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Tags: Travel News Briefs / Animals / Hotels / Earthquakes / → All Tags

Rare Megamouth Shark Has a Bad Day

With so much travel news raining down on us, we don't always have time to give every story its own forecast. Here's more of the day's news, in brief.

· Rare Megamouth Shark Can't Escape the Same Fate as Less Exotic Fishes: Fishermen in the Philippines catch one of 40 remaining megamouth sharks and eat it, despite warnings from an international conservation nonprofit. Animal overlords once again, are pissed. [National Geographic]

· San Diego on Earthquake Alert: There have been more than 450 quakes near the area's Salton Sea since March 21. While a major quake hasn't struck in 300 years, but everyone is on alert. [KFMB]

· New Zealand is Pretty: Gadling's Grant Martin is fresh back from his trip to Kiwiland and has some pretty photos to show. [Gadling]

· 'Friends and Family' Code from Fairmont Hotels: HotelChatter has gotten their grubby hands on a sweet promo code for swanky Fairmont Hotels. [HotelChatter]

Tags: Earthquakes / Tragedies / Dangerous Travel / Travel News / → All Tags

Deadly Earthquake Hits Central Italy

Ninety-two people are believed to be dead after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck towns and cities across central Italy yesterday. The closest city to the epicenter of the quake was L'Aquila, a town about 60 miles away from Rome in the Abruzzo Region.

According to news reports, between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings in the medieval city may have been damaged. Between 40,000 and 50,000 people overall are believed to have lost their homes.

The quake struck around 3:30 a.m. and could be felt as far away as Rome, some 95 miles to the west, where it rattled furniture and set off car alarms. Part of a student dormitory, a church tower and other historic buildings collapsed in L’Aquila, and the town’s cathedral was damaged.

The city of L'Aquila is described as a "Walled city with narrow streets, lined by Baroque and Renaissance buildings" with none of the older buildings built to withstand earthquakes. Right now, the city is focusing on rescuing any survivors who may be trapped in buildings or rubble. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has also declared a state of emergency as power lines are down throughout the affected region and some bridges and roads have been closed as a precaution.

Italy has had three major earthquakes in modern history, the last of which occurred in 2002 in the southern town of San Giuliano di Puglia which killed 28 people. Another deadly quake in the Umbria region in 1997 killed 10 people and destroyed Assisi's famed basilica.

Related Stories:
· Powerful Italian quake kills many [BBC]
· At Least 92 Die in Earthquake in Italy [NY Times]

[Photo: New York Times]

Tags: What's Shakin' / Earthquakes / Travel News / National Parks / → All Tags

Hundreds Of Earthquakes Have Yellowstone Trembling

Probably the only thing we remember from our tours of Yellowstone a couple years ago are guides telling us about the supervolcano that formed the caldera that covers a large chunk of the national park. You can't have geysers and bubbling mudpots without lots of geothermal activity underground, and so Yellowstone is used to the occasional quake. But a recent batch of hundreds of mini-earthquakes, has scientists scratching their heads.

Though even the strongest of the tremors, at magnitude 3.8, is just strong enough to be easily noticed without seismic equipment, the fact that more than 250 quakes have occurred in the past few days has geologists on high alert, one University of Utah professor tells the AP:

This is an active volcanic and tectonic area, and these are the kinds of things we have to pay attention to. We might be seeing something precursory.

Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don't know. That's what we're there to do, to monitor it for public safety.

While it's good to know someone's watching out for park visitors, it's not exactly clear what precautions could be taken if a massive earthquake were to suddenly hit. In 1959, a huge quake triggered a landslide that killed 28. The good news is that these quake swarms happen pretty often, so it could just be a little something to add some edginess to your national park visit.

Related Stories:
· Scientists Eye Unusual Swarm of Quakes [AP, via Google]
· Recent Quakes in Yellowstone National Park [University of Utah]
· Earthquakes coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: trialsanderrors]

Tags: China Travel / Earthquakes / Tourism Board Travel / → All Tags

Sichuan Province Opens Earthquake Park, Welcomes Tourists

Six months after the earthquake, China's Sichuan province is more-or-less ready for visitors.

