Circumpolar Musings: Disasters, etc.

Rig accident shows danger of Arctic drilling

Amanda Graham — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 00:07:41 GMT

(Ayesha Rascoe/Reuters via Scientific American, 3 January 2013) -- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opponents of Royal Dutch Shell's ambitious Arctic oil program have called on the Obama administration to put offshore drilling plans in the region on hold after one of the company's oil rigs broke away from tow boats in high seas and ran aground off Alaska. The Natural Resources Defense Council and The Wilderness Society on Thursday said the accident involving Shell's Kulluk oil rig is new evidence that oil companies are not prepared to safely manage the extreme conditions of the Arctic. The 30-year-old Kulluk rig ran aground on New Year's Eve in what were described as "near hurricane" conditions while it was being towed south for the winter. "This string of mishaps by Shell makes it crystal clear that we are not ready to drill in the Arctic," Chuck Clusen, NRDC's director of Alaska projects, told reporters in a teleconference. The green groups said they plan to send a letter to the Department of the Interior demanding that it stop issuing permits in the Arctic and that it prevent drilling in the sensitive area until it is determined that the environment can be fully protected. Ocean conservation group Oceana also called on the department to stop oil drilling activities in the Arctic after the Kulluk's grounding. Shell has spent $4.5 billion since 2005 to develop the Arctic's vast oil reserves, but the company has faced intense opposition from environmentalists and native groups as well as regulatory and technical hurdles.

The "Murmansk" is almost gone

Amanda Graham — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:31:12 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 11 October 2012) -- The wreck of the Soviet cruiser Murmansk will be completely gone by November. 14,000 tons of scrap metal have been removed in the unique operation on the coast of Finnmark. AF Decom, the company that won the NOK 328 million (€44.5 million) tender to remove the wreck, reports that the removal is going very smoothly after managing to resolve earlier problems with leakages in the jetties that have been built around the wreck. “There are still some parts left in the ground, but everything will be removed by the middle of November, before the winter storms set in,” AF Decom Director Eirik Wraal says to NRK. The sea bottom around the wreck has been drained using jetties and the vessel has been cut into pieces and removed. The whole operation is being filmed for a future documentary and you can watch the removal operation on-line here. The 211-meters-long cruiser ended its days in Sørøya in the rocks outside Sørvær on the coast of Finnmark in December 1994. The cruiser was being tugged southwards for scrapping when it tore away during a storm and has since been to a lot of nuisance to the local population. A decision to remove the wreck was made in August 2008, after debris from the cruiser delivered for recycling revealed that there were traces of a radioactive source, PCB and brominated flame retardants in the vessel.

New Kiruna design competition

Amanda Graham — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:55:11 GMT

(Radio Sweden, 8 October 2012) -- Arctic Sweden's northernmost city is moving east. The mining that has been the lifeblood of Kiruna town for over a hundred years has also undermined its buildings some are already sinking into the ground. Architects, from Sweden and abroad, have been competing to be the ones to create New Kiruna. To get the latest on the plans we talked to Katerina Nilsson, secretary of the jury deciding which plan to go with. [radio]
Lyssna: Kiruna reloaded

Fish factor: Tsunami debris just beginning to arrive

Amanda Graham — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:28:47 GMT

(Laine Welch/Capital City Weekly, 9 May 2012) -- Soccer balls, motorcycles, reminders of the massive tsunami in Japan a year ago are now appearing along Alaska's coastlines. "It's safe to say that tsunami debris is here," said Merrick Burden, director of the Juneau-based Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation. Since January the MCA has been tracking where and what kinds of debris that is coming ashore, and whether it is radioactive (none so far), at Kodiak, Yakutat, Sitka and Craig where the wreckage was first likely to hit. "What we're finding are wind-driven objects like buoys, Styrofoam, and large containers, some of which contain materials that are potentially toxic," Burden said. "We're finding drums full of things that we don't know what they are yet. So we're looking at a potential large-scale environmental problem, and what we're dealing with now is just the start of it." Debris has been found in every area they've looked, Burden said, and mysterious sludge is washing up on some beaches, apparently from opened containers. Just days ago, an enormous amount of floating debris was spotted off the southern reaches of Prince William Sound, making national headlines. But the worst is yet to come. "Next year is when we expect the larger debris that is driven by currents rather than wind," he said. "That should be comprised of entirely different types of materials, and it might even follow a different trajectory through the water and end up in different locations. Part of the problem is that we don't know what we're dealing with, and it looks bad. It's obviously tragic, and it looks like it's a pretty major environmental hazard as well."

3 fuel trucks broke through ice road near Aklavik, N.W.T.

Amanda Graham — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:59:32 GMT

(CBC News, 17 April 2012) -- Three fuel trucks broke through the ice on the Tuktoyaktuk–Aklavik ice road in the Northwest Territories Monday night. No fuel leaked from the trucks, which were full, and no one was hurt. The incident backed up traffic for hours, affecting dozens of people who were travelling from the Tuktoyaktuk Beluga Jamboree. Barbara Archie, an elder from Aklavik, was on the ice road behind the trucks. "The trucks fell through, so we all had to stay back and wait," she said. A secondary road had to be cleared to allow people to make it back to shore. Crews worked for most of the day Tuesday to remove the trucks, which were partially submerged in the Arctic waters. Officials with the Department of Transportation said it’s the first time in recent memory that this many trucks have gone through the ice at once. The department is now investigating.

Norwegian plane wreckage removed from mountains in Arctic Sweden

Amanda Graham — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:17:12 GMT

(Radio Sweden via Eye on the Arctic, 27 March 2012) -- Two tonnes of debris from the crashed Norwegian Hercules plane has been transported from the Kebnekaise mountain range in Arctic Sweden, reports Swedish Radio. Human remains from the five crew members, all Norwegian, are being taken care of by the local police. The two black boxes have not yet been found, says investigation head Agne Widholm. The military transport plane weighs just shy of 40 tonnes. The crash earlier this month, which set of a massive search and rescue operation hoping to find survivors, spread debris across the glacier. The regional head of crisis services, Karin Börjesson, told local newspaper Norrländska Socialdemokraten that there is risk that fuel from the wreckage seeps into streams in the area. She warned of potential environmental damage.

