Mount Merapi blows it's top

One of Indonesia's active volcanoes is causing devastation and chaos. Over 64 people have been killed and flights between Singapore and Jakarta have been suspended.

Read more by clicking these links: Death toll and flights suspended.

You can also follow the activity by clicking this link.

New Zealand Rocked!

A scale 7.0 earthquake has rocked the city of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. Two people have been seriously injured but there have been no reports of fatalities.

Read more at the BBC or look at the details of the quake on the USGS site.

Haiti devestated by quake!

A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears thousands of people may have died.
Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings.

Read more at the BBC.

Go to the US Geolgical Survey to get detailed information on the earthquake.

Southern Pacific Rocks

At least 75 people are dead and thousands are trapped under rubble after a strong earthquake shook western Indonesia, officials say.

Watch news clips and read more on the BBC.

A tsunami triggered by a strong quake in the South Pacific has killed more than 100 people in several islands.

Watch news clips and read more on the BBC.

A rocking start to the Easter week

Over 50 people have been killed by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in central Italy.

For more details click this link.

For more factual details click on the US Geological Survey site

Death toll rises in Costa Rica

At least 14 people are now known to have been killed in Costa Rica by a powerful earthquake which struck on Thursday, officials say.
The magnitude 6.1 tremor devastated the Poas Volcano National Park north of the capital San Jose, triggering landslides blocking roads and damaging buildings.
Red Cross officials said 10 of the victims were buried by a landslide at the popular La Paz waterfall.
Rescue workers fear more victims will be found as relief operations widen.

To read more click on this link - Costa Rica earthquake

To watch a video of the quake click on the link.

Structure of the Earth

Welcome back after the holiday.

Tonights homework is easy to research but you can get carried away with the amount of information - so to make it easier follow these steps:

• You need a digram showing you the cross-section of the earth (a bit like this one but more detailed).

• Tell me in no more than five lines (for each) about the four layers: Crust, Mantle, Outer Core and Inner Core.

I could put a link on but that would be far too easy!

Tsunami Warning

Indonesia has launched a new tsunami early warning system, designed to give people in coastal areas enough time to escape tsunamis before they reach land.

For more details follow this link to the news article on the BBC.

Shakeout Day

On the 13th November over 5 million people in California will take part in the largest earthquake drill ever held.

Click this video link to show you the scenerio:



For more details follow this link to The Great Southern California Shakeout site.

How do you think you would cope in a 7.8 Earthquake? Why not have a go at the Beat the Earthquake Game.

Man made eruption

The eruption of the Lusi mud volcano in Indonesia was caused by drilling for oil and gas, a meeting of 74 leading geologists has concluded.

Lusi erupted in May 2006 and continues to spew out boiling mud, displacing around 30,000 people in East Java.

Drilling firm Lapindo Brantas denies a nearby well was the trigger, blaming an earthquake 280km (174 miles) away.

Around 10,000 families who have lost their homes are awaiting compensation, which could run as high as $70m (£43m).

After debating new evidence at a conference in South Africa, most geologists voted drilling as the cause.

For more details follow this link to the BBC page.

Quake hits southern Pakistan

At least 135 people have been killed after an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit Balochistan province in south-western Pakistan, officials say.
Officials in Balochistan say they expect the toll to rise.
The tremor struck 70km (45 miles) north of Quetta at 0409 (2309GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), the US Geological Survey said.
Many houses collapsed during the quake and some were destroyed in landslides that followed it, officials said.

Britain goes deep.

Scientists are set to explore the world's deepest undersea volcanoes, which lie 6km down in the Caribbean.
Delving into uncharted waters to hunt for volcanic vents will be Autosub6000, Britain's new autonomously controlled, robot submarine.
Once found, the life, gas and sediment around the vents - the world's hottest - will be sampled and catalogued.
The research will be carried out by a British team aboard the UK's latest research ship, the James Cook.

For more information link to the National Oceanography Centre in Southhampton.

Japan Tremor

A powerful earthquake has struck off the eastern coast of Japan, with officials warning that some regions could be hit by a small tsunami.

Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the 6.6-magnitude quake just before noon off Fukushima prefecture.

The agency issued a tsunami warning for Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.

Reports said buildings shook in Tokyo with the force of the quake, but there was not thought to be any serious damage or any casualties.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries and experiences thousands of tremors each year.

Japan is rocked

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes northern Honshu, Japan's main island killing 6 and injuring more than 140 people.

In this mountainous part of the island landslides triggered by the shaking earth covered homes and people.

Japan which is on the boundary of the Pacific Plate and Eurasian Plate is prone to earthquakes.

For more details about Japan's earthquake history click on the US Geolgoical website link in the Georgaphy link list below right.

In the beginning.

Unfortunately, it has taken the deaths of over 160000 people to trigger us into the modern era, but now we have arrived. The events of the last two weeks have been devestating for the people of southern Burma and south western China but for a geographer the tropical cyclone and earthquake are ideal case-studies for these natural hazards.

So for you lot in Year 9, 11, 12 and 13 take a look at the USGS website and BBC News site for information on the causes, effects and possible solutions to these forces of Mother Nature.