Prophecy, Drought, Earthquakes, Famine, Pestilence, War, and Strange Weather.

[Soldier4Christ]

Third quake quivers Qeshm Island

The third earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale hit suburbs of Qeshm Island in southern Hormuzgan Province at 01:28 hours local time on Friday (2158 GMT) Thursday night.

The seismological base of Tehran University's Geophysics Institute registered the tremor in an area measuring 26.81 degrees in latitude and 56.03 degrees in longitude.

There are no immediate reports of any damage or casualty.

Earlier in the day, the island was rattled by a 4.3-magnitude earthquake, which caused no casualty or damage to property. It occurred at 04:04 local time (0034 GMT) on Thursday morning.

The first and killer earthquake struck Qeshm last Sunday with a magnitude of 5.9, killing 10 people, injuring scores of others, and flattening several villages.

Having an area of 1,500 square kilometers, Qeshm is the biggest island of the Persian Gulf.

The island is one of Iran's lucrative commercial and fishing ports. Hara Forest nestled in the island is a must-see spot.

The island has a population of more than 100,000.

[Soldier4Christ]

Volcano Sends Plume of Ash Into Air Outside Mexico City
From the Associated Press
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Popocatepetl Volcano sent a gritty cloud billowing into the sky outside Mexico City early Thursday.

Officials warned nearby residents to protect themselves against the rain of ash the eruption will likely cause, and some was reported to have fallen on the town of Amecameca, in Mexico state.

he eruption sent a plume of ash almost 5 kilometers (3 miles) into the air, and was accompanied by about 30 minutes of light seismic activity, Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Center reported.

The 17,886-foot (5,450-meter) volcano has been intermittently erupting since December 1994.

In July, the volcano sent a column of hot ash 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) into the air and spat red-hot rocks. But it didn't threaten residents living at the volcano's base.

[Soldier4Christ]

Hawaii coast line collapses, lava flows

HONOLULU, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A 40-acre section of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park's coastline collapsed this week, producing a six-foot-thick geyser of molten rock.

The Tuesday collapse exposed a 60-foot cliff face, with the lava spurting from a lava tube that was ripped open. But the lava geyser was quickly disappearing as the molten flow hardened and began forming a new coastal rock bench, the Honolulu Advertiser reported Thursday.

The collapse was the largest since the Kilanea Volcano began erupting in 1983, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

The event started shortly before noon Tuesday and continued for several hours, accompanied by explosions, flying gobs of molten rock, and boulder missiles, the Advertiser reported.

The collapse opened an underground stream of lava that flowed from the cliff face at the rate of about four truckloads of lava per second, rangers told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

State officials had kept visitors away from the area since June, following warnings from geologists of an imminent collapse.

[Soldier4Christ]

Epsilon Strengthens Into Hurricane Again
12.04.2005, 10:05 AM


Epsilon unexpectedly strengthened again into a rare December hurricane on Sunday in the open Atlantic, where it posed no threat to land.

The 26th named storm of the record-breaking hurricane season had top sustained winds near 85 mph, despite earlier predictions that it would weaken, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Epsilon had sustained winds of 70 mph earlier in the day; hurricanes have winds of at least 74 mph.

"There are no clear reasons and I am not going to make one up to explain the recent strengthening of Epsilon," said hurricane specialist Lixion Avila.

But he said cooler waters, higher wind shear and drier air should cause Epsilon to gradually weaken later in the day. Epsilon first reached hurricane strength on Friday and is the 14th hurricane of the season.

At 10 a.m. EST, Epsilon was centered about 725 miles west-southwest of the Azores and moving east near 12 mph.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and officially ended on Wednesday.

Epsilon was only the fifth hurricane to form in December in more than 150 years of records, hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said. The latest that a hurricane has formed in the Caribbean was Dec. 30, in 1954.

[Soldier4Christ]

A powerful earthquake Monday toppled dozens of homes and buried children in rubble in eastern Congo, killing at least three people in a region already beset by chronic violence and grinding poverty.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8, struck at 2:20 p.m. (7:20 a.m. EST) and was centered beneath Lake Tanganyika on the Congo-Tanzania border, about 600 miles southwest of Nairobi, Kenya, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

"Dozens of houses have collapsed, several children were buried by the roofs of their houses," said Dr. Jean-Donne Owali, a Congolese humanitarian worker in the lakeside city of Kalemie, Congo, about 35 miles from the epicenter.