Polar bears turn cannibalistic as climate change depletes arctic food supply

Amanda Graham — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:17:24 GMT

(Rheana Murray / New York Daily News, 11 January 2012) -- Dwindling Arctic Sea ice is cutting off polar bears’ food supply, forcing the starving animals to devour their own kind. While cannibalism among polar bears isn’t unheard of, experts say the behavior is becoming increasingly common. “There are increasing numbers of observations of it occurring,” photojournalist Jenny Ross told BBC News. “Particularly on land where polar bears are trapped ashore, completely food-deprived for extended periods of time due to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change.” Ross explained how the higher temperatures melt ice more quickly, leaving the bears less time to fuel up on ice-dependent seals, the animals’ main source of food. “Weights of adults are decreasing, litters are smaller, fewer young bears are surviving, and the overall population size is shrinking,” she said. Ross, whose research was published in the January 2012 edition of <e>Ocean Geographic Magazine</e>, described watching a bear guard its kill, a cub. “As soon as the adult male became aware that a boat was approaching him, he basically stood to my attention — he straddled the young bear’s body, asserting control over it and conveying ‘this is my food,’” she recalled to BBC News. “He then picked up the bear in his jaws and, just using the power of his jaws and his neck, transported it from one floe to another. “And eventually, when he was a considerable distance away, he stopped and fed on the carcass.” See the entire article here.

Beluga whales trapped by ice in Russia

Amanda Graham — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:55:42 GMT

(redOrbit, 18 December 2011) --More than a hundred Beluga whales are trapped in frigid water surrounded by ice floes in the Chukotka region of Russia’s Far East, and risk death unless they are rescued soon, local authorities said. The flock of gentle whales was trapped in the Sinyavinsky Strait off the Bering Sea near the village of Yanrakynnot, a statement from the Chukotka Autonomous Region said, with local governor Roman Kopin calling for the government to send an icebreaker to the region to try and free them from their soon-to-be icy graveyard. Local fishermen reported that the whales were concentrated in two relatively small ice holes, where they can at least breathe freely for the time being. But the odds of them being able to swim back out to open water are slim due to the vast fields of ice over the strait. The statement said the whales risk becoming starved if they cannot be rescued soon. And with the advancement of the ice floes, the space where they are concentrated is growing smaller and smaller. “Given the lack of food and the speed at which the water is freezing, all the animals are threatened with exhaustion and death,” it added. A Russian icebreaker was just two days sail away from the area, the Chukotka government noted. It could easily make the trip in time to save the whales, it added. ... Besides having little or no food, and the rapid advancement of ice, the Belugas are at risk of attack from hungry polar bears or killer whales in the region as well. Trapped Belugas are a frequent problem in Arctic waters but are not often detected by people. The last relatively successful case of a Beluga rescue came in 1986, when an icebreaker was deployed to help free them.

Number of dead rising after oil rig tragedy

Amanda Graham — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:36:35 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/BarentsObserver, 19 December 2011) -- Russian media is now asking why the whole crew stayed onboard during the towing of the oil jack-up rig ”Kolskaya” that overturned and sank in the Sea of Okhotsk yesterday. With the break of day, search for survivors and dead after the accident outside the island of Sakhalin continued. 14 dead have so far been found, the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport's web site reads. The rig sank in course of only 20 minutes, Murmansk Oblast Governor Dmitry Dmitriyenko told RIA Novosti. 32 of the 67 people aboard came from the Murmansk region. 14 persons were found alive after the accident and picked up by boats taking part in the rescue operation. All the 14 survivors were on duty on deck during the towing and were wearing survival suits and life-jackets. ... Russian media is now asking why the whole crew stayed onboard during the towing, and why towing was conducted at all in such bad weather. A source in the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport says to Kommersant that half of the people onboard had nothing to do with the towing operation – they were drilling operators, crane operators and others. – The number of casualties did not have to be that high, the source says. According to Russian instructions for safety at sea, only a required minimum of personnel should be onboard a vessel that is being towed. The Russian Agency for Transport Supervision has started investigation of the accident. The weather in the area is bad, with wind of 10 m/s, waves of 2 meters and temperature of -2°C. The water temperature is 1°C.

Ham radio vital link during Alaska super storm

Amanda Graham — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:55:26 GMT

(Jill Burke/Alaska Dispatch via Eye on the Arctic, 14 November 2011) -- The jet stream feeding the wintery sea-spun tempest that sideswiped Alaska's western coast wasn't the only worldwide conveyer belt in motion this week. As howling winds whipped up and crashing waves pounded beaches, the people who live in the remote, isolated villages along the storm's path stayed connected via a web of global radio frequencies. When other communications failed, ham radio operators came to the rescue. Throughout the storm, they were the eyes for scientists in Fairbanks and Anchorage who otherwise would have been blind to weather conditions they could predict but not see. "They were providing critical observations. We don't have a lot of meteorological observations in the west. We don't have the instruments out there," Carven Scott, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Anchorage, said Thursday as messages sent via the amateur radio network zapped into his inbox. The messages were deceptively simple: how fast the wind was blowing and from what direction; sea level; wave height; whether it was snowing or raining; and the temperature. These seemingly small details from various villages made a big difference for the weather service -- enough so, Scott said, that a lead forecaster told him, "Whatever you do, don't cut it off because this stuff is really helping us."

N.W.T. plane crash kills 2

Amanda Graham — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:45:33 GMT

(CBC News, 4 October 2011) -- Two people died when an Air Tindi passenger plane crashed east of Yellowknife Tuesday afternoon and two others survived, although their conditions have not yet been disclosed. A Twin Otter medevac flight carrying the two survivors arrived in Yellowknife at about 6:30 p.m. MT Tuesday, officials confirmed. Both people have since been transferred to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife. Yellowknife-based Air Tindi has not released any names, but did confirm there were four people on the Cessna 208B aircraft, including the pilot. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will send two investigators to the crash site from its Edmonton office on Wednesday.

Plane crash near Resolute Bay kills 12

Amanda Graham — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:22:12 GMT

(CBC News, 20 August 2011) -- A 737 passenger jet crashed Saturday near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, in Canada's High Arctic, killing 12 people and injuring three others on board, CBC News has confirmed. Nunavut RCMP said First Air charter flight 6560 was travelling from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay with 15 people on board, including four crew members, the CBC's Patricia Bell reported from Iqaluit. The RCMP said in a release it "was made aware of the possibility of some survivors." A flight list was not immediately available. The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in CFB Trenton said helicopters and medical personnel are now at the site.

