The earthquake that jolted Mexico's Baja California peninsula has killed one man whose home collapsed, a civil protection official says. Baja California state Civil Protection Director Alfredo Escobedo said the man's home collapsed just outside of Mexicali, close to the epicentre of the 7.2-magnitude quake. Esobedo says there were reports of more people trapped in homes in Mexicali and rescue teams with dogs and digging equipment are rushing to the city from nearby Tijuana.
The quake, which struck at 2240 GMT (8.40am), was at a depth of 32.3 kilometres and was located 26 kilometres south-south-west of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, and 64 kilometres south-west of San Luis, in the US state of Arizona, the USGS added.
A number of San Diego residents said the quake was the worst they had felt in decades.
Jess Ponting, an Australian working at San Diego State University, said he was at home when the quake struck. "The main earthquake shook our apartment block and caused a panic up and down the street,"
"I cowered under my kitchen table on the third floor for about 45 seconds as the apartment shook violently and glassware rattled and ornaments and pictures fell off the walls. "After the tremor finished, everyone spilled out on to the streets and started calling loved ones and figuring out what was going on."
Tropical Storm 23S was born today, April 2 about 260 nautical miles west of Cocos Island, Australia, near 11.5 South and 92.5 East. It has maximum sustained winds of 39 mph (35 knots) and is moving southward at around 6 mph (5 knots). Although Cocos Island is not in the direct path of the storm, it was being affected with by thunderstorms in the storm's outer bands.
The yellow and green areas indicate moderate rainfall between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour. The few red areas represent heavy rainfall at almost 2 inches per hour, and all of them are over the Gulf of Carpentaria.
At 3:30 p.m. CST (02:00 UTC) on March 31, Paul was over land, and about 12 miles (20 kilometers) west of Numbulwar and 65 miles (105 kilometers) west southwest of Alyangula, near 14.3 degrees South and 135.5 degrees East. Paul's center was moving southeast at 6 mph (10 km/hr) per hour. Wind gusts near the low's center have been reported at 52 mph (85 km/hr).
Warnings Up Tropical Storm Paul in Australia's Northern Territory
Paul formed as "tropical cyclone 22P" late in the day (EDT) on March 27, about 340 miles east of Darwin, Australia, near 12.9 South and 136.6 East. By March 28, cyclone 22P had intensified and been renamed Tropical Storm Paul.
