Earth ChangesS

Seismograph

Chile on alert after being struck by 6.2 magnitude earthquake

Chile earthquake
© USGS
Earthquake measuring 6.2 magnitude has struck Chile, close to the border with Argentina, the United States Geological Survey has said.

The quake struck at 5.15am local time (8.15am GMT) about 90 miles southeatst of the city of Calama.

USGS said the tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and a depth of 188km, Reuters reported.

There have been no reports of inuries so far.

X

Indian spiritual festival caused over $6 million of damage to sacred Yamuna River that could take a decade to repair

Yamuna river event Art of Living

India's environmental watchdog has concluded that a spiritual festival held in the country last March caused more than $6 million worth of damage to the Yamuna River that could take a decade to fix.

An expert panel, established in 2010, was appointed by India's National Green Tribunal to investigate. The group concluded in its report released Wednesday, that the Art of the Living Foundation's World Cultural festival held last year had destroyed the bed of the Yamuna river - considered sacred by Hindus - and adversely affected 170 hectares of surrounding floodplains.

The report pointed to the construction of roads, ramps and a massive seven-acre stage for the three-day spiritual extravaganza as the cause of the extensive damage to the river, which just last month was granted the same rights as humans in a bid to tackle pollution of the fragile eco-system.

Attention

Surfer critically injured after shark bite at Kauai beach, Hawaii

Shark attacks
A visitor from France was critically injured Friday morning in an apparent shark bite at Kekaha Beach on Kauai.

Officials said the 28-year-old sustained severe injuries to his lower right leg when he was bit about 100 yards offshore.

The incident happened about 9 a.m., when the man was surfing at a popular spot called Davidson's.

Bystanders said a 12-foot tiger shark bit the man.

They rushed to his aid after the incident, applying a tourniquet to slow the bleeding.

He was taken to Wilcox Medical Center. The victim's girlfriend subsequently told other surfers that part of the victim's right leg was amputated.

Attention

Two shark attacks reported within a week in Jacksonville, Florida

Shark attacks
Two shark attacks have been reported this week from Jacksonville, Florida.

17 year old Keanan Perry is recovering after a shark attack on Friday at noon while surfing at Hanna Park.

Perry described the attack from that afternoon.
I was paddling in and I got off my board to see if I could stand to walk in. It was about chest height and was deeper than I expected. I dropped down when my foot touched the sand. Right when it touched the sand it (the shark) just latched and it was gone," Perry says.
Perry knew right away he was being attacked by a shark and his first thought was to simply get away. He says the injury is about three inches deep in the back and will likely require a lot of stitches.

The bite may have tore his achilles tendon but Perry can still move his foot. His injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Wolf

Man mauled to death by pack of 15 stray dogs in Karnataka, India

Dog attack
A 34-year-old man from Belagavi in Karnataka was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs late on Thursday night. Imamsaab Kittur was found lying in a pool of blood at Bailhongal bus stand, after he was attacked by nearly fifteen stray dogs, The Times of India reports.

The report states that CCTV footage showed Imamsaab being attacked by a group of stray dogs.

According to the report, Imamsaab was in an inebriated state at the time the stray dogs attacked him. The incident came to light when police inspector Sanganagouda Patil came across Imamsaab, who had collapsed on the road after the attack. The inspector was out on his routine night patrol.

Fire

New eruptive phase begins at Mount Etna, Italy

Mount Etna
© Boris BehnckeMount Etna, April 13, 2017.
A new eruptive phase began at Etna in the evening of 13 April from several vents on the SE crater complex. The most active vent, starting from 22:27 local time was the one at the base of the crater which also had been active during mid March-early April, feeding a new lava flow that started to descend into Valle del Bove.