Owali said at least two people had died of injuries at his clinic. He said he saw children bleeding from head injuries after their mud-and-thatch homes collapsed.

U.N. spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux said a child was killed in the city when two houses and a church "crumbled." Three people were wounded.

Bonnardeaux said most of the injuries in the area were from falling zinc and steel roofs. The desperately poor region also has camps for tens of thousands of refugees from wars and economic collapse in Congo and Burundi.

The quake sent panicked people running from buildings in Kigoma, the main Tanzanian transport hub on the shores of Lake Tanganyika about 90 miles from the epicenter, said regional commissioner Elmon Mahawa. Authorities were waiting for police stations in remote parts of the country to report on any casualties.

The USGS said the quake was located about six miles underground and shook Nairobi and the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa. It was also felt on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and in Tanzanian towns bordering Zambia and Malawi, Tanzania's meteorological chief Mohamed Mhita said by phone from the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.

Henri Burgard, U.N. spokesman in the Congolese town of Uvira, said the quake lasted 30 seconds. "The buildings shook quite strongly. We have no reports of deaths so far," he said.

In Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, an Associated Press reporter felt a three-story building sway in two waves of the quake.

The region is located along the Great Rift Valley, which runs for 3,000 miles between Syria and Mozambique. In January 2002, a volcano erupted along the fault in eastern Congo, forcing some 300,000 people to flee and destroying the homes of 120,000. An estimated 100 people were killed.

[Soldier4Christ]

NZ experts assess danger as volcano builds pressure
07 December 2005

Volcanic activity on Mount Manaro in Vanuatu is "significant", but not yet a large eruption, a New Zealand vulcanologist said yesterday.

Steve Sherburn of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) has rushed to Vanuatu's Ambae Island with another GNS researcher, Brad Scott, and Shayne Cronin of Massey University, as fears rose over the potential for a major volcanic eruption.

The New Zealanders, who took portable seismic gear with them and equipment for gas monitoring, found that Mt Manaro had not been monitored for about a decade.

"There have been several eruptions on the island in the past and this (event) at the moment seems to be typical of some of the larger eruptions that we've had," Mr Sherburn told Associated Press news agency.

"It's significant activity but it's not (yet) a large eruption," he said.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Ham Lini has yet to declare a state of emergency on the island but said he would do so if the situation worsens.

Officials have ordered 5000 people living in 15 villages in a so-called "red zone" round the mountain to move to the island's coast.

Local schools and halls were being used to accommodate displaced villagers as some 2000 tonnes of ash a day fall round the mountain base and white steam billows 1500m above its cone.

Mr Sherburn said Mount Manaro was "currently is trembling or vibrating all the time."

Apart from shaking, "we are not seeing any large quakes associated with the island" - which suggested the trembling was originating from the eruptions in the lake, he said.

Mr Sherburn said a party had hiked to the volcano's rim on Sunday and found the water of Lake Vui - inside the crater - about 150m below the rim of the 1500m mountain.

A Vanuatu vulcanologist said it posed a serious risk of a steam explosion if the water hit hot molten rock (magma) inside the volcano's magma chamber.

"If the chamber breaks and water reaches magma there will be a terrific explosion, the like of which has not been seen in the country before," Douglas Charlie told the Vanuatu Daily Post.

The volcanic lake also is being forced up toward the rim, sparking fears of a lahar or mud flow if the lake wall bursts, which could drown the villages that surround the mountain.

Mr Charlie said that "the danger is not yet high" but if the ash falls continued, they would seriously affect water supplies and villagers' gardens round the volcano's base.

"If the eruptions worsen the government may have to evacuate all 10,000 people from the island," he said.

New Zealand Red Cross water and sanitation aid worker Victoria Fray will fly to Vanuatu on Saturday to assess the water and sanitation needs of re-located villagers.

The New Zealand Red Cross will also provide 2000 respirator face masks which will be used by village emergency workers, and people with respiratory illnesses.

New Zealand Red Cross operation manager Andrew McKie said Vanuatu Red Cross had already shipped two 4000 litre water containers to Ambae Island, along with 300 kits to help shelter families. New Zealand Red Cross would refill the disaster containers in time for this summer's cyclone season.

Two Vanuatu Red Cross staff on the island were using an Iridium satellite phone provided earlier this year as part of a New Zealand Red Cross project in the Pacific.

Officials said two ships have been sent to the island in case an evacuation was required. Ambae, an hour's flight northeast from the capital, Port Vila, lies near the islands of Pentecost and Maewo, which could be used to help resettle people displaced by a major eruption.