Polar bear kills British teen in Arctic expedition

Amanda Graham — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:35:52 GMT

(Fox News, 5 August 2011) -- VON POSTBREEN, Norway - A polar bear attacked a group of British students camping on a remote Arctic glacier as part of a high-end adventure holiday, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring four other young people Friday before a trip member fatally shot the bear. Two were hospitalized with severe injuries, according to the British Schools Exploring Society, the organizer of the trip. The attack took place on the Svalbard archipelago, which is home to about 2,400 people and 3,000 polar bears and attracts well-off and hardy tourists with stunning views of snow-covered mountains, fjords and glaciers. The British Schools Exploring Society is affiliated with Britain's Royal Geographic Society and has run expeditions for young people to remote and challenging corners of the globe for at least 75 years. Expedition members were spending three to five weeks in the Arctic, and had each paid 2,000 pounds (US$3,300) to 3,000 pounds (US$4,900) to join the trip, designed to mix science experiments with adventure. Participants were hunting for Arctic fossils and taking part in environmental experiments, including a project to install hydro and solar power systems. The group also was clearing beaches of tidal debris. On Friday morning, some of the youths were camping on Spitsbergen Island, the largest in the Svalbard archipelago, and a place where researchers say there is not much food available for polar bears during the summer. The bear attacked a group of 13 people in the early morning, leaving them with moderate to severe wounds that included head injuries, officials said. One of the campers shot the bear, said Liv Asta Oedegaard, a spokeswoman for the Svalbard governor's office. The injured were evacuated by helicopter to Tromsoe, the nearest city on the Norwegian mainland. "With great sadness the British Schools Exploring Society confirms the tragic death this morning of one of the members of its expedition in Svalbard," said Edward Watson, chairman of the British Schools Exploring Society. He named the teen as Horatio Chapple, who hoped to study medicine.

Komi ablaze: Several serious wildfires raging in the Komi Republic

Amanda Graham — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:24:58 GMT

(Barents Observer, 29 June 2011) -- Komi is the region in Northwest Russia with the biggest number of wildfires this year. So far, a total of 138 fires have put major areas ablaze, Komiinform.ru reports. The biggest fire, one in the Sosnogorsk area, is now covering a territory bigger than 1000 hectares. A state of emergency has been declared in the region, Rossiiskaya Gazeta informs. Firefighters had just got a 900 hectare fire in the Pechora municipality under control when the Sosnogorsk fire started spreading with alarming pace. A total of 18 fires are now reported to rage in the region, of which six have been localized by the authorities. Many Russians now fear another year with serious wildfires. Last summer, several huge fires left major parts of the country under a thick cover of smoke.

Leaking nuclear icebreaker escorted out of ice covered Kara Sea

Amanda Graham — Sat, 07 May 2011 20:49:26 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 6 May 2011) -- UPDATED: Taimyr was Friday evening escorted by the the nuclear powered icebreaker "Rossia" into a bay on the Vaigach island. "Ongoing leakages of cooling water from the reactor can evolve into a serious accident with potential for radioactive leakages," says nuclear physicist Nils Bøhmer in Bellona. The nuclear powered icebreaker was earlier this week escorting vessels on the Yenisei river north of the port-town of Dudinka when increased levels of radiation were detected in the air ventilation system of the reactor. The icebreaker aborted its mission and started Thursday to sail back towards the homeport in Murmansk on Russia’s Kola Peninsula.

Kuujjuaq bank branch destroyed by fire

Amanda Graham — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:11:51 GMT

(CBC News, 7 March 2011) -- CIBC customers in Kuujjuaq, Que., are temporarily without local service, after their bank branch was destroyed by fire over the weekend. The branch building burned down on Sunday morning, but firefighters salvaged the ABM, bank vault and cashiers' boxes from the rubble. The machine, vault and boxes have been removed and are stored in a secure location, according to bank officials. A CIBC representative is travelling to the remote northern Quebec village on Monday to help the local branch manager prepare to restore service. The bank will also make information available for customers who have questions about their accounts, according to officials.

Fisherman drowns in Icelandic waters

Amanda Graham — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:33:55 GMT

(Iceland Review, 1 March 2011) -- A Greenlandic fisherman on a Greenlandic capelin vessel drowned after falling overboard in stormy weather off Malarrif on Snaefellsnes peninsula, west Iceland, on Sunday evening. The captain immediately requested assistance from the Icelandic Coast Guard. By coincidence, one of its helicopters was located in west Iceland for training purposes. The Coast Guard’s other helicopter was also sent to the scene from Reykjavík, visir.is reports. The crew of one of the helicopters managed to hoist the fisherman onboard in very difficult circumstances but it was too late; he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards The ship is manned by both Icelanders and Greenlanders. It arrived in Helguvík on Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland last night and the Sudurnes police questioned the crew.

Mine to pay for city move

Amanda Graham — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:45:14 GMT

(SR, 16 February 2011) -- The Swedish mining firm LKAB is to pay for a new town hall and other municipal buildings for the town of Kiruna when the town's centre has to be moved due to subsidence caused by its huge iron ore mine. Much of the central parts of the town are being taken down and reconstructed further east. Local politicians and the mine have now come to an agreement, meaning the financing of the move will be paid for by the mining company. The new town hall will be ready for use by the end of 2016.

Volcanic ash blankets Russia's Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Amanda Graham — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:13:54 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 2 January 2011) -- PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY - Thin layer of ash from the active Kizimen volcano has on Sunday covered the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky where 60 percent of the Kamchatka Peninsula residents live, a representative for the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. "A taint of grey ash typical of Kizimen can be seen on the snow, on the cars and on all of the surfaces in the city," the spokesman said. He said the layer is tiny, about 0.5 millimeters, and added that the current situation does not pose a threat to the health of the local residents. However, the ash could affect the operations of aircraft. The Kizimen volcano is located 265 kilometers away from Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky. Kizimen's last eruption occurred in the end of 1920-s, but it the volcano started to exhibit activity the last June and a new eruption began a month ago.

