Earth ChangesS


Compass

New landslide discovered near massive 2014 landslide in Oso, Washington

Rachel Lerman
The Seattle Times
Sun, 09 Apr 2017 15:38 UTC
Landslide near Oso, Washington
© Washington State Dept of Natural ResourcesGeologists say a landslide has caused this slope near Oso to drop 4 feet since Tuesday.
A stretch of Highway 530 will remain closed through the Monday morning commute as geologists continue to evaluate a landslide south of the highway near Oso in rural Snohomish County.

Geologists from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were investigating the landslide Friday and Saturday, trying to get a sense of how fast it could be moving.

Signs of a slide were first discovered Tuesday by state Department of Transportation workers, who noticed cracks on a hillside road. DNR workers investigated Friday and saw signs of movement.

Cracks in the roadway were about 6 inches wide Tuesday, but had spread to 2 feet wide by Saturday. The hillside has dropped about 4 feet vertically, officials said. It is unclear if that shift occurred slowly or suddenly, state geologist Dave Norman said at a news conference Saturday.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Enormous sinkhole swallows bus and car in Chennai, India

Arun Janardhanan
Indian Express
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 03:14 UTC
Chennai sinkhole
© PTI
B Gunaseelan, a bus driver with the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation, sensed a flat tyre soon after he had stopped the bus at the Thousand Lights bus stop on Chennai's Mount Road on Sunday. He alerted the conductor and looked out of the window: it was not the tyre, the road was caving in.

Gunaseelan immediately asked all passengers to get off. "I still didn't know that the boring work of Chennai Metro Rail tunnel was under way. As we helped the passengers get off, the front part of the bus kept sinking into the crater," he said. As those on the bus disembarked, R Pradeep, a physician who was following the bus, drove into the crater.

On realising that the road was caving in, he tried to drive past the crater, but was trapped inside it with the doors of his car jammed. Pradeep escaped unhurt as people stepped in and brought him out of the car.

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Floods in Karonga, Malawi leave 4 dead and crops destroyed

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 17:13 UTC
Flooding in Karonga, Malawi, April 2017.
© Government of MalawiFlooding in Karonga, Malawi, April 2017.
The government in Malawi has said that 4 people died following floods in areas of Chief Kyungu, Wasambo, Kilupula and Mwirang'ombe in Karonga district.

The flooding occurred 04 April 2017. As of 06 April a further 3 people were still missing and 6 reported injured.

Officials say that 5,520 households were affected and about 1075 hectares of crops fields, including rice, maize and cassava, were damaged.

Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima visited the area and assured the victims that government will do everything to support them.

"We will make sure that the necessary relief items are provided. In addition, we will tighten security in the camps and provide all facilities necessary for human living including sanitation," Chilima said.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

'Massive contamination': Sensitive wetlands blackened by coal dust from Queensland port after Cyclone Debbie rains

Joshua Robertson
The Guardian
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 16:20 UTC
Calley Valley wetlands contamination
© Mackay Conservaton GroupSatellite imagery released by the Queensland government shows serious harm has occurred the the Caley Valley wetlands which adjoin Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie in 2017. (Left) 14 May 2016 (Right) 1 April 2017.

Expert says sensitive Caley Valley wetlands blackened by coal-laden water from Adani's nearby port after rain from Cyclone Debbie

Coal dust released from Adani's Queensland coal port after Cyclone Debbie appears to have caused "massive contamination" of sensitive wetlands, an academic expert says.

A vast swathe of the Caley Valley wetlands has been blackened by coal-laden water released from nearby Abbot Point port after Debbie's torrential rains inundated its coal storage facilities last month.

Satellite imagery of the coal spill last week prompted an investigation by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP), which said the port operator appeared to have acted in line with a temporary licence to release the excess water.

The caveat was that the licence did not "authorise environmental harm", an environment department spokeswoman said.

Norm Duke, a principal research scientist at James Cook University's TropWater unit and an expert in diagnosing contamination of wetlands, said an aerial image of the area showed "there's undoubtedly going to be environmental harm".
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Family of 3 killed by lightning bolt in Kenya

Ignatius Odanga
Standard Digital
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 15:25 UTC
LIGHTNING
Grief has gripped a village in Nambale Constituency following the death of three members of the same family who were struck by lightning.

A man, his wife and their four-month baby died on the spot in Tatira village on Saturday.

The bodies were taken to Kocholia District Hospital mortuary. Their relatives are now appealing for help to bury them

. The area has been experiencing heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm for the past one week.