Vanuatu, an archipelago of more than 80 islands and 200,000 people, lies 2250km northeast of Sydney.

[Soldier4Christ]

Earthquake leaves Kenyans shaken

Nairobi, Kenya, 12/06 - Kenyans were shaken by a powerful earthquake which hit East Africa, with scientists saying the tremor was also felt in DR Congo, Tanzania and Kenya`s Rift Valley.

I violently shook buildings in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The Kenya Meteorological Department said the earthquake, which it described as "strong", occurred at 1219 GMT at the epicentre in the Lake Tanganyika region and was also felt in Burundi, shaking buildings and leaving huge cracks on the earth`s surface.

The Denver-based US Geological Survey, said in its preliminary report on the quake that it measured 6.8 on the richer scale and erupted from Lake Tanganyika. It was felt along the Indian Ocean and the entire Great Lakes region, including Rwanda.

Seismologists, who study the movements of the earth`s surface, consider the most powerful quake measured on a scale of 10, but the 6.8 on the scale is considered "too significant" and most scientists were not sure that no major emergencies were recorded.

"This quake was very strong and it is rare that this kind of quake would not cause any major damages; 6.8 was a significant one," said Peter Ambenje, an expert at the Kenyan Meteorological Department.

According information obtained from US agency`s National Earthquake Information Centre, the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km below the earth`s surface. It covered 65 km South East of Kalemie in the DR Congo and travelled 975 km South West of Nairobi. In Nairobi, the tremor was felt at 3.30 pm local time.

The mid-afternoon tremor disrupted work and employees left work for their homes, with some women missing soles.

"We held on the wall and prayed. The walls were shaking and we thought the earth was coming to an end, I have never seen such a thing all my life," said an employee of Telkom Kenya, who lost her shoe sole in the confusion.

Kenyans were evacuated from working places in Nairobi, where shaking buildings alarmed workers, leaving a trail on destruction, including wall-cracks and temporarily disrupted telecommunication equipment, including mobile phones.

Nairobi`s tallest buildings were hit by the quake, raising fears among occupants that most of the buildings may not be safe for so long because of the magnitude of the tremor.

"We fear that this building may not be so safe after this incident. We may need to be told what kind of technology was used to lay the foundation," said senior Kenyan government official at the Trade and Industry Ministry based at the 28-storey Telposta Towers.

"We need to know if the foundation was laid using rubber material like those used in Japan, we need to determine that," said the official, who works at the third tallest building in Nairobi`s central business district.

Nairobi`s tallest building runs about 35 storeys and most of the buildings average 20 storeys, mostly built using concrete materials and steel.

[Shammu]

Russia’s Muslims Want Christian Symbols Removed From Coat of Arms

Created: 06.12.2005 16:34 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:34 MSK, 16 hours 20 minutes ago

MosNews

Click Here!

A group of top Muslim clerics have demanded that Orthodox Christian symbols be removed from the Russian coat of arms and have complained about the Russian authorities and power-wielding structures allegedly refusing to abide by the principle of secularity, the Interfax news agency reported.

“This is not only a question of the Russian coat of arms. We can say that icons are all but put up on the walls of state offices,” Nafigulla Ashirov, chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Asian Russia, told journalists.

He accused units of the Defense and Interior Ministries and the Federal Security Service of appropriating various saints “who are allegedly the patrons of warriors”. “The power-wielding structures, the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy are erecting large crosses at border posts and the approaches to towns. Orthodox chapels are being built in the command bodies of the armed forces,” he lamented.

In his turn, Damir Mukhetdinov, deputy head of the Spiritual Board of the Nizhny Novgorod region’s Muslims, shared the Muslims’ concerns. Their feelings are insulted by the Orthodox presence in the Russian coat of arms.

“We, the Muslims of Nizhny Novgorod region, were wholeheartedly in favour of introducing the unity of the peoples holiday. We could not have imagined, however, that the sound of Orthodox bells and the icon of the Virgin of Kazan would become the symbols of this holiday in Russia,” he said about the day of people’s unity. The mufti is convinced that “all this violates the secular nature of the state and doesn’t contribute to the unity of Russia’s peoples”.

Ali Visam Bardvil, head of the Spiritual Board of Karelia’s Muslims, too, believes that the presence of Christian symbols in the coat of arms is impermissible. He said that Russia “is neither a Muslim nor a Christian country”.