Crew commander killed, 15 passengers injured in copter crash in Russian Arctic

Amanda Graham — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:32:12 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 19 December 2010) -- A Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed on the Russian Arctic island of Yamal on Sunday, killing the crew commander and injuring 15 passengers, a spokesman for Russian Aviation Committee (Rosaviatsia) said. There were 15 passengers and three crewmembers aboard the helicopter. "The passengers received injuries of various degree of gravity while the crew commander was killed," the spokesman said, adding that the fate of the other two crewmembers was unknown. The Mi-8 helicopter owned by Yamal Airline was delivering geologists from the town of Labytnanga to the Bovanenkovo hydrocarbon field, which Russian energy giant Gazprom is developing, the spokesman said. The helicopter was landing in the conditions of polar night and was destroyed after hitting the ground. Another helicopter of Yamal Airline has flown to the site of the incident to evacuate people injured in the crash, the spokesman said.

Inuvik airport fire destroys 3 planes

Amanda Graham — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:04:19 GMT

(CBC News, 5 November 2010) -- A northern Canadian airline has lost three of its six planes in a major fire at its hangar in Inuvik, N.W.T. The blaze at the Aklak Air hangar at the Inuvik airport happened around 10:40 p.m. MT Thursday, according to Northwest Territories transportation officials. The fire wiped out half of Aklak Air's fleet, claiming a Beechcraft King Air 100, a Beechcraft Model 99 and a Twin Otter aircraft. Firefighters said their lone tanker truck did not have enough water to extinguish the blaze, so crews focused on protecting nearby buildings, including Aklak Air's office. "We tried to pull the doors off so we could get the planes out, but the doors opened up and it was very difficult, so we weren't able to do that," firefighter and longtime Inuvik resident Vince Sharpe told CBC News on Friday. "By the time we got around to getting the doors off, the inside was pretty much fully involved. With the planes full of fuel inside [we] were expecting an explosion, so we pretty much pulled back and just tried to protect adjoining structures." No one was injured in the fire, Sharpe said.

Stranded Nunavut cruise ship passengers rescued

Amanda Graham — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:44:01 GMT

(Globe and Mail, 30 August 2010) -- The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen have rescued the passengers of a cruise ship that ran aground on an uncharted rock in Nunavut's Coronation Gulf. The MV Clipper Adventurer became stranded around 7 p.m. MT Friday while making its way from Port Epworth to Kugluktuk. Efforts by the crew to dislodge the vessel during high tide on Saturday were unsuccessful. All 118 passengers, as well as the crew, are safe and unharmed, cruise operator Adventure Canada said. Company CEO Matthew Swan described the ship as "completely stable." "There is a list of about 4.5 degrees to the port side, but there doesn't seem to be any damage that we can detect." He said skies were sunny and waters calm for the last two days, so a lot of people just relaxed on deck. The Amundsen was dispatched to the scene from the Beaufort Sea. Coast Guard spokeswoman Theresa Nichols said the passengers were transferred to the icebreaker beginning Sunday around 4 p.m. ET and that it was completed in later in the evening. "All of the passengers were transferred to the Amundsen," she said. "They're all in good health." The Clipper's crew is expected to remain on the idled ship for now, she said, adding that there has been no pollution, such as oil, spilled in the water because of the incident. Swan said he didn't know what might be done to free the ship. Nichols said any decisions on assistance for the vessel will be made by Transport Canada. The icebreaker was taking the tourists to Kugluktuk and they will be flown to Edmonton.

Seven people killed in road accident in Russian Far East

Amanda Graham — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:32:30 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 1 August 2010) -- Khabarovsk - Seven people were killed and another eight injured after two minivans collided on a highway in the Magadan Region in the Russian Far East, the regional emergencies center said on Sunday. The road accident occurred on the 297th km (185th mile) of the Kolyma highway on Sunday afternoon. The persons injured in the accident have been hospitalized, the emergencies center said. Police are investigating the causes of the accident, the emergencies center said. According to statistics, 30,000 people lose their lives in traffic accidents every year in Russia due to the poor state of highway networks and reckless driving.

Inuvik buildings destroyed by fire

Amanda Graham — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:44:52 GMT

(CBC News, 14 July 2010) -- One of the oldest buildings in Inuvik, N.W.T., has burned to the ground, as has the local recycling depot. The Wrangling River Supply furniture store and warehouse caught fire shortly after 1 a.m. MT Wednesday. No one was injured in the blaze, but losses are expected to be in the millions of dollars. Also destroyed in the fire was Inuvik's recycling depot. Tonnes of plastic bottles caught fire and started smoking and melting. Inuvik fire Chief Al German told CBC News that the operation was made more complicated by faulty cellphone service. A taxi driver who first saw the fire had to drive to find a landline and call the fire department. Weary firefighters continued to soak the wreckage on Wednesday afternoon. More than 12 hours after the fire started, flames were still coming from the wreckage, as a mechanical shovel moved debris into a pile to be soaked.

Eroding village continues relocation work

Amanda Graham — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:10:01 GMT

(The Arctic Sounder, 29 May 2010) -- As erosion creeps ever closer, residents of a tiny Southwest Alaska village continue their slow but steady work to relocate to higher ground. The Yup'ik Eskimo village of Newtok has completed construction of a landing barge, part of an ambitious multi-government endeavor driven by local leaders. The barge is a crucial piece of infrastructure for the new site nine miles from the flood-prone community of 350. A landing strip has not yet been built, but road construction is set to begin. The Marines and other military branches are providing personnel and heavy equipment to build a 3,800-foot road this summer between the site of a planned evacuation center and their base camp that they built last year near the barge landing. Stanley Tom, Newtok's tribal administrator, said locals also hope three new houses will be added to three homes already there. "We're making progress," he said. "We will gradually build houses." The evacuation center will serve as a bridge for residents and could later function as tribal offices or some kind of community center once the move is complete. Tom said the erosion that has fueled a sense of urgency among locals continues. Newtok has one of the shortest projected life spans among scores of Alaska native villages affected by erosion and flooding blamed in part to rising temperatures.

