S.F. Bay Area Quake 'any day now'
The fault that produced a 4.0-magnitude earthquake in Fremont early Tuesday morning is expected to produce a major earthquake “any day now” and Bay Area residents should be prepared, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist said.
The 2:41 a.m. earthquake on the border of Fremont and Union City occurred on the Hayward Fault at a depth of 5 miles. The epicenter was at a spot just north of the intersection of Niles Canyon Road and Mission Boulevard.
The quake caused some BART delays early Tuesday while work crews checked the tracks, but appears to have caused no major damage. At least 13 smaller quakes or aftershocks had been reported near the same location as of 6:42 a.m., the largest of which was a 2.7-magnitude at 2:56 a.m.
While damage from the quake was minimal, scientists warn that a much larger one is expected on the Hayward Fault, which extends from San Pablo Bay in the north to Fremont in the south and passes through heavily populated areas including Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward and Fremont.
The last big earthquake on the fault, estimated to have a 6.8-magnitude, occurred in 1868, according to the USGS.
It killed about 30 people and caused extensive property damage in the Bay Area, particularly in the city of Hayward, from which the fault derives its name. Until the larger 1906 earthquake, it was widely referred to as the “Great San Francisco Earthquake.”
“The population is now 100 times bigger in the East Bay, so we have many more people that will be impacted,” said Tom Brocher, a research geophysicist with the USGS.
“We keep a close eye on the Hayward Fault because it does sit in the heart of the Bay Area and when we do get a big earthquake on it, it’s going to have a big impact on the entire Bay Area,” Brocher said.
While a 2008 report put the probability of a 6.7-magnitude or larger earthquake on the Hayward-Rodgers Creek Fault system over the next 30 years at 31 percent, Brocher said the reality is a major quake is expected on the fault “any day now.”
“The past five major earthquakes on the fault have been about 140 years apart, and now we’re 147 years from that 1868 earthquake, so we definitely feel that could happen any time,” Brocher said.
Brocher urged residents to take steps to prepare for a major earthquake.
The USGS shake map shows residents in the areas close to Fremont and Union City experienced light shaking in Tuesday morning’s event, while weaker shaking might have been felt in areas as far south as Santa Cruz, up the Peninsula and as far east as Livermore.
Residents throughout the Bay Area reported feeling the quake, with responses concentrated in the East and South Bay, according to the USGS.
Brocher said Tuesday morning’s 4.0 earthquake was not likely to have much of an impact one way or the other on the likelihood of a major earthquake occurring on the same fault. - USGS Scientist: Major Quake On Hayward Fault Expected ‘Any Day Now’
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Is the Scape Ore Swamp Monster Back?
(Honestly...the supposed image of this 'lizard man' is hilarious. Click the link at the end of the post. Lon)
BISHOPVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) -- The fabled Bishopville swamp creature known as Lizard Man appears to have surfaced again Sunday afternoon.
Sarah, a Sumter woman who says she went to church with a friend Sunday morning, stepped out of the sanctuary to see the Lizard Man running along the tree line.
So she did what anyone else would do -- took a picture with her phone.
"My hand to God, I am not making this up," she wrote in an email to the ABC News 4 newsroom. "So excited!"
She says they were just a mile or so from Scape Ore Swamp, the site of a similar spotting of what may also be the Lizard Man in May.
A man who asked not to be identified submitted a short video of what he thought was the Lizard Man Monday morning. He said he took the video in May while coon hunting but kept its existence quiet -- until he saw the reports of Lizard Man outside a church.
"I saw your lizard man story and it's given me the courage to send you a video I took in early May," the man wrote. "Though my wife believes me that it's real, she said she would be embarrassed that everyone would think I was a loon so I kept it a secret."
The man said he took the video in Scape Ore Swamp just off Camden Highway in Bishopville.
In the 20-second video, the photographer ducks behind a tree as a dark figure with what appears to be a long tail walks by some 30 or 40 yards away.
The video stops as the figure appears to turn towards the camera.
"If you're wondering I absolutely believe it's real. I also don't know if it's the same thing you posted," he added. "When it noticed me I high tailed it out."
Scape Ore Swamp is the area where most of the Lizard Man sightings over the last 30 years have been focused.
Yes, there is quite a lot of local lore surrounding the reptilian humanoid, including the first sighting in the summer of 1988.
Known as the Davis sighting for the witness Christopher Davis, it starts with then-17-year-old Davis stopping on a road bordering the Scape Ore Swamp to change a flat tire at 2 a.m.
He heard noises, turned to see a 7-foot beast charging at him, so he ran for the safety of his car. The Lizard Man jumped on the roof as Davis tried to drive away.
There were scratch marks on the roof and one of the side mirror had been damaged.
And the legend was born.
There have been plaster casts of the mythical beast's claw. There have been million-dollar rewards to capture the Lizard Man alive.
Since the first sightings in the late 1980s, the Lizard Man sightings have trailed off.
One of the last alleged encounter with the Lizard Man came in 2011 when a Bishopville couple reported their car had been mauled overnight.
There were teeth marks in in the metal and saliva coating several discarded parts.
Still, there have been searches by Destination Truth and Mysteries at the Museum as recently as 2013. In a 2014 episode of Ancient Aliens, the Lizard Man was mentioned.
The tales have been documented in a cryptozoology book titled "Lizard Man: The True Story of the Bishopville Monster."