“The cross is not a Muslim symbol. We respect the religious feeling of Christians but do not recognize the crucifixion of Christ,” the Muslim figure clarified. “Therefore,” he went on, “in my opinion Orthodox symbols should be removed from the coat of arms to make it acceptable to all religions.” Bardvil emphasized that Muslims would support all politicians calling for a change to the current symbols in the Russian coat of arms.

[Soldier4Christ]

Erupting Vanuatu Volcano Shoots Matter Thousands of Feet Into Air
Thursday, December 08, 2005

AMBAE ISLAND, Vanuatu — An erupting volcano on this remote South Pacific island burst into spectacular life Thursday — shooting steam and toxic gases 9,845 feet into the sky.

Huge columns of dense white steam and muddy ash spewed above Ambae Island to reach the greatest height seen since the Mt. Manaro volcano began erupting Nov. 27.

Thousands of villagers have been evacuated from the path of a possible lahar, or mud flow, that vulcanologists fear could burst over the crater lip if the eruption continues or intensifies, sweeping away the flimsy homes in its path.

A "red zone" has been declared around the volcano and several ships were ready to evacuate islanders if the situation worsens dramatically.

New Zealand vulcanologist Brad Scott, who is on Ambae monitoring the eruption, said "it remains a low-level eruption, but it could go either way — worsen or slowly subside."

The plumes of steam and gases were bursting from a huge vent in the middle of a muddy gray-brown Lake Vui in the crater — which before the eruptions began last month was a picturesque calm aqua blue.

Pilot Charles Nelson of local charter company Flight Club Vila said the lake "is looking like a huge grubby bowl of hot kava," referring to a murky local drink made of the pounded roots of a local pepper plant mixed with water.

Nelson was speaking after flying close to the erupting volcano Thursday morning.

Dead trees ring the edge of the crater, while trees in dense jungle nearby were covered in ash that has been belching from the volcano.

The huge smoke, ash and gas plume cast a shadow over now deserted villages clinging to the volcano's flank.

Some 5,000 villagers — half the island's population — are squatting in townships in low-lying areas of the northwest and southeast corners of the small island, one of more than 80 in the archipelago, which is studded with active and dormant volcanoes. The islands, with a total population of 200,000 people, are 1,400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia.

"We're worried but it's still not increasing its activity and remains on level 2," or yellow alert, local transport operator Simean Tali said.

The ships mean "we should get off (the island) if it goes up," he added.

Two hospitals on the island have been emptied of patients, and teams of doctors and nurses were on call to fly to Ambae from the capital, Port Vila, if a major eruption occurs, the National Disaster Management Office said.

"Maybe nothing is going to happen, but it is better to be ready than not," the Daily Post newspaper quoted Prime Minister Ham Lini as saying.

Ambae, an hour's flight northeast from Port Vila, lies near the islands of Pentecost and Maewo, which could be used to help resettle people displaced by a major eruption.

[Soldier4Christ]

Powerful undersea earthquake shakes Papua New Guinea, no injuries reported
22:02:25 EST Dec 11, 2005

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A powerful undersea earthquake shook Papua New Guinea early Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate indications of whether it caused damage, injuries or a tsunami.

The quake had an initial magnitude of 6.5 and struck at 12:20 a.m., local time, in the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea, the USGS said.

Its centre was estimated to have been at a depth of 9.6 kilometres, it said.

The region is about 2,300 kilometres north of Brisbane, Australia.

There were no immediate reports of damage or a tsunami, said Martin Mose, assistant director for community and government liaison at Papua New Guinea's National Disaster Management Office.

On Thursday, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, but there were no reported injuries.

In 1998, a tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake killed at least 2,000 people when it struck the north coast of Papua New Guinea's main island, wiping out dozens of coastal villages in the impoverished nation of 5 million people.

[Soldier4Christ]

Biggest Highland earthquake in 20 years
RAYMOND HAINEY

IN WORLD terms, it barely rated a blip on seismographs around the globe, but the earthquake which shook the Fort William area yesterday was the biggest to hit Scotland in 20 years.

Northern Constabulary was inundated with calls after a loud late-night rumble and tremors shook a huge chunk of the West Highlands during the quake which hit three on the Richter scale.

Kathleen O'Donnell, 21, from Caol, near Fort William, was in bed when the earthquake hit. She said: "It definitely woke me up with a bit of a fright. The whole house shook and the door was rattling. A few people came out of their houses to see what was going on.

"I had no idea what it was, but after it stopped I just went back to sleep again."

