Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Unexpected flood hits Ankara, Turkey - vehicles float down streets


Daily Sabah
Sat, 05 May 2018 14:13 UTC
flood
© IHA
Turkey's capital Ankara was hit Saturday by a sudden flood, which was caused by heavy rainfall in the central Anatolian province.

The flood dragged dozens of vehicles from the streets in Ankara's Mamak district.

Videos showing a man desperately sitting on top of his car, while the flood washed away several vehicles in Mamak's Boğaziçi neighborhood were proof of the unexpected natural disaster.

The man was reportedly later rescued and only slightly injured.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills shepherd and over 200 sheep, goats in Pakistan


UrduPoint
Fri, 04 May 2018 12:42 UTC
File photo
A lightning strike Friday killed a shepherd and more than 200 sheep and goats at the "Mosa Ka Mussala hilltop".

According to police, 45-year old shepherded Aleem s/o Kar Khan resident of Meethal village was grazing his flock of 200 sheep and goats in Malian when a lightning strike killed him and over 200 cattle on the spot.

Police said that the lightning strike caused fire that killed the sheep. After the incident locals reached on the spot and recovered the dead body of Aleem Khan and later buried in his native town.

Comment: Elsewhere recently lightning strikes have killed in Tirupati, ( 3 by a single bolt) while 2 children were fatally hit in Hyderabad (both incidents in India) and 2 succumbed in Nepal. Back in Pakistan 5 have died in 3 districts.

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Fire

Best of the Web: Hawaii State of Emergency: Small Tsunami Followed Strongest Quake Since 1975 - SIX Fissures Have Opened up, Forcing Evacuations


Hawaii News Now
Sat, 05 May 2018 09:59 UTC
hawaii lava fissure
A large, 6.9-magnitude quake jolted Hawaii Island on Friday afternoon, just an hour after another sizable quake, amid an ongoing eruption of Kilauea that's triggered mandatory evacuations in Leilani Estates, sent lava spewing into streets and threatened homes.

Six fissures - each several hundred yard longs - have been confirmed in the Puna subdivision, officials say.

The extent of the damage isn't yet known, but officials did say at least two structures were significantly damaged and a number of roads have been covered in lava or severely cracked.

"Everything is still elevated," said Talmadge Magno, administrator of Hawaii County Civil Defense. "It kind of gets you nervous."

The 6.9-magnitude quake, which happened about 12:30 p.m., was the largest in Hawaii since 1975 and generated small tsunami waves around the Big Island. Hawaii County Civil Defense said sea fluctuations ranged from 8 inches in Hilo to 16 inches at Kapoho.

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Seismograph

Strong shallow 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits off the Philippines


Sputnik
Sat, 05 May 2018 08:56 UTC
chart
According to the latest reports by the US Geological Survey, an earthquake measuring 6.4 has struck off the coast of the Philippines.

The tremor was registered at 06:19 UTC (9:19 Moscow time). There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which hit at a depth of 30 km (18 miles), about 50 km north-northwest of Pandan, on the island of Catanduanes, according to the USGS.

No tsunami warnings were issued.

Seismological centers have posted the information about the earthquake on Twitter. Social media users are tweeting alleged photos/videos of the earthquake.

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Seismograph

Powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake, strongest since 1975, hits Hawaii's Big Island near erupting volcano


RT
Fri, 04 May 2018 22:24 UTC
Hawaii Big Island
© USGS / Reuters
A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 6.9 has struck just off the Big Island of Hawaii as numerous smaller jolts, including a 5.4 tremor, shook the island in the past hours, amid ongoing volcanic eruption.

The US Geological Survey has upgraded the severity of the earthquake off the Big Island in Hawaii to a 6.9 on the Richter scale, roughly an hour after it was registered. According to the new USGS data, the extremely powerful tremor was registered 16km southwest of Leilani Estates, Hawaii, at a depth of 5.0 km.

The quake struck on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano at 12:33 local time and was followed by several aftershocks, according to the National Weather Service, as eruptions at the volcano continue. No Tsunami warning has been issued.

The tremor was the most powerful of a series of earthquakes that have been rocking the islands over the past days. No Tsunami warnings have been issued after the quake.


Comment: The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.9 was the largest Hawaii quake since the 1975 magnitude-7.1 earthquake, which killed two people. The two quakes were centred in almost exactly the same location. See also:

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Snowflake

It's May, and roads in Alpine France are buried under 15 meters (50 feet) of snow


francetvinfo.fr
Thu, 03 May 2018 18:57 UTC
Cormet de Roselend,neige
© Jordan Guéant/France 3 AlpesAt the Cormet de Roselend, the road is lined with with 15 metres of snow.
Following late snowfalls, some mountain passes may open 15 days late in Savoie and Haute-Savoie. At Cormet de Roselend, in the Beaufortain, snow removal operations have begun. In some places, the road is covered with 15 metres (50 feet) of snow.

