Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Teenager videos terrifying moment lightning bolt misses him by inches in New Jersey

Stephen Jones
Daily Mirror
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 09:54 UTC
The bright light shows how close Ethan came to serious injury just off camera
The bright light shows how close Ethan came to serious injury just off camera
This is the terrifying moment a teenager escaped a lightning bolt strike by inches in the middle of a fierce thunderstorm.

Liverpool-born mum Elaine Riozzi-Bodine says her son Ethan is being hailed a 'walking miracle' after his dice with death near their house in New Jersey, USA.

Mrs Riozzi-Bodine, 47, said that the 16-year-old lad had been walking home along the seafront when a bolt of lightning hit the ground beside him.

Ethan was thrown off his feet as a jolt ran through the ground and then up his body.

He was rushed to hospital where doctors were stunned to discover he was completely uninjured.

Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Video shows the moment a fisherman is killed by lightning in Suzhou, China

Emily Chan
Daily Mail
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 19:45 UTC
Traffic cameras captured a large white flash before the man, identified only by his surname Han, is seen falling backwards
Traffic cameras captured a large white flash before the man, identified only by his surname Han, is seen falling backwards
Shocking footage shows the moment a Chinese fisherman was killed by a bolt of lightning while on his boat.

The man, who has only been identified by his surname Han, had been standing on his boat in Suzhou, eastern China, when he was killed in the freak accident.

Traffic cameras captured a large white flash before the fisherman is seen falling backwards on his boat.

Han's boat was among many docked near a bridge in the district of Wujiang, Jiangsu Province, during the storm, which brought large amounts of rainfall and thunder.

Despite the risk, locals said they had not expected the lightning strike which killed Han.

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Hailstones damaged cars, homes and injured 12-year-old girl in Calgary, Canada

Carolyn Kury de Castillo
Global News
Sun, 31 Jul 2016 19:01 UTC
Calgary and area pummelled again, this time by a powerful hail storm that has left widespread damage over the weekend. East of the city - especially hard hit. the northeast communities like Taradale, Falconridge and Coral Springs. In rural areas,crops wer
Calgary and area pummelled again, this time by a powerful hail storm that has left widespread damage over the weekend.
Saturday evening's storm caused extensive damage throughout northeast Calgary, the neighbourhoods of Taradale and Coral Springs were especially hit hard.

Residents said the hail started pounding on their homes at around 5:45 p.m.

"It sounded like if you are in a small room with a closed door and like 10 or 15 people hit around the room," Abul Kashem, who was taking pictures of the damaged siding on this home on Taravista Drive, said.

People living on Tarawood Road watched, as the golf ball sized hail crashed down on their homes and cars.

"Everybody was excited and scared at the same time. I saw some people getting out of their house and trying to cover their cars to try to avoid the damage," Gaurav Singh said. His car's windshield was cracked by the hail.

"The hail was pretty big. Almost half of my fist. Many of them were half of my fist size," Singh said.


Comment: See also: Air Canada plane to Calgary makes emergency landing after hail cracks windshield

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

More rain forecast in 24 hours than for the whole of July in the UK; fears that the whole month will be a washout

Mark Duell
Daily Mail
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 18:36 UTC
Visitors and residents in St Ives scramble for cover from the rain (pictured) as 'Awful August' gets off to a wet start
Visitors and residents in St Ives scramble for cover from the rain as 'Awful August' gets off to a wet start
Britain could face more rain in some areas in the next 24 hours than fell during the whole of July, forecasters have warned.

August will get off to a chilly, bright start in the North with rain over parts of the South feeding into a changeable seven days, the Met Office said.

Today will be mostly cloudy in the South with rain moving in from the West, which will turn heavy and persistent this afternoon.

It will be predominantly cloudy tomorrow across the UK with outbreaks of rain extending north and some sunny intervals possible in the South.

Southern areas will be mostly dry on Wednesday with sunny spells and the odd shower, although there will be widespread showers in the North.

Weather map
Read More...
Fire

500 families told to flee raging wildfire near Hamilton, Montana


cbsnews.com
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 18:02 UTC
The Roaring Lion Fire burns near Hamilton, Montana, on July 31, 2016.
© KXLH-TV The Roaring Lion Fire burns near Hamilton, Montana, on July 31, 2016.
The residents of at least 500 homes are under orders to evacuate because of a fast-moving wildfire southwest of Hamilton that has already claimed a number of structures.

"We're just trying to get people out of the way now," Bitterroot National Forest spokesman Tod McKay told the Missoulian newspaper. "We can rebuild homes. We need to get people out of this area."

