January 19, 2010

Seismic Monitor


Since the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, I've been checking the Iris Seismic Monitor almost daily to see what on Earth's going on with the tectonic plates. The Pacific Rim is always busy with seismic activity but it seems a little more busy lately, including volcanoes in Ecuador, Costa Rica and the recently-active Mount Redoubt in Alaska. I also had a dream that Greece would be the site of the next big earthquake but since I'm not known as a clairvoyant I wouldn't hold much faith in my early-morning dreams.

Recently I donated to Médecins Sans Frontières Canada (Doctors Without Borders) but was dismayed to learn that their 5 plane-loads of medical supplies sent to Haiti had been diverted to the Dominican Republic and the earliest slot that the Port-au-Prince airport can accommodate them is January 26. I hope for the best.

10 comments:

Giulia said...

Thanks for this site. We all hope for the best...the situation changes by the hour (or less) so MSF may be giving worst case scenario to alleviate inquiries from anxious donors. It's been known to happen. Thanks.

Butternut Squash said...

Thank you for the link. Fascinating. What I heard on NPR is that MSF was most concerned because life saving equipment had been bumped by arriving dignitaries. But I did hear yesterday that they have an expert traffic controller in now and they have cut the landing wait time from about 2 hours down to about 15 minutes getting about 100 flights in and out daily.

The Clever Pup said...

Dear Butternut (may I call you butternut?) Thanks for the info. Sounds like better news.

Kat Mortensen said...

Wow, you really have been checking this daily since the Tsunami? I think I prefer out of the loop when it comes to imminent disasters.
The footage we're seeing in Haiti is just so heart-breaking. When they interview the doctors and people on the scene you just can't imagine the depth of the sadness and loss.
We make our donations through Plan Canada, but who knows how any of it really gets where it is supposed to go.

Rinkly Rimes said...

It seems there are many more Haitis in the pipe-line. But I suppose life was ever so! Nowadays, though, because of technology, it's all on everyone's doorstep. But at least that means there are more people to help. 500 years ago you and I would never have known about other parts of the world until it was all over.

The Clever Pup said...

Kat, yeah. Almost daily. Before I was a busy blogmistress I would check the Toronto weather, the Seismograph and the Sartorialist.

Noah's foster brother is through Plan. I wanted to keep them separate.

Kate Hanley said...

Interesting you've been checking in with the earth's plates. I wonder if it's normal (we had huge shifts thousands of years ago, obviously) or us people or what? I'm sad to hear that Medecins sans frontiers had so much trouble getting to Haiti. I'm quite impressed with that organization.

Anna said...

Hi there Clever Pup. Yes, I'll be posting soon, as per your question. The will is there, not the time. I will make more ;) Thanks for the inquiry!!!!

Monica said...

I prefer to leave this to 'what will be'.

Watching 2012 the other day didn't help though. :)

I know a couple of people in Haiti, it's all so anxious for so many reasons.

Rouchswalwe said...

I was heartened by the news that the President of the Dominican Republic is actively providing aid to his neighbors. Great leadership in a time of crisis.