They've even got earthquake tourism started with an earthquake relic park now open in Qingchuan County, the hardest hit region. Instead of six villages they've now got 36 lakes in this area; tourists can visit for free although they're considered charging in the future.

As far as tourism is concerned, Sichuan officials were pretty pleased that no World Heritage Sites were seriously damaged--they also breathed a big sigh of relief that none of the 55,000 foreign tourists there at the time were killed. (We might point out that 88,000 Chinese people were, but apparently that's not on the agenda of tourism officials.) And as odd as it might be, they're probably expecting a boost in tourist numbers now that we all know where kung pao chicken actually comes from.

Related Stories:
· Quake Relic Park Opens in Sichuan [Shanghai Daily]
· Where Is the Epicenter of the China Earthquake? [Jaunted]
· China Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Shanghai Daily]

Tags: Earthquakes / Facebook / Chris McGinnis / LAX / → All Tags

FB Status Travel: "Chris McGinnis Is in Awe of the Earthquake"

Travel industry personality Chris McGinnis, who's worked everywhere from CNN Headline News to Expedia, had a particularly travel-y LA earthquake experience yesterday:

I was in the security screening area at LAX and my bag was in the x-ray machine. All of a sudden every machine and magnetometer started beeping and blinking red wildly and the overhead monitors were shaking and the TSA folks were yelling "STOP, STOP, ALL STOP."

We all sorta looked at each other as the quake rolled by. I was ready to jump under the metal table it if got any worse. The Japanese lady with her two kids in front of me with Hello Kitty bags looked at me like "So what's the big deal here?"

About two minutes went by, and the machines came back on and my bag popped out and I packed up, put my shoes on and carried on. Everyone was shaking their heads and saying things like "Welcome to California, folks."

Where did McGinnis publish his first-hand account? Facebook, obviously.

Related Stories:
· My LAX Earthquake Experience [Facebook]
· Where Was the LA Earthquake? [Jaunted]

Tags: Earthquakes / Breaking News / Google Maps / → All Tags

Where Was Today's LA Earthquake?

At 11:42 local time, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook up Los Angeles, making us glad that the White Knight Two reveal was yesterday instead of today. We don't like hiding under desks!

The epicenter, mapped above, was just two miles from Chino Hills and 29 miles from the LA Civic Center downtown. While 5.8 isn't that strong, it did manage to shake up buildings and locals alike. There were no serious injuries reported, but Disneyland has closed its rides for inspections.

As for people trying to flee LA, they're in luck: Flights out of LAX continue to operate normally.

Related Stories:
· Earthquake Details from the USGS [Official Site]
· Earthquake Rocks Los Angeles [CNN]
· Moderate Earthquake Shakes LA [Reuters]
· Google Maps/Where Is... coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Attractions / Tourist Attractions / China Travel / Earthquakes / → All Tags

China Travel: Add a New Lake to the Guidebook

And out of disaster comes... a new tourist destination. Thanks to the May 12 earthquake, Beichuan county got a large new lake, and Chinese scientists and government officials are already figuring out how to maximize its tourism potential.

Tangjiashan Lake was formed after the side of a mountain fell in and blocked a river. It's already been decided that it's safe and stable, so the next step is to decide how to keep it a scenic spot ripe for tourists.

We see plenty of potential for poorly-translated Chinglish signs here and perhaps a few new rules for tourists to follow. Or, here's an idea, let's just have a pretty lake with a few picnic tables. How about it, China?

Related Stories:
· China Quake Lake to be Tourist Spot [AP, via Google]
· Where is the Epicenter of the China Earthquake? [Jaunted]
· China Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Karen from Michigan]

Tags: China Travel / Earthquakes / Dams / Google Maps / → All Tags

Where Is the Zipingpu Dam?

China continues to deal with the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, while aid continues to trickle into also-suffering Myanmar. In China, officials are worried that the Zipingpu Dam may have been damaged by the 7.9-magnitude quake. We're not engineers, but it seems likely: One look at our map shows how close it was to the epicenter of the May 12 temblor.

The endangered dam sits just upstream from Dujiangyan, a city of several thousand people that is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System was built in 256 BC and is still in use today.