Delays, new eruption threats could emerge from Iceland

Amanda Graham — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:37:42 GMT

(RedOrbit, 21 April 2010) -- As airports across Europe reopened Tuesday and the long process of returning thousands of stranded passengers to their homes began, the ongoing fallout of recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland delayed the delivery of polio vaccine to Africa and caused concern that another, more dangerous eruption could soon occur at another nearby volcano. Last Wednesday, the volcano located beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier began erupting, spewing ash that covered local farmland, shot as high as 30,000 feet into the air, and spread across the UK and continental Europe. That cloud of ash forced airports in England, Ireland, France, Germany, and several other countries to close, stranding tens of thousands of travelers on the ground. However, according to an April 20 article by Carlo Piovano of the Associated Press (AP), "Scientists fear tremors at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano could trigger an even more dangerous eruption at the nearby Katla volcano — creating a worst-case scenario for the airline industry and travelers around the globe." "A Katla eruption would be 10 times stronger and shoot higher and larger plumes of ash into the air than its smaller neighbor," Piovano added. "The two volcanoes are side by side in southern Iceland, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) apart and thought to be connected by a network of magma channels… Katla, however, is buried under ice 550 yards (500 meters) thick," meaning that it would have to burn through twice as much ice as the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. No seismic activity was detected at the location on Tuesday. Meanwhile, on Monday, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano began spewing less ash and began producing lava, and Bryndis Brandsdottir of the University of Iceland told the AFP the strength of the eruption had "diminished markedly" and that the ash column is less than half its original height. [See pictures here: Alan Taylor, "More from Eyjafjallajokull".]

Iceland volcano ash production slowing

Amanda Graham — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:43:24 GMT

(IceNews, 20 April 2010) -- The amount of ash falling around the South Iceland Eyjafjallajokull glacier has reduced according to meteorologists – but that does not mean the eruption is coming to an end. According to meteorologist Halldor Bjornsson, it is not possible to say the reduced ash fall means the eruption is winding down; but farmers are welcoming the development nevertheless. At its peak, 750 tonnes of ash were spewing out of the volcano every second. The eruption has been upgraded from small to medium in size. According to journalist aviator Omar Ragnarsson, who flew over the volcano this morning, the intensity of the eruption does seem to have reduced noticeably from yesterday. Ash is being thrown up to a height of 15 to 16,000 feet, which is much lower than previously. The Icelandic Meteorological Office is predicting ash fall to continue all around the edges of the glacier today. Southerly winds will bring rain later in the day and as it swings to the west, ash falls can be expected east of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. Tomorrow the northerly wind is expected to return, blowing ash to the south, RUV reports.

Toxic ash threatens Iceland animals

Amanda Graham — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 04:47:09 GMT

(BBC News, 19 April 2010) -- Farmers in southern Iceland have been racing to protect their animals from being poisoned by volcanic dust. The animals are at risk of fluoride poisoning if they inhale or ingest the ash, leading to internal bleeding, long-term bone damage and teeth loss. Sheep, cattle and horses were rushed to shelter after they got lost in a fog of ash in areas near an erupting volcano. Areas south of the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano have been caked in a layer of grey ash some 10cm (four inches) thick. Ponds have turned into pools of cement-like mud and geese have had trouble flying because their wings are heavy with ash, media reports say. On Sunday, farmers banded together to drive around searching for hundreds of shaggy Icelandic horses, who panicked and got lost in a downpour of ash that turned day into night. "The risk is of fluoride poisoning if they breathe or eat too much," Berglind Hilmarsdottir, a dairy farmer from Nupur, told the AP news agency through a protective white dust mask. The fluoride in the ash creates acid in the animals' stomachs, corroding the intestines and causing haemorrhages. It also binds with calcium in the blood stream and after heavy exposure over a period of days makes bones frail, even causing teeth to crumble. "The best we can do is put them in the barn, block all the windows, and bring them clean food and water as long as the earth is contaminated," Ms Hilmarsdottir said. Sveinn Steinarsson, of Iceland's Horse Breeding Association, warned that Iceland's famously resilient ponies would be in danger if the ash contamination continued. "In areas where there's ash fall and horses are outside, the conditions are terrible," Mr Steinarsson told the French news agency, AFP.

Icelandic volcano ejects 140 mln cu m of ash - scientists

Amanda Graham — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:33:05 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 18 April 2010) -- MOSCOW - Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has thrown out about 140 million cubic meters of ash over the past three days, Icelandic scientists said on Sunday. The Institute of Earth Sciences of the University of Iceland estimated that about 100 million cubic meters of the ash rose into the air and was blown across northern Europe, canceling thousands of flights Aeroflot on Sunday canceled 42 Monday flights but there were signs of an easing of the disruption, as Spain reopened all affected airports and Germany began to allow flights to several destinations. Britain and Denmark, meanwhile, extended the ban through 06:00 GMT on Monday. The Icelandic volcanologists said most of the ejected material was fine-grained airborne tephra, but 30 million cubic meters of material was deposited around the volcano vent and another 10 million in the glacial lagoon of Gigjokulslon. They said the average magma discharge rate of 750 tons per second was 10-20 times greater than the average of the eruption in late March. The scientists warned that the eruption and melting the surrounding glaciers could threaten serious flooding south of Iceland.

Volcanic ash to curtail air traffic into midday friday

Amanda Graham — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:08:17 GMT

(Nicola Clark and Liz Robbins/New York Times, 15 April 2010) -- PARIS - A dark and spectacular volcanic cloud shrouded much of northern Europe on Thursday, forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights as it drifted at high altitude south and east from an erupting volcano in Iceland. The shutdown of airspace was one of the most sweeping ever ordered in peacetime, amid fears that travel could continue to be delayed days after the cloud dissipates. The cloud, made up of minute particles of silicate that can severely damage jet engines, left airplanes stranded on the tarmac at some of the world’s busiest airports as it spread over Britain and toward continental Europe. The volcano erupted Wednesday for the second time in a month, forcing evacuations and causing flooding about 75 miles east of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. Matthew Watson, a specialist at Bristol University in England in the study of volcanic ash clouds, said the plume was “likely to end up over Belgium, Germany, the Lowlands — a good portion over Europe,” and was unlikely to dissipate for 24 hours or more. Even then, any resumption of flights would not be immediate, said John Lampl, a British Airways spokesman in New York. “For several days you’ll have crews and airplanes in the wrong places,” he said. “It will take a few days to sort it out.” ... The ash from the volcano, Eyjafjallajokull (pronounced EYE-a-fyat-la-jo-kutl), was reported to be drifting at 18,000 to 33,000 feet above the earth. At those altitudes, the cloud is directly in the way of commercial airliners but not an immediate health threat to people on the ground, the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network, based in Britain, said on its Web site.

