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earthquake hits Japan
People take shelter as a ceiling collapses in a bookstore during an earthquake in Sendai, northeastern Japan March 11, 2011.

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami was a 9.0 MW megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on Friday 11 March 2011. The epicenter was 130 kilometers (81 mi) off the east coast of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku near Sendai, with the hypocenter at a depth of 32 km (20 mi).

Tsunami in Japan
A massive tsunami hits the coastal areas of Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 11, 2011.

The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations along Japan's Pacific coast and in at least 20 countries, including the entire Pacific coast of North America and South America. The earthquake created extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 10 meters (33 ft) that struck Japan minutes after the quake, in some cases travelling up to 10 km (6 mi) inland, with smaller waves reaching many other countries after several hours.

earthquake and tsunami damage
Houses swept by a tsunami smoulder near Sendai Airport in Japan March 11, 2011.

The earthquake and tsunami caused extensive and severe damage in Japan, including heavy damage to roads and railways as well as fires in many areas, and a dam collapse. At least three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to hydrogen buildup within their outer containment buildings. Residents within a 20 km (12 mi) radius of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and a 10 km (6 mi) radius of the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant were evacuated.
natural gas explosions after the earthquake
Natural gas storage tanks burn at a facility in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo March 11, 2011.

The estimates of the Tohoku earthquake’s magnitude make it the strongest known earthquake to hit Japan, and one of the five strongest earthquakes in the world overall since modern record-keeping began in 1900. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that "in the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan." The earthquake moved Honshu 2.4 m (7.9 ft) east and shifted the Earth on its axis by almost 10 cm (3.9 in).
Hero of Japan. Rescue workers
A member of the Japan Self-Defence Forces carries a man in Natori city, in Miyagi prefecture March 12, 2011.





*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
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2011 Christchurch Earthquake

April 20th 2011 02:12
The 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island at 12:51 pm on 22 February 2011 local time causing widespread damage and multiple fatalities. The earthquake was centred 2 kilometres (1 mi) west of the town of Lyttelton, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-east of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous city. It follows nearly six months after the 7.1 magnitude 2010 Canterbury earthquake that caused significant damage to the region but no direct fatalities.

At least 150 people have been confirmed dead and more than 200 people have been reported as missing, (Police expect the final death toll to be over 200) making the earthquake so far the second-deadliest natural disaster (after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake) in the recorded history of New Zealand.
1500-2000 people have been treated for minor injuries, and Christchurch Hospital alone has treated 220 major trauma cases connected to the quake.
JPMorgan Chase & Co investment analysts estimated that the earthquake could cost insurers US$12 billion (NZ$16 billion).



The Big Picture at Boston.com has the images and captions below available in full. Click the link on top of page to view the original article.
Christchurch Earthquake 2011
Workers and police converge on the rubble of the CTV building in Christchurch Tuesday to seek victims. The building had housed the King's Education School; the quake struck in the middle of the school day. As many as 23 Japanese students at the language school were believed to be trapped, according to the Associated Press.




christchurch cathedrals in rubble
Part of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch lies in ruin.




earthquake survivors
Two men celebrate after being pulled out from a destroyed building in Christchurch Wednesday 24 hours after the earthquake.




collapsed house in Christchurch
Murray and Kelly James look at their destroyed house in central Christchurch Wednesday.




damage to Christchurch
Collapsed and severely damaged buildings fill the center of Christchurch.




Panoramic view of Christchurch after the 2011 Earthquake
Panoramic view of Christchurch after the 2011 Earthquake. (click to enlarge)


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Valentine's Day Around the World

April 11th 2011 05:43
Saint Valentine's Day is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").

As reported on the Atlantic, the traditional western holiday has grown to be observed in many countries around the globe, despite some efforts to fight its adoption by religious and cultural groups. As couples exchange traditional gifts of flowers and chocolate, they fuel a robust industry in the United States, where Valentine's Day spending this year is expected to reach nearly $16 billion.
Below are images of this Valentine's Day from all around the world. Click the link on top of the page to see many more in the original article.



valentines day images
Rose petals fall as Thai brides and grooms look up from a cliff side while rappelling during wedding ceremonies Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 in Prachinburi province, Thailand. The mountainside ceremony has become a favorite of adventure seeking Thai couples looking to marry near or on Valentine's Day.



how different cultures celebrate valentines day
Iraqi Kurds decorate apples with cloves to offer it to their partners on Valentine's Day at a restaurant in the Kurdish city of Arbil in northern Iraq on February 14, 2010. The preservation of a red apple with cloves is a Kurdish tradition on the feast of love symbolizing Adam and Eve's relation with the apple representing love and prosperity.




valentines day protests
Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena activists burn greeting cards during a protest against Valentine's Day celebrations in Jammu, India, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011. Hard-line Hindu groups routinely protest against the perceived invasion of Western culture into India.



mass marriages on valentines day
Couples kiss during a mass wedding ceremony to mark Valentine's Day in Taipei February 14, 2011. Around 25 couples tied the knot together on Monday with Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin as the witness for the ceremony.






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Egyptian Protests

March 23rd 2011 01:51
2011 Egyptian protests
Thousands chant anti-government slogans during a massive rally in Tahrir Square February 1, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Protests in Egypt continued with the largest gathering yet, with many tens of thousands assembling in central Cairo, demanding the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek.