Hundreds of other dams in Sichuan may have been damaged, but officials say the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province is safe. The monumental construction project/environmental disaster-in-waiting sits about 350 miles east the earthquake epicenter.

Related Stories:
· Dam Cracks Add to China Quake Fears [TPA, via Google]
· China Says Troops Rush to Plug Dam [AP, via Google]
· Dujiangyan Irrigation System [Wikipedia]
· China Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Google Maps / Earthquakes / Asia Travel / → All Tags

Where Is the Epicenter of the China Earthquake

Asia is having a tragically terrible month. Days after a cyclone ripped Myanmar to shreds, a powerful earthquake rattled China, killing thousands in the western province of Sichuan. Home to the famous Wolong Nature Reserve, the region is also known for its eponymous cooking style, epitomized in kung pao chicken.

Offices in Beijing--more than 950 miles from the epicenter--swayed for more than two minutes, and the quake was felt as far away as Bangkok, Hanoi and Taipei. Rescue efforts are ongoing.

Related Stories:
· USGS Information on the Quake [Official Site]
· Death Toll in China Earthquake up to 9,000 [AP, via Google]
· China Quake Brings out Citizen Journalists [Telegraph]
· Among the Pandas in Wolong [The Atlantic]
· Asia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Earthquakes / Japan Travel / Travel News / Breaking News / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: What's Shakin' in Japan

A series of fairly powerful earthquakes hit Japan today, rocking Ibaraki Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. There were no fatalities and no fear of a tsunami, though tremors could continue in the coming hours. The last earthquake of this magnitude hit the island nation last year; it killed 11 people.

Even though damage this time was light, it must've been an interesting experience for the most high-profile tourist in Tokyo right now: Chinese President Hu Jintao. The leader is meeting with his Japanese counterparts in an effort to smooth relations between the two countries, which have been frosty for the past decade.

Related Stories:
· Strong Earthquake Rocks Tokyo Region [AFP, via Google]
· 6.8-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Near Tokyo [AP, via Google]
· Hu Jintao and Yasuo Fukuda Make Friends [UK Times]
· China, Japan Sign Joint Statement on Ties [Xinhua]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: randomidea]

Tags: Peru Travel / Peru Earthquake / Travel News / Earthquakes / → All Tags

Latest News on the Peru Earthquake

More news is rolling in from Peru after a 8.0 magnitude earthquake shook the country's southern coastal areas. (Early reports of the quake's magnitude have been revised.) Already online are a Wikipedia page and photos on Flickr, documenting the disaster that killed hundreds, injured many more and even damaged buildings in Lima, 165 miles away. The quake was so powerful that scientists predict an 8-inch-high tsunami will wash up in Japan. Tomorrow.

The hardest hit area, closest to the epicenter, is Ica Region, south of the nation's capital. Government officials say more than half of Pisco--famous for its namesake grape brandy--has been destroyed. Buildings throughout the region have collapsed and there are widespread power outages. With roads destroyed, getting around, for tourists, locals and rescuers will be problematic at best.

Related Stories:
· Peru Quake coverage [CNN]
· Rescuers Struggle to Aid Hundreds of Peru Earthquake Victims [VOA]

[Photo: Franco Mena]

Tags: Earthquakes / → All Tags

Massive Earthquake Kills Hundreds in Peru

Something is seriously amiss with the Pacific this week. Just days after Hawaii gets walloped with both a trembler and a hurricane-turned-tropical storm, Peru suffers a massive earthquake that killed at least 337 people. The worst to hit the country in 30 years, it clocked in at 7.9 on the Richter scale, making it 100 times more powerful than the quake that rocked Hawaii.

Aftershocks continued to rattle the country after the main event last night, but a feared tsunami never materialized. Though the epicenter was 165 miles from Lima, the capital certainly felt the earthquake's effects, residents said:

Usually you don't feel a tremor when outside, but the pavement was rippling, so I fled to the park where the ground continued to move under our feet...What was even more frightening was the roar of the quake coupled with the sky lighting up. It was surreal - if felt like we had stepped onto the set of some war movie"

Related Stories:
· Powerful Quake Kills Hundreds in Peru [NPR]
· Peru Quake Death Toll Rises to 337 [Bloomberg]

[Photo: AFP, via BBC]