December 31, 1998

After receiving 8 inches of rain, northern Isreal experienced flash flooding (Washington Post/AP).

December 29, 1998

Heavy rains over the past three days have caused flooding and mudslides in Oregon and Washington (Washington Post/AP).

*The Global Volcanism Network reports that the eruption of Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland ended yesterday.

December 28, 1998

Major flooding on the Indonesian island of Java swept away over 100 homes and dsmsgrd thousands more (Washington Post/AP).

December 27, 1998

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake jolted the Fiji Islands. No damage or injuries were reported.

December 26, 1998

Indonesia was shaken my a magnitude 5.6 quake.

December 24, 1998

A magnitude 5.5 quake occurred in the Irian Jaya region.

December 21, 1998

In Iceland,eruptions under Vatnajokull glacier continued through the weekend. However, there is no immediate threat of outburst floods, similar to those that occurred in 1996 (See the Iceland Daily News for updates, and the Nordic Volcanological Institute and Tromso Satellite Station for photos.)

*Meanwhile, ash from Popocatepetl volcano caused government officials to close Mexico City airport (Yahoo/AP).

December 20, 1998

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook southern Sumatra.

December 19, 1998

Grimsvotn volcano, located in Iceland, erupted through Vatnajokull glacier yesterday (BBC Online). This is the first time the glacier has erupted since November 1996. (See the Iceland Daily News and Global Volcanism Network for updates.)

December 18, 1998

Popocatepetl volcano spewed ash and volcanic bombs, igniting brushfires along the flanks of the volcano (CNN/AP)

December 16, 1998

The northern Molucca Sea experienced a magnitude 5.9 quake.

December 15, 1998

A magnitude 5.6 quake shook southern Japan today. No serious damage was reported (Yahoo/AP).

December 14, 1998

Earthquakes today occurred in southern Argentina (mag. 5.6 and in the Vanuatu Islands mag. 5.5).

December 12, 1998

Five people were killed today when a magnitude 5.5 quake shook Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan (Washington Post/AP).

*To the east, a magnitude 5.5 quake occurred in southern Sumatra.

December 8, 1998

The Virgin Islands were shaken by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake.

December 6, 1998

A shallow, magnitude 6.5 quake struck the Northern Molucca Sea. No tsunami was generated.

December 4, 1998

Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico continues to erupt. People are being warned to stay at least 4 miles from the crater (Volcano World).

*Continuous, minor eruptions of White Island Volcano in New Zealand have led authorities to raise the alert level of the volcano from Level 1 to Level 2 (Science Alert Bulletin).

December 3, 1998

The New Britain region of Papua New Guinea experienced a magnitude 5.6 quake today.

December 1, 1998

At least 25 people were killed and over 7,00 remain homeless after yesterdays magnitude 7.6 quake in Indonesia (Discovery Channel Online/Earth Alert).

Credits