An 8.7 Magnitude Earthquake Sends Tsunami Warnings In Japan And Hawaii

There was a powerful magnitude 8.7 earthquake that strucked off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on 30 July, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet), prompting evacuations and damaging buildings, officials said.

"Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors," Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. He added that according to preliminary information there were no injuries, but a kindergarten was damaged.

Evacuation Is Underway As Wildfires Hit Israel

A raging wildfire shut the main highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last 30 April, sending at least a dozen people to the hospital and turning skies over Jerusalem gray.

Video footage showed vehicles stranded nearby as flames spread throughout the area, while another video showed the fire approaching a Catholic monastery.

Power Slowly Returning To Spain And Portugal

About 50 percent of of Spain’s power is restored, the country’s REE electricity operator said late 28 April. This happened after Spain has declared a state of emergency after a mass power blackout paralyzed most of the Iberian Peninsula.

The unprecedented outages across Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France affected the daily lives of millions, grounding flights, halting trains and leaving whole cities without electricity or telecommunications.

After 4 Typhoons In 2 Weeks, PHL Needs To Recover

A fourth super typhoon ripped through the Philippines’ largest island last 17 November, knocking down houses and sending more than half a million people to emergency shelters, as rare back-to-back storms cause havoc across an exhausted nation.

Super Typhoon Man-yi, known locally as Pepito, made initial landfall on the coast of island province Catanduanes, then churned through the sea toward the main island of Luzon’s coast before making a second landfall.

Typhoon Man-yi Will Bear Down On The Philippines After Typhoon Usagi

As hundreds of people tried to flee from Typhoon Man-Yi as it bore down on the Philippines, another threat of destruction looms.

Five major storms have already battered the archipelago nation in the last three weeks, killing at least 163 people and prompting the United Nations to request US$ 32.9 million in aid for the worst-affected regions.

All Classes in CALABARZON and Metro Manila Are Suspended

Volcanic smog or "vog" coming from from Taal Volcano forced the suspension of classes in 40 areas around Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region and Metro Manila starting Monday (19 August), as health authorities called on affected residents to wear face masks outdoors.

The Philippine Star reported that parts of Metro Manila were blanketed by haze as Taal Volcano emitted at least 3,335 tons of sulfur dioxide. Combined with smoke and fog, several schools already decided to suspend classes.

First "Megaquake" Advisory Issued in Japan

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first ever "megaquake advisory" last 8 August warning of a possible future major earthquake triggered by the underwater Nankai Trough, after a magnitude 7.1 quake shook just off the eastern coast of Kyushu island earlier in the day. The trough, which runs along Japan’s Pacific coast, was the source of past devastating earthquakes.

Seismologists at the agency held an emergency meeting after Thursday’s quake to analyze whether it had affected the nearby trough and reassessed the risk of a major quake. They urged people to observe high caution levels for about a week.

Coronavirus 101

As the coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) continues to spread fear across the planet, health officials from all over the world are working to contain the outbreak and people are looking to keep the virus from infecting themselves.

While the outbreak is most widespread across China, with thousands of deaths already reported, it is spread to countries across the globe and the United States is included.

Avocado Could Wreck Havoc On Your Safety

Everyone should know that there's a new menace wreaking havoc in kitchens across the land. And it's probably lurking in a nearby fruit bowl right now. Growing numbers of amateur chefs are visiting accident and emergency departments thanks to our obsession with avocados.

Their affliction? So-called "avocado hand" — serious stab and slash wounds resulting from failed attempts at penetrating the fruit's tough skin, and slippery collisions with the inner stone.

Typhoon "Lando" Makes Landfall

The state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced today (18 October) at about 1:00 A.M. that Typhoon #LandoPH had made landfall at Casiguran, Aurora.

The typhoon had intensified through 17 October afternoon and evening and was previously forecast to touch down somewhere along the coast of Aurora Province, Isabela or the northern stretch of Quezon Province, in the wee hours before dawn, after approaching from the fringe of the Pacific Ocean.

LTO: Time to Change License Plates

According to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) last year, the new license plates with multiple security features will be available to replace old license plates starting 6 January 2015, in line with government’s license plate standardization program.

"It’s time to change old license plates with new ones. (6 January 2015), we begin phasing out the 9 various designs currently in use with modern, standardized, and security feature-packed license plates," Secretary of Transportation Jun Abaya said.

Mayon Spewed Lava

In a report from ANC, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) confirmed that lava flow was spotted at the Mayon Volcano in Albay on 12 October 2014, though there is no reason yet to raise the Alert Status to Level 4.

"If we look at the past eruptions of the Mayon Volcano, we can classify its phases to one, non-explosive, meaning there is only quiet effusion of lava from the summit, and second, explosive eruption," said Phivolcs director Renato Solidum on ANC.

Haiyan-Like Typhoon On Its Way To Japan

All typhoon watchers should set their eyes on Japan this coming weekend because the biggest and deadly natural storm is about the land of the rising sun. It is as powerful as the one that ripped through the Philippines in 2013 killing thousands of people, meteorologists said.

The monstrous storm, named Vongfong, was picking up speed as it churned through the far west of the Pacific Ocean.

Brace for Flood as Tropical Storm Nears

Everyone in the Philippines are being asked to braced for possible floods and landslides as a tropical storm continued to strengthen as it approached the country's eastern seaboard.

Tropical Storm Rammasun (local name: Glenda) was expected to intensify into a typhoon before making landfall on 15 July morning in Albay province, the government's weather bureau said.

Where to Send Aid for Victims of Typhoon Yolanda

Filipino are resilient and will surely find a way to survive despite the challenges and hardship they face. However, those obstacles can be easily overcome once the 'bayanihan' spirit kicks in.

A day after Typhoon Yolanda, the most powerful storm recorded this year, flattened entire towns across part of the Southeast Asian archipelago and killed thousands of Filipinos in the Visayas region, relief and aid effort operations went into high gear. Both local and international sources started to chip in and sent whatever they can to help, especially after hearing about desperate survival tactics that created fresh horrors.

Appointment System at the Aussie Embassy

For those who are planning to visit Australia, please be reminded that the Australian Embassy in Manila has already adopted an appointment system starting last year (1 July 2011) for passport and consular services.

The announcement was posted for several months now on their website, but it appears that there are still many who got confused about the new system. The Australian Embassy said the system will cover notarial acts and lodgement of passport applications.