The Savoyard passes are buried under the snow. Early May usually marks the beginning of the reopening of mountain passes to bicycles and cars. This year, after exceptional falls, they are still covered with several meters of snow. They will therefore only be able to open with a fortnight's delay.

At the small Saint-Bernard, we measure up to 6 meters (20 feet) of snow. As for the Iseran and Croix de Fer passes, snow removal will not begin until May 7. At the Galibier Pass, snow removal operations have even been stopped because of the risk of avalanches.

Snow removal in progress 🚜 with 5 to 6 m ❄❄❄ before recovering the Mont-Cenis pass road 🛣
The opening to bikes 🚴♂ and cars 🚗 could be 15 days late #SuperNeige

15 metres (50 feet) of snow at the Cormet de Roselend

Comment: See also:

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Snowflake

More heavy snowfall hits French Pyrenees - 6 inches on the way


lindependant.fr
Thu, 03 May 2018 18:17 UTC
snow pyrenees
Winter never ends. After an exceptional season in terms of snowfall over the upper canton, further snowfall is forecast by Météo-France until Friday noon.

There it goes again. Since this Thursday, the snow is back from 1,500 meters on the Catalan Pyrenees. In Andorra, the rainfall recorded in recent hours is significant for a month of May. At Pas de la Case, it has already fallen between 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimetres).


Comment:

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Sun

'Rare' sun halo seen over Bhubaneswar, India


The New Indian Express
Fri, 04 May 2018 03:18 UTC
Sun halo over India
© The New Indian Express
People in the Capital were treated to a rare phenomenon in the sky on Thursday. In an unusual sight, the sun was surrounded by a halo.The ring of light around the sun was witnessed between 10 am and 11 am. The spectacular sky view remained for over half-an-hour leaving the spectators awestruck.

"I spotted a ring like formation around the sun when I was on my way to office at about 10.15 am. It was really a spectacular sight. I had never seen such a scene before. Initially I thought something scary is going to happen but later I came to know that it was a halo," said Jitendra Nayak, a resident of Satya Nagar.

However, scientists reasoned it as an effect of both refraction and reflection of light from ice crystals moving in the space. Astronomers said such phenomenon occurs as reflection of light is produced at 22 degrees from the sun. The halo occurs when sunlight refracts through a high band of cirrus clouds around 7 km above the ground. The cirrus clouds contain millions of individual ice crystals formed out of super cooled water droplets in the air.
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Umbrella

Heavy rainfall for May causes flooding in Sardinia, Italy - 4 times monthly average in 2 days

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Thu, 03 May 2018 18:33 UTC
Floods in Nuoro Province, Sardinia, 02 May 2018
© Vigili del FuocoFloods in Nuoro Province, Sardinia, 02 May 2018
Two days of heavy rain has caused flooding and landslides in Sardinia, Italy. Around 100 people have been evacuated from their homes. In the last 48 hours some areas have recorded over 150 mm of rain - more than four times the average monthly total for May.

Schools have been closed in several areas of the island due to the bad weather. Flooding and landslides have closed roads in the Municipality of Villacidro and near Cagliari.

Two families were evacuated as a precaution in Villacidro, South Sardinia Province. Around 100 people (20 families) have been evacuated in Torpé in Nuoro Province as a precaution due to rising levels of the Posada river.

Firefighters were called to over 60 interventions in Cagliari and surrounding areas. Emergency services also rescued farm workers who were stranded by flooding in Nuoro Province.
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Wolf

Attack by pack of stray dogs on student filmed at Chinese university

Kinling Lo
South China Morning Post
Fri, 04 May 2018 18:17 UTC
Stray dog attack caught on camera
Stray dog attack caught on camera
A Chinese university says it has hired professional handlers to round up stray dogs on its campus and give them to animal welfare groups after two students were attacked in separate incidents this week.

Xiangtan University, in central Hunan province, will also step up security patrols on campus to tackle the problem but stressed it would not cull the dogs, The Beijing News reported on Thursday.

The university had to abandon a controversial plan to cull stray dogs last year after animal rights activists campaigned against it, according to the report.

The latest action was prompted by two attacks, one of them caught on security footage and posted on Weibo, China's Twitter, where it has been watched more than two million times.

The video shows a female student walking alone along a path on Tuesday around 9pm when a pack of six dogs suddenly appear from nearby bushes and run towards her.

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