Iceland volcano eruption forces evacuation

Amanda Graham — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:31:47 GMT

(CBC News, 14 April 2010) -- A volcano under a glacier in Iceland erupted Wednesday, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. Authorities moved 800 residents away from the Eyjafjallajokull glacier as rivers rose by up to three metres. Rognvaldur Olafsson, a chief inspector for the Icelandic Civil Protection Agency, said no lives or properties were in immediate danger. Emergency officials and scientists said the eruption under the ice cap was 10 to 20 times more powerful than an eruption that happened in the area late last month, and carried a much greater risk of widespread flooding. "This is a very much more violent eruption because it's interacting with ice and water," said Andy Russell, an expert in glacial flooding at the University of Newcastle in northern England. "It becomes much more explosive, instead of a nice lava flow oozing out of the ground." The volcano, about 120 kilometres east of Reykjavik, erupted March 20 after almost 200 years of silence. Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, said magma was melting a hole in the thick ice covering the volcano's crater, sending water coursing down the glacier. Iceland's main coastal ring road was closed near the volcano, and workers smashed a hole in the highway in a bid to give the rushing water a clear route to the coast and prevent a major bridge from being swept away.

Volcanic eruption in Iceland “small” but “cool”

Amanda Graham — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:46:44 GMT

(Iceland Review, 27 March 2010) -- “It is the smallest eruption that I have seen in my lifetime but also by far the coolest,” commented Benedikt Bragason at the tour operator Arcanum. He is offering ski-doo tours across Mýrdalsjökull glacier to the source of the eruption on Fimmvörduháls. “We travel to Fimmvörduháls three times a day,” Bragason told mbl.is. Between 20 and 40 people are on each tour. He explained that this is a new opportunity for tourism and still under development. Bragason traveled to Fimmvörduháls in clear weather on Wednesday to check out the circumstances, which proved good enough to launch the first tours on Thursday. “The interest is immense. My phone never stops ringing.” It takes about an hour to drive on ski-doos across the glacier to Fimmvörduháls. Tourists stop for an hour to observe the eruption and the unique lava fall. Then it takes an hour to drive back. The tour costs EUR 345 (USD 464) per person.

Increased activity at Iceland volcano

Amanda Graham — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:28:34 GMT

(IceNews, 22 March 2010) -- An increase in activity at the Fimmvorduhals volcano this morning has led to the no-fly zone in southern Iceland being widened. Volcanic activity near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier increased significantly at around 07.00 this morning, with a series of explosions sending a gas and ash cloud 4km into the air. Domestic flights in Iceland are still operating, as are international flights from Iceland Express; a mechanics’ strike is delaying other international services. Hjordis Gudmundsdottir of the civil aviation authority told Visir.is that as soon as the explosions took place, meteorologists started working on new calculations for where the gas cloud will head, given wind direction and speed. She added that although the no-fly zone has been expanded, there is no need for further concern at the moment. It is not only commercial air passengers who have been affected by the volcano: over 200 American soldiers that were due to fly to Southeast Asia yesterday, and are part of the US forces in Iraq, were due to refuel in Iceland but instead spent the day stuck in New Jersey. It has not been confirmed whether they have now departed; but Icelandic airspace is now open again.

Volcano erupts in South Iceland

Amanda Graham — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:32:29 GMT

(IceNews, 21 March 2010) -- After weeks of small earthquakes in the area, the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier has finally erupted, causing disruption to flights and a spate of evacuations. The volcano is sending a plume of ash and smoke in a westerly and north westerly direction due to easterly winds. The amount of ash being generated appears to have peaked between 07.00 and 08.00 this morning, according to volcanologists. The molten lava has created a 500m-1km rift in the snow and the large majority of the lava flow is to the west with the rest flowing down the slope to the east. The lava flows are reported to be remarkably even and there are 12 of them at present. Over 600 people were forced to leave their homes in the area and many are now taking shelter in a school. It is already clear they will not be allowed to return home today or tonight; but as the greatest danger is the smoke and ash, their return will largely be decided by wind direction and the weather forecast. Red Cross workers at the school say everybody is calm and comfortable and that spirits are high. The beauty of the eruption is almost as high in people’s minds as the danger. This was not true for two scientists who had permission to drive to Fimmvorduhals yesterday and were rescued from their broken down car shortly before the mountain ‘blew its top’. Those expecting to travel today are also badly affected, with Icelandair flights stranded in the USA and international passengers stranded in Iceland. While domestic flights are suspended indefinitely, international passengers are advised to check their flight status online, as a reduced flight schedule is now underway. Volcanologists from the Icelandic Meteorological Office are relieved that today’s long-awaited eruption appears to be relatively gentle and did not cause flooding by melting glacier ice. However, they fear it could trigger a much more severe eruption at the nearby Katla volcano, which has a fearsome reputation for destruction. A movie file from the Fimmvorduhals / Eyjafjallajokull eruption can be viewed at ruv.is. See another video of the Iceland volcano eruption here. Also: Iceland volcano update

5-point quakes hit Kolyma and Sakhalin, no victims

Amanda Graham — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:04:05 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 19 March 2010) -- VLADIVOSTOK - Earthquakes hit Kolyma and Sakhalin on Friday. An earthquake measuring 4.8 points was registered in Kolyma at 15.53 local time (07.53 Moscow time) at a depth of 26 kilometers, the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported. The epicenter was situated in the area of the peninsula of Taigonos. The epicenter of the earthquake was situated 575 kilometers from Magadan. According to data of the local seismic station, the underground tremor lasted two seconds. The epicenter of the Sakhalin earthquake measuring 4.9 points was situated in the Nogliksky region in the island’s north. The underground tremor was registered at 14:07 Sakhalin time (07:07 Moscow time) at a depth of 15 kilometers. The Far Eastern regional center of the Ministry for Emergencies reported that none of the earthquakes caused destructions, there are no victims.

No radiation danger as scrapped nuclear sub catches fire in north Russia

Amanda Graham — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:07:14 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 20 February 2010) -- ST. PETERSBURG - A nuclear submarine being scrapped caught fire on Friday at the Zvezdochka shipyard in northern Russia's city of Severodvinsk, but there is no radiation danger, the city administration said. "A fire started in the hold of the third compartment of the K-480 Ak Bars nuclear submarine. The submarine is being scrapped, nuclear fuel has been removed from the reactor. There is no radiation danger for the population," it said in a statement. No one was reported injured. Up to 70 people are involved in the effort to put out the fire.