Aluku Isi, a brother to the dead man, said they were unable to raise the mortuary fees and could not afford coffins. "We are unable to give them a decent send-off due to financial constraints," Isi said yesterday.

Comment: Elsewhere lightning strikes have killed individuals recently in Bangladesh and in Jammu, India, while 3 were killed in the latter country on the 4th of April.

Read More...
Ice Cube

$500 billion plan to refreeze polar cap, while icebergs detour ships 650 kilometers south

Adapt 2030
You Tube
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 15:15 UTC
MV Highlanders is stuck in ice near Low Point, N.S.
© Marine AtlanticMV Highlanders is stuck in ice near Low Point, Nova Scotia
A new plan out by Arizona State University to use 10 million wind powered pumps to re-freeze the Arctic at a cost of $500 billion dollars, is a badly timed release as 400+ icebergs invade north Atlantic shipping lanes driving vessel traffic 650Km south to avoid collision. Record snows in Anchorage Alaska and Record ice growth on Greenland.


Sources
Read More...
Attention

The world's five deadliest volcanoes

Matthew Blackett
The Conversation
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 14:20 UTC
Mount Etna: boiling over … again.
© ShutterstockMount Etna
An eruption of Mount Etna recently caught out some BBC journalists who were filming there. The footage was extraordinary and highlighted the hazards volcanoes pose to humans and society.

Since 1600, 278,880 people have been killed by volcanic activity, with many of these deaths attributed to secondary hazards associated with the main eruption. Starvation killed 92,000 following the 1815 Tambora eruption in Indonesia, for example, and a volcanic tsunami killed 36,000 following the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.

Since the 1980s, deaths related to volcanic eruptions have been rather limited, but this is not entirely a result of increased preparedness or investment in hazard management - it is significantly a matter of chance.

Research shows that volcanic activity has shown no let up since the turn of the 21st century - it just hasn't been around population centres. Indeed, there remain a number of volcanoes poised to blow which pose a major threat to life and livelihood.
Read More...
Attention

5.6-magnitude earthquake hits central Philippines


The Australian
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 13:27 UTC
Philippine coast
© AAP
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has shaken the waters near Samar Island in central Philippines with no damages or casualties reported.

The earthquake struck at 8.40am (local time) on Monday 137 kilometres northwest of Calbayog Town, to the north of Samar Island, and 500 kilometres southeast of Manila, with the epicentre located at a depth of 8.2 kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

No tsunami alert has been issued.

On February 11, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake in the southern island of Mindanao killed eight people and left 200 injured.

The Philippines is situated on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity that is hit by around 7,000, mostly moderate, earthquakes every year.
Read More...
Attention

Another oarfish found in Southern Leyte, Philippines; 3rd this year


ABS-CBN News
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 17:06 UTC
oarfish
© Bayan Patroller Lovella Elejorde
An oarfish washed ashore in Southern Leyte Tuesday evening, sparking fears of an impending earthquake.

In a photo and video shared by Bayan Patroller Lovella Elejorde, residents were abuzz with the oarfish that was found along the shore of Talisay, Libagon, Southern Leyte.

Witnesses said the oarfish was still alive when they saw it but was already weak until it died eventually.

Teresa Regis, Municipal Agriculturist Officer of Libagon Souther Leyte, said two fishermen saw the oarfish.

Regis added the oarfish was female and is estimated to be 14.4-feet long and 1.2-feet wide.

Comment: Three days later in the Philippines: 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocks near Talaga, south of Manila

Read More...
Info

10-foot shark left stranded near Pleasure Point, California

Michael Todd
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Sun, 09 Apr 2017 14:54 UTC
Shark stranded off CA coast
© Mark Schwartz
Survival isn't likely for the 10-foot shark that thrashed at bystanders trying to photograph the stranded fish near Pleasure Point Friday afternoon, according to the Pelagic Research Shark Foundation.

While trying to rescue the fish, which some called a white shark and others said was a salmon shark, near 34th Avenue about 6 p.m., Pelagic Research Shark Foundation Executive Director Sean Van Sommeran said large waves were hurting the animal's chances to escape to sea.

Later Friday, Van Sommeran said he did not think the shark would survive as waves up to 11 feet pounded the point. "The shark's still there," Van Sommeran said shortly before 8 p.m. "The swell keeps washing it back in after we released it twice."

If the fish dies, its carcass likely would be hauled to a California Department of Fish and Wildlife facility, Van Sommeran said.


Comment: SFGate reports the shark has died:
The stranded great white shark has died, reports ABC7 and NBC. Researchers believe the cause of death to be a hook caught in its mouth or a nervous system infection.


Read More...