But the creature has not been seen in more than a decade -- until now, possibly creating yet another ripple in the swampy waters around Bishopville. - Has Bishopville's 'lizard man' returned? New video surfaces in case
Read Lyle Blackburn's fascinating book --> Lizard Man: The True Story of the Bishopville Monster
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Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in Bronx
NEW YORK—Forty-six people in the South Bronx were infected with Legionnaires’ disease as of Thursday afternoon, July 30, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference. Two have died.
The two New Yorkers who passed away with Legionnaires’ disease were both in their 50s.
Both also had multiple illnesses such as lung disease and heart disease, New York City Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett said at the press conference Thursday.
Ordinarily, Legionnaires’ disease, which got its name in 1976 when an outbreak occurred during a American Legion conference in Philadelphia, is treatable if detected early. Nine of the 46 infected have been treated and discharged. Most healthy people aren’t at risk. The majority of cases have affected people in the South Bronx neighborhoods of High Bridge–Morrisania and Hunts Point–Mott Haven.
“I want to reiterate, most New Yorkers are not at risk,” Bassett said. “This is a very treatable disease.” Read more at Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in South Bronx Raises Water Quality Questions: What You Need to Know
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Florida Tourism Worker Attacked By Gator
A worker at a Central Florida tourist attraction was reportedly attacked by an alligator while on the job last week.
Sergio Hernandez, 46, was bitten by the gator while removing hyacinths from a pond on Tuesday at Forever Florida, a zipline and "eco-tourism attraction" in St. Cloud. According to Click Orlando, the reptile bit "a chunk" out of Hernandez's leg.
Two alligators were later removed by trappers, including one measuring 8.5 feet long and one that was 11 feet long.
Forever Florida has received largely positive reviews on Yelp, earning an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars, based on 48 reviews. Several reviewers mentioned seeing gators while there.
One reviewer wrote in 2010:
"Upon arriving, we had to of course sign this waiver that basically said: If you get injured, paralyzed, deathly ill, drop dead, get killed or eaten by a gator...they are NOT responsible."
Along with zipline tours, Forever Florida offers horseback riding and coach tours through "nine distinct Florida ecosystems" with a chance to encounter alligators, black bears, white-tail deer and the Florida panther, among other wildlife.
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Abduction / Possible Implant / OBEs
Denver, CO - 1/1976: When I was about 3 or 4 yrs old, I remember going to the "Dr's office". 3 Or 4 doctors dressed from head to toe in white surgical scrubs, faces masked and, you can only see their eyes. They tell me I'm there for a vaccination. I remember one of them saying don't worry "it looks like a pig," showing me the tip of a gun that had like a tube dropping off the barrel. The tip was round with another ring in the center. On the outside two needles and the center had two needles hence the pig. I judge they searched my child mind to see what I would accept as familiar.
I was put in a chair and remember wondering where my mom was. Also confused that the Dr's are only a little bit bigger then me and I knew I was little. The scar on my left arm I always thought was a booster shot. When I asked my mom about it she said I had no such vaccine. When I started meeting people with the booster scar I realized my scar is too low on my arm, its texture is a little different and I was always about 5 yrs younger then them. My mom couldn't identify the scar.
I believe it is a tracker. There are more stories over the years but want to wait to tell the rest, see if MUFON decides to investigate. I've never told the story due to me testing the waters when I tried. I would tell parts of story and was never believed. I don't think on it all the time but when I do I'm driven to know if there is anything in my arm. But I can't go tell my Docter this story and ask for a x-ray. So I don't know for sure. I'm also open to false memories as a possible solution, but the strange scar? Other minor contacts, and strange events (that could be mere coincidence, I'm reading more in too ) have me confused. I'm a 41-yr-old CPS social worker. Help? I also want to mention that I easily and often have uncontrolled out-of-body-experiences. I don't know if it's related. - MUFON CMS
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Remotely activated camera used to verify Thylacine sighting
A hidden, remotely activated camera has been set up on a Devon Meadows property in a bid to get a picture of a Tasmanian tiger, reportedly seen there about six months ago.
Thylacine hunter Michael Moss said the sighting by Stuart Allen was credible and consistent with others reported in the area in relatively recent times, including one in Fisheries Rd.
“It’s the kind of area that would appeal to a thylacine, with lots of rabbits and chicken sheds offering an easy meal,” Mr Moss said.
“The frequency of reported sightings makes it appealing enough to set up a camera and see what we get.”
Mr Moss said he had been contacted by a number of people who reported sightings, but Devon Meadows and nearby areas were “a real hot spot”, in terms of sightings.
“I have cameras in other likely spots around the state, but I’m particularly hopeful for Devon Meadows and Wilsons Promontory,” he said. - Thylacine hunters hope hidden camera could be key to catching Devon Meadows Tasmanian tiger
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Creole Religions of the Caribbean: An Introduction from Vodou and Santeria to Obeah and Espiritismo, Second Edition (Religion, Race, and Ethnicity)
- I highly recommend this second edition. LonHaitian Vodou: An Introduction to Haiti's Indigenous Spiritual Tradition
Obeah: A Sorcerous Ossuary
- Read recently...fascinating. LonThe Candle and the Crossroads: A Book of Appalachian Conjure and Southern Root-Work
- Excellent read. Lon