Simon Abberley, 22, a receptionist in a Fort William hotel, said: "I've experienced an earthquake here before - it felt like a tractor running into the house. That's the best I can describe it."

Northern Constabulary said the force handled dozens of calls from an area between Roy Bridge and Ballachulish.

A spokesman at the Fort William station said: "We are on the Great Glen fault, but this is the first time I've ever felt anything like this. It sounded like thunder and lightning, but the ground shook for a few seconds as well. It was certainly very noticeable."

Another Fort William resident, said: "It was terrifying. I was in the house and suddenly there was a loud bang and everything started to shake.

The epicentre of the latest earthquake was between Loch Eil and Loch Linnhe.

British Geological Survey seismologist Glenn Ford said the force-three quake was the biggest to hit Scotland since the Highlands was rocked by one of similar force in January 1986. He said the organisation's Edinburgh office also had to deal with calls from residents.

The earthquake struck at about 11:30pm on Saturday night, but did not cause any structural damage in the area.

Mr Ford said the north-west of Scotland was a very active region for earthquakes because it sat on the Great Glen fault.

The fault is one of Scotland's most distinctive geological features. It runs for about 300 miles from Colonsay in the Hebrides to Shetland, and splits the north and west Highlands from the Grampian mountains.

Earthquakes have even been suggested as a cause for one of Scotland's most famous legends - the Loch Ness monster.

Early reports of Nessie date back to the 7th century, when a monster is said to have appeared before St Columba "with strong shaking". Some scientists believe that gas bubbles and disturbance of the surface of Loch Ness caused by earthquakes are at the root of the Nessie legend.

[Soldier4Christ]

Rockies, Midwest, Texas hit hard

By Colleen Slevin, Associated Press  |  December 8, 2005

DENVER -- Brutally cold air spread across the Rockies and Midwest yesterday, closing schools, crippling cars, and sending volunteers into the streets looking for homeless people to rescue.

In West Yellowstone, Mont., a hamlet on the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park and a frequent icebox, the mercury plummeted to 45 degrees below zero, shattering the old record for Dec. 7 of 39 below set in 1927.

''I played taxi service this morning to a lot of my employees because their cars wouldn't start," said Gayle Archer, a manager at one of the town's motels, who watched other residents ski to work on unplowed streets.

In Denver, the coroner was trying to determine whether the death of a homeless man was caused by temperatures that dropped to 11 below. Schools in the Colorado Springs area were closed and many others statewide opened late.

The cold extended south to the Texas Panhandle, where Lubbock had a record low of 6 degrees.

At Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, officials said freezing rain was expected to force the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Temperatures read like ice hockey scores in northeastern New Mexico -- zero at Las Vegas and 1 at Raton. ''I'm sitting here in my office and it's freezing and we've got the heat on full blast," said Bill Cox, owner of the Hillcrest Restaurant in Las Vegas.

The cold follows a blizzard that blasted much of the Plains on Nov. 27-28, shutting down major highways across a half-dozen states.

About 3,600 rural customers in South Dakota were still without electricity more than a week later, said Tom Dravland, state public safety secretary. Lows across the eastern part of the state dipped to as much as 20 degrees below zero.

Outreach workers in Denver were encouraging homeless people to head to shelters, which were taking in extra people, said Deborah Ortega, executive director of the Denver Commission to End Homelessness. The Salvation Army's search and rescue team was out all night. Brad Meuli, president of the Denver Rescue Mission, said about 300 people -- about 100 more than normally allowed -- squeezed into a shelter Tuesday. ''We're not turning anyone away. We may just give them a blanket and have them lean up against a wall," he said.



My Comment:  Where is the global warming now?

[Shammu]

My Comment:  Where is the global warming now?

Okay Pastor Roger, I needed that laugh.

[Shammu]

Alaskan Volcano Showing Signs of Erupting

By JEANNETTE J. LEE, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 15, 6:50 PM ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A sulfurous steam plume, hundreds of miniature earthquakes and a new swath of ash on snowy Augustine Volcano have scientists looking for a possible eruption in the next few months.

The 4,134-foot volcano hasn't shown such signs since it last erupted in 1986, when ash from a 7-mile-high column drifted over Anchorage, the state's most populous city, and kept flights out of the skies over Cook Inlet.

"It's steaming more vigorously right now than it has at any point since 1986," Steve McNutt, research professor of volcano seismology with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said Wednesday.