The 2011 Egyptian protests are an ongoing series of street demonstrations, marches, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, and violent clashes that began in Egypt on 25 January 2011, a day selected to coincide with the National Police Day holiday.

protest in Egypt
Egyptian anti-government protesters pray in front of an Egyptian army tankduring a protest in Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have returned to Cairo's central Tahrir Square, chanting slogans against Hosni Mubarak just hours after the Egyptian president fired his Cabinet but refused to step down.


The protests began with tens of thousands marching in Cairo and a string of other cities in Egypt. While localised protests had been common in previous years, the 2011 protests have been the largest demonstrations seen in Egypt since the 1977 Bread Riots and unprecedented in scope, drawing participants from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and faiths.

Mubarak Protest
An anti-government protester being carried on the shoulders of another holds up a portrait of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on which he had drawn a moustache and hair in black to represent Adolf Hitler, to loud cheers from the crowd, at the continuing demonstration in Tahrir square in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 31, 2011.


Grievances for Egyptian protesters have focused on legal and political issues including police brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections and free speech, and corruption, as well as economic issues including high unemployment, food price inflation, and low minimum wages. The primary demand from protest organisers is the ouster of the Hosni Mubarak regime, and a new government that represents the interests of the Egyptian people, and respects rights of freedom and justice.

protesters gathering in Egypt
Egyptian protestors take part in a demonstration on February 1, 2011 at Cairo s Tahrir Square as massive tides of protesters flooded Cairo for the biggest outpouring of anger yet in their relentless drive to oust President Hosni Mubarak's regime.



Egyptian pyramids closed
Tourists from Holland sit near the Pyramids, in Giza, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 31, 2011. The pyramids are closed to tourists.




*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for 2011 Egyptian protests.
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Christmas in Pictures

February 23rd 2011 02:37
Readers of The Big Picture submitted their Christmas photographs from 2010.
Here is a sample of these images which represent the holiday season very well.
Click the link above to view the original article with all 42 photos.


images of christmas
The Mitchell family sits around a backyard campfire to roast marshmallows on December 24, 2010, Christmas Eve, in Northville, Michigan a suburb of Detroit. They started the tradition 2 years ago. Sitting left to right are, Max Mitchell, 6, Alice Mitchell, 39, Andrew Wescott, Macey Mitchell, 8 and Lynn Mitchell. (© Bryan Mitchell)



snow fall on christmas day
Snowflakes after a heavy snow fall near Saint Nizier du Moucherotte, France December 22, 2010

Christmas at the beach in Australia
Christmas at Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia. It felt like the entire city went out to the beach enjoying a perfect cloudless 30°C Christmas Day. (© Herbert Heinsche)

family christmas photos
My mom opening her gift. We may not have much, but we already have everything we need which is family. Photo taken in Stockton, California. (© Ari Simphoukham)

christmas balloon candles
This photo was taken in my city, Odorheiu-Secuiesc, Romania. On Christmas Eve, in downtown, thousands of people from the city came and prayed together. After the prayer, everybody launched these hot air balloons. The meaning of this event was to send the prayers up, into the sky. (© Dragos Asaftei)









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The Eruption of Mt St. Helens

June 4th 2010 03:41
Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles (154 km) south of Seattle and 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Portland, Oregon.

Mount St. Helens is most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am PDT which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft (2,950 m) to 8,365 ft (2,550 m) and replacing it with a 1 mile (1.6 km) wide horseshoe-shaped crater. The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles (2.9 km3) in volume. The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied


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Gulf Oil Spill

May 17th 2010 01:49
oil slick on surface of ocean
Crude oil floats on the surface of the water


The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill or Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill) is a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that started on April 20, 2010. The spill followed a blowout that caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, which then sank off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven rig workers are missing and presumed dead; the explosion also injured 17 others


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Earthquake in Chile

March 23rd 2010 01:42
earthquake in chile
A resident observes the San Francisco de Curico church after it was damaged in a major earthquake in Curico, Chile on March 1, 2010.



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Saint Patrick's Day

March 17th 2010 00:48
Saint Patrick's Day is a national holiday of Ireland, normally celebrated on March 17th. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland. It is also widely celebrated in Great Britain, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. There are also celebrations in other major cities throughout the world. The day is often celebrated by marching, feasting and the colour green. The city of Chicago, for example, dies its river green for the day.
Thanks to the Chicago Tribune, here are some images of St Patrick's Day celebrations the world over. View the full article here.

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Valentine's Day By The Numbers

March 1st 2010 02:24

The origins of Valentine's day probably date back to 270 A.D. when St Valentine was executed for secretly marrying couples. It has become the day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting various gifts.
Valentine's Day has also become a very sweet day for retailers across the globe with massive profits made on flowers, cards, chocolate, teddy bears and many other items


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The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0. Its epicentre was approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The earthquake occurred on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The United States Geological Survey recorded a series of at least 33 aftershocks, fourteen of them between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9. It is estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake, and that up to 200,000 have died as a result of the disaster. Several prominent public figures are among the dead.

The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince. Most major landmarks were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Compounding the tragedy, most hospitals in the area were destroyed. Because the organizational structures in Haiti had been destroyed, it has been called the worst disaster the UN had ever been confronted with


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Oktoberfest

October 12th 2009 23:53
Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modelled after the Munich event.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called d’ Wiesn for short


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Valentine's Day

February 14th 2009 06:56
Valentine's Day has become the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other. Modern symbols Valentine's Day include doves, Cupid, and most importantly the heart shape. Here are some hearts found in different places.


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4th of July Over Lake Austin

July 23rd 2008 02:32
Beautiful picture of 4th of July celebrations over Lake Austin in Texas.

4th of july fireworks - Lake Austin Texas

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