Four people die in fire in Yakutia settlement

Amanda Graham — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:22:18 GMT

(Itar-Tass, 14 February 2010) -- KHABAROVSK - Four people died in the fire that broke out at four-storey apartment block in Yakutia’s settlement of Chersky on Sunday, the main EMERCOM department in Yakutia told Itar-Tass on Sunday. Some 38 people were evacuated from the building by the firefighters, who arrived at the fire site ten minutes after the fire alarm call. The firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings and saved the house. However, they failed to save four residents, who were found dead after the fire. The fire victims are being identified. A group of investigators is working at the fire site.

DELAWARE: Operation Arctic Vengence ready to mobilize

Amanda Graham — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:48:33 GMT

DELAWARE — In what military planners are calling Operation Arctic Vengeance, the Delaware National Guard is working diligently to prepare its forces to aid the state should the governor declare a state of emergency. ... The plan calls for the Delaware National Guard to set up a task force in each county. Each task force will consist of about 45 Soldiers, 15 Highly Mobile Multi-Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees), a Light-Medium Tactical Vehicle, and a wrecker.“This is where we shine,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, addressing leaders during a situation briefing. “This is where we show our value to the citizens of Delaware.”

Military mounts rescue for Inuit hunter stranded on drifting ice floe

Amanda Graham — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:17:34 GMT

RESOLUTE, Nunavut - An Inuit hunter was preparing for his second night on a drifting ice floe in the Northwest Passage Saturday as air rescue crews attempted to drop him more supplies. "That's basically what we're going to do, is drop more kit to him," said Sgt. Rob Wilson from the search and rescue centre in Trenton, Ont. The man was hunting near the edge of the sea ice about 15 kilometres from Resolute, Nunavut, when a large chunk broke free and began drifting out to sea, carrying him along. The hunter, who is carrying a satellite phone, was able to contact his wife. He was also carrying a light source, which enabled a Hercules airplane to find him in the Arctic dark at about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The Hercules dropped supplies including food, water, a tent, extra clothing, fuel for his stove and a locator beacon. However, a helicopter sent to Resolute to pluck the man off the ice has been unable to take off due to mechanical problems, Wilson said. A second supply-laden Hercules was scheduled to drop him more equipment later Saturday. The man, who Wilson described as an experienced hunter, is said to be in good condition and remains in contact with his wife. He built himself an improvised snow shelter and was preparing to settle in for the night. "He is fine," said Wilson. Meanwhile, the weather is deteriorating in the area, with snow, high winds and frigid temperatures anticipated. His icy raft, however, is expected to remain stable. "It is a very large floe," Wilson said. Wilson said the rescue is likely to proceed Sunday. "We don't foresee an issue," he said.

Disaster declared: Alaska's Yukon River Chinook salmon run fails

Amanda Graham — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:45:37 GMT

(ENS, 18 January 2010) -- WASHINGTON, DC - There has been a commercial "fishery failure" for Alaska's Yukon River Chinook salmon due to low salmon returns, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has formally determined. "Communities in Alaska along the Yukon River depend heavily on Chinook salmon for commercial fishing, jobs and food," said Locke on Friday. "I have determined that a fishery disaster has occurred due to consecutive years of low Chinook salmon returns. Alaska fishermen and their families are struggling with a substantial loss in income and revenues." The Yukon River once hosted the largest migrating Chinook, chum, and coho Pacific salmon stocks in the world. But in 2008, because of low Chinook salmon returns, the state of Alaska reduced the 2008 commercial Chinook salmon harvest to 89 percent below the recent five-year average. No commercial Chinook salmon fishery was allowed in 2009 on the Yukon River. The state also restricted subsistence harvests. Over 800 Alaskan fishery permit holders are directly affected by the salmon failure, along with crewmen, processing employees, and those who provide support services. Although the reasons for the decline of Chinook salmon are not completely understood, scientists believe changes in ocean and river conditions, including unfavorable shifts in temperatures and food sources, likely caused poor survival of Chinook salmon. ... "While subsistence fishing is not a factor in determining a commercial fishery failure, for Yukon River communities the commercial and subsistence fisheries are inseparable," said Doug Mecum, acting administrator of the NOAA's Fisheries Service' Alaska region. "These communities are very isolated and do not have the economic diversity to withstand the disastrous economic impact of extremely low or no commercial harvest coupled with a decline in subsistence harvests," Mecum said.

Ship with 30 aboard stuck in ice off Russia's Pacific coast

Amanda Graham — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:27:20 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 22 January 2010) -- YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK - A ship with 30 crew on board sent a distress signal on Friday, warning that it could sink after becoming stuck in ice in the Sea of Okhotsk, off Russia's Pacific coast, local emergencies officials said. "The information that the refrigerator ship had become iced-in was received by the emergencies department of the Sakhalin Region at 07:40 Moscow time," the official said. All crew members on board the vessel are Russians, he said, adding that bad weather conditions could hamper any rescue operation. He said that emergency and maritime rescue officials were "exploring the possibility of involving ships located in the area ... to conduct a rescue operation." A local rescue center official said the trapped vessel had lost power and was unable to move.

Earthquake hits Svalbard

Amanda Graham — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:54:08 GMT

(Svalbardposten, 13 January 2010) -- An earthquake, measuring between 4.5 and 5 on the Richter scale, struck Storfjorden, between Spitsbergen and Edgøya, today at 11:08 am. "We have not yet analyzed the earthquake and can not say exactly where in Storfjorden it had its center," said seismologist Tormod Kværne of Norsar at Kjeller. Kværne also said that the quake was only detected by instruments, which are located on Janson Haugen in Adventdalen, in Ny-Ålesund, Hopen and Hornsund. "We have not had calls from people who felt the shake. If anyone should have known something it would be the crew of the Polish research station in Hornsund," he said. [See more about the earthquake here from NORSAR, an independent geo-scientific research foundation established in 1968, specializing in software solutions and research activities in the fields of applied seismic and seismology.]