The observatory has been monitoring the uninhabited volcanic island more closely since bumping its status up to code yellow from green on Nov. 29. Code yellow means the volcano is restless and showing signs of an eruption.

Steam mixed with sulfur dioxide gas has been billowing vigorously since late last week from a space between lava domes formed during Augustine's most recent eruptions, in 1976 and 1986.

The presence of sulfur, one of the main magmatic gases, is a sign that molten rock has moved closer to surface, McNutt said.

Residents on the Kenai Peninsula about 50 miles across Cook Inlet have reported the rotten-egg smell of sulfur fumes floating into their communities.

"On Sunday night I woke up with the taste of sulfur in the back of my throat," said Kevin Seville, who lives in the Russian and Alutiiq village of Nanwalek.

Seismometers have recorded more than 170 small temblors over the last week, and 74 on Sunday alone. The average for the past 15 years has been about one to two per week.

The jump is "very dramatic," McNutt said. But he noted the magnitudes — less than 1 — were still smaller than the bulk of the earthquakes preceding the 1986 eruption.

The entire island, located 171 miles southwest of Anchorage, has inflated by as much as one inch as injections of molten rock rise into the mountain from beneath the earth's surface, he said.

Scientists on a flyover earlier this week also spotted a swath of new ash on the snow-covered peak. The thin dusting indicates cracks have opened on the mountain to vent steam.

"It could be days, weeks, months before we see something else, or at any point here things could just stop," said Chris Nye, research assistant professor at the observatory, a joint program between the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Alaska Fairbanks and state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

Nanwalek residents are monitoring the volcano observatory's Web site and have packed emergency supplies in case an ash cloud cuts out air service, the main source of transportation to and from the village.

"We're isolated as it is, when you throw ash into the mix, it makes it really hard to connect," Seville said.

Alaskian  Volcano Showing Signs of Erupting

[Shammu]

Shocked scientists find tsunami legacy: a dead sea

Disaster unabated … Acehnese children in a tent that is their home in the village of Pante Raja almost a year after the tsunami. Thousands of survivors along the west coast of Indonesia's Aceh province are still struggling to rebuild their lives.

Disaster unabated … Acehnese children in a tent that is their home in the village of Pante Raja almost a year after the tsunami. Thousands of survivors along the west coast of Indonesia's Aceh province are still struggling to rebuild their lives.

A "DEAD zone" devoid of life has been discovered at the epicentre of last year's tsunami four kilometres beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean.

Scientists taking part in a worldwide marine survey made an 11-hour dive at the site five months after the disaster.

They were shocked to find no sign of life around the epicentre, which opened up a 1000-metre chasm on the ocean floor.

Instead, there was nothing but eerie emptiness. The powerful lights of the scientists' submersible vehicle, piercing through the darkness, showed no trace of anything living.

A scientist working on the Census of Marine Life project, Ron O'Dor, of Dalhousie University in Canada, said: "You'd expect a site like this to be quickly recolonised, but that hasn't happened. It's unprecedented."

The scientists teamed with television crews from the BBC and Discovery Channel to investigate the heart of the deadliest tsunami on record. On Boxing Day last year an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.3 tore the earth apart off the west coast of Sumatra. Part of the ocean floor was thrust up to create a 40-metre-high undersea cliff that then collapsed.

Huge volumes of water were displaced in the process, creating the giant waves that killed more than 270,000 people.

"Normally, when you go to the bottom of the sea anywhere and take a sample or look around, there's always something alive," Professor O'Dor said. "But five months after the earthquake, this entire plain, created by the collapse of the cliff, was essentially devoid of life."

The group had expected to find several species of fish, plus cephalopods, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, corals and sponges, crustaceans and worms.

Professor O'Dor thought the collapsing cliff had buried the food sources of bottom feeders, which in turn had an effect on larger predators. "No one has ever got to a site like this so quickly before," he said. "It may just be that it takes a while for things to get back to normal. The sea is very cold at this depth, and typically the speed of life is proportional to temperature. Nothing happens very fast at 4C."

The tsunami epicentre findings were included in a report marking the halfway point in an ambitious project to catalogue all life in the oceans by 2010.

About 1700 scientists from 73 countries are taking part in the project. So far they have electronically tagged almost 2000 animals from 21 species, including sharks, fish, birds, turtles, seals and sea lions.

Large numbers of new species have also been discovered in some of the deepest and remotest corners of the ocean.

Scientists believe that all the marine species known at present may only account for about a tenth of those that exist.

Shocked scientist find tsunami legacy: a dead sea