November 1st, 2009 Category: Fires

Fire in India - October 31st, 2009

Fire and Smoke

Animation of Fire

A huge fire at an Indian oil depot that has killed at least six people and injured 150 will be allowed to burn out as firefighters have little hope of dousing it, officials said Friday.

The starting point of the blaze is visible in the upper left quadrant of the main image. Dense clouds of black smoke billowed out of at least three oil tanks which were ablaze.

Here, thick black smoke blows far to the southeast, creating a dark triangle over the landscape. Also visible is some light grey smoke from agricultural fires in the upper right quadrant.

The animated image provides a comparative look at the area, showing how it looked before and during the fire. The yellow triangle highlights the path of the smoke. The photograph, on the other hand, gives a view from the ground of the thick black trails of smoke visible in the satellite imagery.

The depot is located near the city of Jaipur in the western state of Rajasthan where the fire has been burning for nearly 24 hours since it broke out Thursday evening. Six people are still trapped inside the building. The federal petroleum minister reported that there is no way of putting out the fire; it must simply die down on its own.

Tags: Fire India Jaipur Oil Building Oil Depot Rajasthan | Comments |

November 1st, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Oman and U.A.E - September 24th, 2009

A vast gravel desert plain covers most of central Oman, with mountain ranges along the north (al Jebel al Akhdar) and southeast coast. Oman’s main cities are located by the mountains in this northern area, including the capital city Muscat.

Here, the mountain ranges appear dark brown, in contrast with the sandy color of much of the landscape to the south. Oman’s climate is hot and dry in the interior and humid along the coast.

The peninsula of Musandam (Musandem), which has a strategic location on the Strait of Hormuz, is separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates and is thus an exclave. Here, the U.A.E can be seen to the left, their lands appearing lighter and yellower than the terrain of Oman to the east.

Moving across the Strait of Hormuz, the island of Qeshm can be seen off the coast of southern Iran. The part of Iran visible here is in Hormozgān Province, which has an area is 68475 km2 and 1000 km of coastline.

Tags: Hormo Hormozgan Iran Jebel Jebel al Akhdar Musandam Musandam Peninsula Oman Strait of Hormuz UAE United Arab Emirates | Comments |