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 May 15, 2013– KASHMIR – Fresh tremors on Wednesday shook Bhaderwah belt of Doda district where a panic-stricken elderly woman died of a heart attack while fleeing from her home. 61-year-old Naseema Begum suffered the cardiac arrest while running out of her house during tremors this morning in Soti village of the district, officials said. She was taken to a hospital, where she was declared as brought dead, they said. Three moderate intensity earthquakes and five aftershocks shook Bhaderwah valley and adjoining areas in Doda-Kishtwar belt of Jammu and Kashmir triggering fresh panic among the people. The moderate intensity tremors of 4.8, 5.3 and 5.0 on the Richter Scale shook Baderwah valley and adjoining areas of Doda-Kishtwar belt at 1.28 AM, 1.30 AM and 1.33 AM today, MeT officials said. The tremors were followed by aftershocks at 2 AM, 2.12 AM, 2.33 AM, 4.41 AM and 7.30 AM…

The break-up of the Indo-Australian Plate, which was hastened by 8.6 and 8.2 earthquakes in 2012 could further increase seismic volatility in the region.

May 15, 2013 – INDIA– India’s west coast is far more vulnerable to monster earthquakes and tsunamis than believed till now, scientists have said in dramatic new findings that could force a rethink on the country’s preparedness for natural disasters on a coastline that hosts its biggest nuclear reactor. Undersea earthquakes as strong as the 2004 Sumatra temblor that spawned a tsunami killing over 220,000 could also strike under the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Pakistan and Iran, striking those countries, India, Oman and further inland, a team of British and Canadian scientists has said. India’s Arabian Sea coast is home to the 1400 MW Tarapur Power Station near Mumbai, India’s largest operational nuclear plant that in 2011 was also identified by a government…

May 15, 2013 – GEOLOGY – A flurry of earthquakes continues across the planet over the past 72 hours, showing few signs of abatement. Seismic tension continues to build across the Pacific Plate, the Cocos plate (Central America), and the Nazca plate, near South America. Tectonic plate agitation appears to be increasing, along with volcanic pressures under many of the world’s major volcanoes.  –TEP

55^th volcano erupts in Alaska: Scientists say small lava flows have been detected on two restless volcanoes in Alaska. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says satellite images Tuesday show the lava partly down a flank of Pavlof Volcano in a low-level eruption 625 miles southwest of Anchorage. Geophysicist Dave Schneider says minor steam and ash emissions are visible from the community of Cold Bay 37 miles away. Pavlof is the second Alaska volcano to erupt this month. Cleveland Volcano, on an uninhabited island in the Aleutian…