Northern Labrador calls for improved phone, internet service

Amanda Graham — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:24:55 GMT

(CBC News, 12 January 2010) -- People on the north coast of Labrador want Bell Aliant's communication infrastructure improved after ice toppled a transmission tower last week, leaving them without internet and long distance phone services. "If this was somewhere else in Newfoundland, we'd probably have crews in from the States helping. So I don't think it's good enough," said Charlotte Wolfrey, who lives in Rigolet. Its service was restored by last Friday. Stormy weather kept a Bell Aliant crew away from the damaged tower at Double Mer, north of Rigolet, until last weekend. Company spokesperson Isabelle Robinson said an estimated 30 tonnes of ice had built up on the tower before it collapsed. She said the circumstances were extraordinary. "This infrastructure has been in place for many, many years, and it's built to be outdoors and withstand some weather," Robinson told CBC News Tuesday. "But certainly given the extraordinary circumstances that we've had here, it's certainly difficult to plan for these types of weather circumstances and have a backup infrastructure in place." Robinson says the company is prepared for many problems such as power outages. It has onsite generators and can reroute circuits to solve some breakdowns. Five locations, including Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Natuashish and Postville remained without long distance telephone and internet services on Tuesday. They've lost those services on Jan. 6. There's still no estimate on when all services on Labrador's north coast will be restored.

Iceland’s Hekla could erupt with short notice

Amanda Graham — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:27:27 GMT

(Iceland Review, 12 January 2010) -- Freysteinn Sigmundsson, geophysicist at the University of Iceland’s Institute of Earth Sciences, believes that the volcano Hekla in south Iceland could erupt with short notice. However, it is difficult to predict when the volcano will start to erupt. Some people contacted the Icelandic Meteorological Office last week, reporting snow-free spots near the volcano’s summit. Erlendur Ingvarsson from the nearby farm Skard told RÚV that this is unusual considering the cold weather, mbl.is reports. Sigmundsson said changes to Hekla’s geothermal pattern aren’t necessarily a sign that the volcano is preparing to erupt; it could be the consequence of increased expansion of the volcano’s inner structure, which makes it easier for the heat to travel to the surface. Since 1970, Hekla has erupted every ten years; the last eruption was in February 2000. Hekla can be monitored through a live webcam on RÚV’s website. Click here to read more about volcanoes in Iceland being ripe for eruption.

Power distribution resumes in Norway's Arctic region

Amanda Graham — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:26:27 GMT

(AFP, 29 December 2009) -- OSLO -- Power distribution in Norway's Arctic Lofoten archipelago resumed midday Tuesday after an outage deprived 30,000 residents of electricity for several hours, the local provider said.

Power outage hits 25,000 in Norway's Arctic region

Amanda Graham — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:25:11 GMT

(AFP, 29 December 2009) -- Around 25,000 residents of the Arctic Norwegian Lofoten archipelago were deprived of electricity by a power outage Tuesday, electricity provider Lofotkraft said. Temperatures in the region at this time of year vary from minus 10 to minus seven degrees Celsius (19.4 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit) and there are only a few hours of sunlight per day. "The power failure has been located and repairs have started," Lofotkraft said in a statement. "We think that electricity distribution will resume before the end of the day," it added.

Cargo ship adrift south of Adak in heavy seas

Amanda Graham — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:53:54 GMT

(Rosemary Shinohara/Anchorage Daily News, 20 December 2009) -- A 740-foot cargo ship was disabled and floating adrift in high winds about 540 miles southwest of Adak on Sunday. The ship, the APJ Suryavir, registered in India, was battling 30-foot seas and winds close to 60 mph during part of the day, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. There were 28 people on board. The crew planned to abandon ship and move to a rescue ship that was due to arrive at the scene late Sunday night, said Petty Officer Walter Shinn. The ship was drifting to the east, away from the Aleutian Islands. Another cargo ship, the Maersk Altair, was in the vicinity and answered a Coast Guard call for help. But it had to slow down due to the weather and wasn't expected to reach the APJ Suryavir until the middle of the night. The APJ Suryavir was heading empty from China to the Columbia River in Oregon when the main engine failed and would not restart. The ship had sea water ballast in its tanks to add weight and stability but was still not stable enough for the harsh conditions, said Shinn. The Coast Guard sent a C-130 aircraft from Kodiak to check out the scene. That plane dropped a buoy to collect information on the currents and wind conditions. A second C-130 was to fly out to check on the APJ Suryavir early today, said Shinn. A Coast Guard cutter docked at Dutch Harbor also set out to help but won't get to the site for four days. The ship was not taking on water and has life rafts, survival suits and an emergency locator beacon, Coast Guard officials said. The ship is reported to have a 30-day supply of provisions.

N.W.T. town looks for cause of store blaze

Amanda Graham — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:37:16 GMT

(CBC News, 18 December 2009) -- People in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T. are waiting to hear what caused a massive blaze that ripped through the Northern Store. The Northern Store, which serves as the local grocery store, bank, pharmacy and post office, burned down last Monday. It was the third major fire in the town in a week. The first two buildings burned down just days earlier on Dec. 10, and the fire marshal has concluded that both fires were caused by arson. Firefighters in the hamlet of 557 spent more than seven hours Monday dealing with fire at the store. Since then, extreme heat and smoke has prevented investigators from examining the site, but investigators said they hoped it would be cool enough to enter the site on Friday. RCMP are assisting the fire marshal in investigating the blaze, said Const. Bob Wolfenberger. "The first two have been deemed as arson by the fire marshal's office. They are currently being investigated," Wolfenberger said. "And the third one, we're assisting. It's still being investigated by the fire marshal's office."

Oil pipe exploded in Yamal tundra

Amanda Graham — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:17:49 GMT

(BarentsObserver.com, 9 December 2009) -- Oil spill covered 100 square meters of land after an explosion in an oil-gathering line in the Yamalo-Nenets Okrug last week. According to the local Emergency Management Service, the accident was probably caused by metal fatigue, Uralinform.ru writes. A fire broke out, but was reported to have been put out quickly. No people were harmed in the accident and there was no danger of fire spreading. The pipe belongs to the company Rosneft-Purneftegaz.

High winds topple tall crane at Dutch Harbor

Amanda Graham — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:26:18 GMT

(Anchorage Daily News, 5 December 2009) -- DUTCH HARBOR - Winds as high as 125 mph toppled a 110-foot gantry crane at a shipping facility in Dutch Harbor. A spokesman for American President Lines Ltd. says no people or other structures were damaged when the crane fell at 8:45 p.m. Friday evening. Mike Zampa says the company is still assessing damage to the crane, which fell onto gravel at the shipping terminal. APL is the world's fifth-largest container shipping company. Unalaska city roads chief Jim Dickson described the storm in an e-mail Saturday. "A few roofs were blown away, a mud slide across a road; but generally most of town made it through with only minor damage," he wrote.