Monday, May 19, 2008

Powerful quake rocks central China

Map of Sichuan province in China locating the epicentre of the May 12 earthquake. China has suspended its Olympic torch relay, curbed entertainment and lowered flags to half-mast as the nation began three days of mourning for the worst earthquake in a generation (AFP/Graphic)

A bridge that collapsed due to the earthquake in Beichuan, Sichuan province is pictured May 18, 2008. (China Daily/Reuters)

The Chinese national flag is flown at half-mast at the Badaling sector of the Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing May 19, 2008. Sirens wailed as China paused in grief on Monday as the country began three days of mourning for more than 30,000 victims of an earthquake that struck a week ago. REUTERS/Paul Zhang (CHINA)

A man sits in front of a collapsed house in the earthquake-hit in town of Pingtong in Pingwu county, Sichuan province May 19, 2008. China began three days of national mourning on Monday for more than 30,000 victims of an earthquake that struck a week ago. The official death toll stands at nearly 32,500 from the original quake of 7.9 magnitude that rattled Sichuan province. REUTERS/Nicky Loh (CHINA)

A view of the destruction caused by southwest China's earthquake in a street in Chenjiaba in Sichuan province, May 18. The massive quake is expected to bring down the nation's soaring economic growth in 2008 by at least 0.2 percentage points, state media said. (AFP/File/Peter Parks)

A Chinese rescuer comes down to search for survivors at a collapsed building which was destroyed by Monday's earthquake, in Mianzhu, in China's southwest Sichuan province Monday May 19, 2008. China stood still and sirens wailed Monday to mourn the country's tens of thousands of earthquake victims, exactly one week after a powerful earthquake hit Sichuan province. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Rescue workers hold their helmets to observe a three minutes of silence near the destroyed town of BeiChuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Monday, May 19, 2008. China stood still Monday in mourning over tens of thousands of earthquake victims, and the government appealed for more international aid to cope with the country's deadliest disaster in a generation. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Earthquake survivors walk among the rubble of a collapsed Houses following the powerful earthquake in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday, May 19, 2008. China declared three days of national mourning for earthquake victims and ordered a suspension of the Olympic torch relay, as the search for survivors of the disaster grew bleak. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man walks along a street in the earthquake-hit in town of Pingtong in Pingwu county, Sichuan province May 19, 2008. (Nicky Loh/Reuters)


A woman washes dishes in the kitchen of her destroyed house May 18, 2008, following last week's earthquake in Longmanshan in Sichuan Province. (Nir Elias/Reuters)

Workers seen through a hall in wall as they collect the remains from collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday, May 19, 2008. China declared three days of national mourning for earthquake victims and ordered a suspension of the Olympic torch relay, as the search for survivors of the disaster grew bleak.
(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

An earthquake survivor washes his clothes next to a collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday, May 19, 2008. China declared three days of national mourning for earthquake victims and ordered a suspension of the Olympic torch relay, as the search for survivors of the disaster grew bleak. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Chinese soldiers search for survivors at a collapsed chemical factory in Yinghua town near Shifang. From the heart of Beijing to the devastated southwest, China came to a standstill to mourn its earthquake victims as the number of dead, missing or buried soared past 71,000. (AFP/Liu Jin)

A resident searches for bodies in a house which was destroyed by last week's earthquake at the town of Yingxio, Sichuan province May 19, 2008. (Reinhard Krause/Reuters)

An aerial view shows the collapsed buildings at Yingxiu town of Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the earthquake, Sichuan province, May 18, 2008. (China Daily/Reuters)

A picture shows a dead student's hand holding a pen in the debris site of the Dongqi Middle School in Hanwang Town of the earthquake-hit Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, May 18, 2008 in this picture distributed by China's official Xinhua News Agency. (Xinhua/Liu Zhongjun/Reuters)

Thursday, May 08, 2008

lightning storm over Chaiten volcano

Winds carried the ash to other towns in the region and across the Andes to Argentina

The village of Chaiten, next to the volcano, was virtually emptied in a massive evacuation

The gigantic plume of smoke from the volcano dominates the skyline

The Chaiten volcano has triggered earth tremors and spewed ash two miles into the air


Photo by: Carlos Gutierrez

This astonishing picture shows the Chaiten volcano erupting during storms in the middle of the night - As clouds of toxic ash and dust tower into the sky, they ionise the air, generating an explosive electrical storm. Colossal forks of lightning spark around the noxious plume as it spews from the volcano's crater, creating an image of raw, terrifying energy - as if the air itself were ablaze.