Arrow Up

Costa Rica's Poas Volcano spews plume three kilometers high

Poas volcano eruption
© XinhuaPhoto taken on April 14, 2017 shows the Poas Volcano spewing smoke and ash in Alajuela province, north of San Jose, capital of Costa Rica.
Just two days after suddenly erupting with enough force to leave a crack in the dome of its crater, Costa Rica's Poas Volcano on Friday spewed a plume of smoke and ash more than three kilometers into the air.

The national volcano and earthquake monitoring agency Ovsicori said the volcano erupted twice, with the stronger eruption occurring at 7:57 a.m. local time (13:57 GMT), preceded by a smaller eruption some 18 minutes earlier.

"The plume, visible from different points in the country, went higher than three kilometers, according to Javier Pacheco of the Oviscori," the daily La Nacion said.

On Thursday, officials decided to temporarily close the Poas Volcano National Park through Friday to minimize visitors' and locals' exposure to ash and gases that can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and skin.

The closing was also designed to give vulcanologists an opportunity to "carry out the necessary studies and assessments" of Wednesday's unusual phreatic eruption, or blast of steam mixed with volcanic material.

Officials maintained a "green alert" for seven nearby cantons, which warns area residents to avoid coming into contact with fallen ash, especially if suffering from respiratory problems.

Snowflake

After 63 feet of snow, California's northern Sierra Nevada breaks record for wettest water year

sierra nevada wet record broken
© National Weather Service
A mind-boggling 751 inches of snow have pummeled the Sugar Bowl ski area near Lake Tahoe this winter. It's emblematic of a record season for precipitation in California's northern Sierra Nevada mountain range, and the abrupt end to a historic drought.

As of Thursday morning, the northern Sierra had achieved its wettest water year in recorded history, the National Weather Service office in Sacramento announced.

At eight representative weather stations in the northern Sierra, the average precipitation reached 89.7 inches (combining rain and melted snow), passing the previous record of 88.5 inches set in 1982-1983. And there's plenty of time to add to this record, as the water year, which began Oct. 1, continues until Sept. 30.

The precipitation has come practically nonstop since October. Every single month except November produced above-average amounts.

Ryan Maue, a meteorologist for WeatherBell Analytics, calculated that the state of California has received the equivalent of 90-trillion gallons of water since October, the greatest volume on record.

In a tweet Wednesday, the Western Regional Climate Center documented more than a dozen individual locations, mostly in the Northern Sierra, having their wettest water years:

Seismograph

5.7 magnitude earthquake filmed underwater off the Philippines

Ocean plantlife can be seen shaking erratically as the ocean floor shifts beneath it. The divers were planning on a deep training dive when they were caught unaware by the earthquake on their descent
Ocean plantlife can be seen shaking erratically as the ocean floor shifts beneath it. The divers were planning on a deep training dive when they were caught unaware by the earthquake on their descent
Stunning footage of divers caught in the middle of a terrifying underwater earthquake has emerged.

The divers were 18 metres (60 feet) deep as they explored the ocean floor near Mabini in the Philippines - known as the country's diving capital.

The footage, shot on April 8, shows sand lifting into the water as a chilling deep noise blares in the background.

Ocean plantlife can be seen shaking erratically as the ocean floor shifts beneath it.

The divers were planning on a deep training trip when they were caught unawares by the earthquake during their descent.

'It felt like there was a huge propeller of a big boat turning around directly above us,' the diver told Newsflare.


Comment: See also: Philippines: 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocks near Talaga, south of Manila


Tornado1

Flooding, landslides and power outages: Cyclone Cook wreaks havoc in New Zealand

New Zealand flooding
© Nik Given / YouTube
Residents in New Zealand have begun a major clean-up operation after being hit by a powerful cyclone which caused rivers to burst their banks, bringing widespread flooding, landslides, road closures and power outages.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Cyclone Cook made landfall at around 6:30pm local time on Thursday on the North Island, before tracking along the east coast and moving down to the South Island.

Two people were hospitalized after the car in which they were travelling was hit by a falling tree. The cyclone also left numerous homes flooded and around 10,000 households without electricity.