moderate earthquake has been recorded in Dhading district today at 02:08 pm local time.

According to the Nepal Seismological Center, the quakes epicenter was located near Bungchung.

A slight tremor was also felt in Southern part of Kathmandu valley. No preliminary damage or injuries have been reported.

This is an aftershock of magnitude 7.9 earthquake which occurred in Gorkha, Nepal on April 25, 2015.

M 7.5 earthquake in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea triggers tsunami alert

May 14, 2019: A powerful earthquake in Papua New Guinea measuring magnitude 7.5 triggers a tsunami alert for the country and the nearby Solomon Islands.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said that the hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000km of the earthquake epicentre.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred 45km NE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea at a shallow depth of 10km.

The reported epicentre lies within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of regular seismic activity.

The US Geological Survey mentioned that the earthquake in the New Ireland region of Papua New Guinea occurred as the result of shallow strike-slip faulting within the interior of the Pacific plate.

Strong tremor of MMI VI was reported from Kokopo and Namatanai area.

Another Cyclone in Odisha in June 2019!

May 13, 2019: There is a rumor spread about another severe tropical cyclone in Odisha in June 2019. 

The message has been widely spreading across social medias. People in Odisha are warned of another severe cyclone after Fani.

We would like to suggest to check the India Meteorological Department Website instead of running behind the rumors. If there are any storm or cyclone details, the website will provide the necessary information.

People are panicked after the recent cyclone Fani slammed Odisha causing deaths of 64 as of today. Atleast 39 people died in Puri district alone.

Philippines: Magnitude 5.2 earthquake rattles Calayan, Cagayan

May 12, 2019: An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 rattles Calayan town in Cagayan on Sunday afternoon.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the earthquake was followed by a magnitude 4.4 aftershock.

The magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred at 4:59 p.m with its epicenter at 87 km northwest of Calayan, Cagayan. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 20 km. 

An hour later, 4.4 magnitude aftershock was also felt in Calayan town in Cagayan, Philippines.

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake recorded in Dailekh - Epicenter near Baluwatar

May 12, 2019: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 has been recorded in Dailekh district of Karnali province of Nepal.

According to the Nepal Seismological center, the earthquake occurred at 00:36 midnight.

The quake's epicenter was located near Baluwatar. 

No preliminary damage or injuries have been reported.

Last week, magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred in Sindhupalchowk district of Nepal. This was the aftershock of magnitude 7.9 earthquake which occurred in Gorkha, Nepal on April 25, 2015.

Bhutan issues warning on Cyclone Fani

May 2, 2019: According to an advisory issued by National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology, Royal Government of Bhutan on May 2, 2019, Bhutan is very likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall over the southern, eastern and isolated places of central parts of the country due to Cyclone Fani. The rest of the country is likely to receive moderate to heavy rain from 3rd May to 5th May. 

Gusty wind is also very likely over the country during this period.

Following the cyclone projected path, Bhutan will most likely not feel the direct impact of cyclone Fani. It indicated low pressure towards Bhutan. Bhutan is expected to have the peripheral effect of the cyclone due to the large size of the cyclonic system.

Cyclone Fani has became an "extremely severe cyclonic" storm wind speeds up to 200 kmph keeping Coastal Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh region of India on high alert.