Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Eruption of Mount Sinabung, Sumatra - May 22, 2016


The above is an image of Mount Sinabung in 2010 - courtesy of Wikipedia.

CNN reported that 'At least seven people have died and two more are critically injured after Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupted on Saturday, the country's National Disaster Management Agency reported.'

Bernama report, 'Six people were confirmed killed so far while three others were in critical condition after being scorched by hot clouds of ash from the volcano eruption in Karo district, north Sumatra since Saturday (May 21).'

Mount Sinabung started spewing ashes on May 21 and erupted the following day on May 22. The eruption occurred at 4:48PM local time. Sumatra where Mount Sinabung is located is one hour ahead of Kuala Lumpur or Malaysia for that matter.

Mount Sinabung is on the same latitude as Kuala Lumpur at 3deg north of the Equator.

Source: Googlemaps

According to our Meteorological Department, so far no ash from the volcano had reached Malaysia and as at noon yesterday, no further eruption occurred. However, the Met Department (MetMalaysia) will continue to monitor the movement of ash and dust from Mount Sinabung eruption in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Mount Sinabung is an active volcano and has had eruptions every year, even a number of times a year according to Wikipedia.

Recent activity on Mount Sinabung has resulted in higher levels of tourism and sight-seeing in the area. The Tourism Agency of the Karo regency has officially proposed several locations to local government as potential tourist sites. Tours to different villages and viewing sites are already available in the area.

A few images from CNN depicting the aftermath of the Mount Sinabung eruption on May 22..

A scorched home after it was hit by the eruption.

A dog covered in volcanic ash

Indonesian soldiers helping out with the evacuation

Indonesia is located in what is referred to as the Ring of Fire, a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. Indonesia has at least 150 active volcanoes. However, volcanic ash is a major contributor to the high agricultural fertility that has historically sustained the high population densities of Java and Bali.

Pacific Ring of Fire - Wikipedia

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

EPL Standing end of Season 2015/16

Well, we've come to the end of yet another season of the English or Barclays Premier League - 2015/16.

The good side is you'd be once again able to get a table at the mamak stall during the weekends - until the next round of football season, that is.

With Man Utd's 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth, MU has made it to fifth place and a spot in the UEFA Europa League group stages. But until then, Manchester United will play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

A little from the EPL website about the MU-Bournemouth game..
Wayne Rooney produced his 100th Barclays Premier League goal at Old Trafford before goals by Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young earned Manchester United a 3-1 win in the re-arranged end-of-season fixture with AFC Bournemouth that ensured the Red Devils finished the season in fifth place.

The sides reconvened two days on from their scheduled final-day clash which was postponed when a suspicious package was found inside the stadium, prompting its evacuation.


Without further ado, here's the 2015/16 EPL standing after the last game. We'll see relegated Newcastle United, Norwich City and Aston Villa replaced by Burnley, Middlesbrough and Brighton Hull City next season. (Update: Hull City beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in the Championship playoff final at Wembley on Saturday, May 28, thanks to Mohamed Diame's unstoppable long-range shot).

Source: Premierleague.com

Friday, May 13, 2016

Would I do the A to Z Challenge again?

Well, that sure was fun (and challenging at the same time), the A to Z Challenge, that is.

After a month-long journey of blogging daily what did I learn on reflection?


Firstly, it got my blogging back to a more regular tempo, which is good. I hope to maintain that.

The Challenge increased blog traffic some and received a number of comments. Thank you, dear bloggers. I visited these blogs and others but didn't leave/have not left comments. One of the reasons being some required signing in, those on Wordpress which...

This is my first year and I only found out about it just about a week before the list closed. So it took some thinking as to what to write for some letters. The next time it will be different with 11 months to work on it until the next challenge. Got a couple of themes in mind already actually.

Learned new things every day from the blogs. Wish I had more time to visit more and leaving comments. But then again will now be able to do so with the rush being over.

For easy reference or if you are interested below is my list of the A to Z posts - all 26 of them in April.

April - Blogging From A to Z Challenge (April 2016...
Best Airlines in the World
Chestnuts they are a-roasting
Dengue treatment, not!
Explosion at Mid Valley Megamall in KL
Food Forests
Genting Highlands - The City of Entertainment
H is for Haze
Inter-monsoon season is here
J is for John Lennon
K is for Kuala Lumpur of course!
Longevitology or the Study of long life
M is for Mid-way of the A-to-Z Challenge
Nuan Nuan, the new baby Panda born in Malaysia
Orange - quickest way to peel an orange
Protect Your Child
Quizzes for Fun
Rain, please!
Sad day..
T for Top Ten
U is for the Unseen
V is for Vegetables
W is for Watermelon, Water, Waterloo
X is for X-factor
Y is for You
Z is for Zzzzz's and Zucchini recipes


I would encourage everyone to join in next year. April is the month.