The wildfire -- dubbed the "Roaring Lion Fire" -- Sunday afternoon is at least a half square mile and is heading up Roaring Lion Road in the Bitterroot National Forest and down the canyon, officials said.

CBS Helena affiliate KXLH-TV reports more than 2,000 acres have burned so far.

The speed of the has left locals in shock, KXLH reports. By conservative estimates, the fire was growing at a rate of 200 acres per hour after it started early Sunday afternoon. Driven by gusty downslope winds funneled right down the valley, the fire was racing through the foothills southwest of Hamilton.

Structures in the Judd Creek area have been lost to the wildfire southwest of Hamilton, Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman told the Missoulian.


Read More...
Fire

Wildfires continue to spread in California over San Francisco-sized area, 1000s of homes at risk


RT
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 18:09 UTC
big sur fire
© Michael Fiala / ReutersA destroyed home is seen after the Soberanes Fire burned through the Palo Colorado area, north of Big Sur, California, U.S. July 31, 2016.
A large blaze near Big Sur on California's Central Coast spread even further on Sunday, destroying 57 homes and forcing the evacuation of another 300, as 5,000 firefighters struggled to slow down the wildfire.

The blaze is currently threatening thousands of homes. Overnight it grew to an area of 59 square miles (153 square kilometers), about the size of San Francisco, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection. Authorities have ordered 300 more homes to be evacuated.

Firefighters were able to contain only 15 percent of the blaze by Sunday morning. Overnight, it destroyed 57 homes and eleven outbuildings. Officials warned that it could be another month before the blaze is completely extinguished.

Comment: See also: State of emergency declared for Southern California wildfires

Read More...
Tornado2

Dashcam footage shows Vietnam town ripped to shreds by tornado


RT
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:48 UTC
Vietnam tornado
© TORNADOS DEL MUNDO / YouTube
A tornado swept through a town in Vietnam, flattening everything in its wake in an epic video that has to be seen to be believed.

The twister struck the Yen Phong District of the northern Bac Ninh Province on Thursday, causing buildings to collapse, trees to fall and parasols to go flying.

The shocking footage was captured by a dashcam as the driver slowly reverses out of the tornado's dangerous path.


While no one was killed in the wild winds, they left the town looking like an Ikea flatpack wasteland.

Quang Tung, an engineer working close by, told local media the tornado could be seen from 2.5 miles (4km) away.
Read More...
Attention

6.1 magnitude earthquake recorded in Mid Indian Ridge


Earthquake Track
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 15:06 UTC
Graph
© Dimas Ardian, Getty Images
6.1 magnitude earthquake

2016-08-01 07:42:50 UTC

UTC time: Monday, August 01, 2016 07:42 AM

Your time: 2016-08-01T07:42:50Z

Magnitude Type: mb

USGS page: M 6.1 - South Indian Ocean

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 0 people
Read More...
Eagle

Bald eagle attacks hiker in Unalaska, Alaska

Jim Paulin
The Bristol Bay Times
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 14:32 UTC
eagle sign
An eagle tore a Coast Guard officer's hoodie and chased him down a mountain with multiple aerial attacks as he ran faster than he'd ever run, causing him to stumble and lose his cellphone.

The big bird then pecked at the phone a few times, then flew off with the device, which hasn't been seen since and was probably dumped in the ocean, according to the victim, Lt. Andres Ayure.

"That was my 'welcome to Dutch Harbor' story," said Ayure, supervisor of the Marine Safety Detachment in Unalaska, who'd only arrived three days earlier. Three days later, on a Saturday, he decided to enjoy his day off by hiking Ballyhoo Mountain and climbed to the top of the 1,634-foot peak, which overlooks the airport.

The hike to the top was pleasant enough, and Ayure saw other people as he climbed. He was wearing shorts and an American Eagle-brand hooded sweatshirt. When he was about a quarter-way down, an eagle swooped him three times, only missing him because he managed to duck, but made contact on the fourth attack.
Read More...
Fish

Mass 'die-off' discovered at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Texas

Harvey Rice
Houston Chronicle
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 14:23 UTC
Flower Garden Banks
© George P. SchmahlFlower Garden Banks
A mass die-off of coral and other sea animals was discovered this week on a reef in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, federal officials said Friday.

Sports divers discovered the damage Monday on the East Flower Garden Bank, about 100 miles southeast of Galveston, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report.

Divers from the motor vessel Fling "were stunned to find green, hazy water, huge patches of ugly white mats coating corals and sponges, and dead animals littering the bottom of the East Flower Garden Bank, a reef normally filled with color and marine life," wrote Steve Gittings, chief scientist in NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Agency scientists were not immediately available for comment Friday evening.
Read More...