Earth ChangesS


Boat

Evacuations after Cyclone Kyarr brings coastal floods to UAE and Oman

FLOOD
As Tropical Cyclone Kyarr makes its way across the Arabian Sea, a combination of high tide, storm surge and high waves caused coastal flooding in parts of United Arab Emirates and Oman from 28 October, 2019.

In United Arab Emirates, roads were closed in Sharjah and Fujairah as high waves and storm surged caused flooding along the coast. Police urged caution.

Local media reported that around 20 houses were flooded with seawater in Kalba, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Residents of the houses have been evacuated. Businesses and roads were also flooded and schools were closed. Gulf News reported waves of 7 feet (2 metres) in the area.

Disaster authorities in the country said there have been no reports of casualties or injuries.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 8, injure 4 in Vidarbha, India

lightning
Eight persons were reportedly killed in separate incidents of lightning strikes in the Yavatmal, Amravati and Akola districts of Vidarbha region of east Maharashtra, informed the police here on Thursday.

On Wednesday, in Yavatmal district, lightning struck Gajanan Baliram Pimple (28),a resident of Lonbehal village in the Arni tehsil, while he was standing under a tree.

In Amravati district, three persons got electrocuted after lightning struck at them when they were standing under a tree.

The deceased were identified as Sayyad Nuruddin Sayyad Badryoyaddin (56), Shobha Sanjay Gathe (45) and Sonali Gajanan Bobde (34).

Comment: Elsewhere in India on the same day a lighting strike killed 2 workers in Telangana.


Snowflake Cold

Denver weather: Another record broken as temperatures plunge to near zero

A person tries to ride a snowboard down the road in Denver Wednesday morning.
© CBSA person tries to ride a snowboard down the road in Denver Wednesday morning.
The temperature in Denver officially dropped to 3 degrees above zero early Wednesday morning. It was cold enough to shatter the previous record low for October 30 by 4 degrees. It was our third record temperature in 3 days and one more record is expected Thursday morning.

The records on Monday and Tuesday were related to the daily high temperatures. Denver only reached 21 degrees on Monday and 18 degrees on Tuesday. It had never stayed so cold on these dates in the past so new "record coldest maximum" temperatures were set for October 28 and October 29.

One final record is expected Thursday morning when the combination of clear skies, mainly light winds, and snow on the ground allows temperatures to plunge below zero along the Front Range. If the temperature manages to drop below -2° early Thursday, the all-time record low for October in Denver will be broken. That record was set on October 29, 1917.


Snowflake Cold

All-time record cold sweeps Alberta, Canada

skiing
Alberta has suffered YET MORE record-breaking low temperatures of late, as brutal Arctic air continues to descend anomalously-far south for the time of year.

The southwest of the Canadian province appears to have fared the worst this week.

According to data from Environment Canada, the mercury in Banff plunged to -23.3C (-9.9F) on Monday morning, which set a new daily low for October 29, eclipsing the previous mark of -22.6C (-8.7F) set back in 1991.

The Bow Valley area saw temperatures sink to -23.2C (-9.8F), low enough to pip the previous all-time record for the date — the -23C (-9.4F) from 2002.

Binoculars

King Penguin turns up thousands of kilometers from home at Cape Point Beach, South Africa

penguin
© SANParksLost King Penguin
I'm a birder - there I said it - and this is pretty damn exciting.

Yesterday, an email popped into my inbox from the SA Rare Bird News group, or SARBN for short.

The subject line read 'MEGA ALERT', so you knew it was something juicy, but this really is a massive sighting for all the twitchers out there.


Proof of said email, before we carry on:

Doberman

4-year-old boy fatally mauled by pit bull, mother hospitalized in Hazel Park, Michigan

PIT BULL ATTACK
A 4 year-old Hazel Park boy died Tuesday evening after a vicious attack by a 60-pound, male pit bull that the family was temporarily looking after, police said.

The child's mother had tried to fight the dog off with a knife.

"A preliminary finding appears that this case was a tragic incident," police said in a statement emailed Wednesday to the Free Press. "The Hazel Park Police Department extends its sympathy to the family and friends of the deceased."

It's unclear, Hazel Park Police said, what led to Tuesday's attack, but at about 6:45 p.m., a 14-year-old girl called 911 to frantically alert police that the dog pounced on her brother, and their mom was attempting to stop the animal.


Attention

First ever dead sperm whale found on Welsh beach - only 2nd record for UK in a century

A sperm whale calf (pictured) has washed up on a North Wales beach. The marine mammal is believed to have become stranded at Hell's Mouth in Gwynedd yesterday
A sperm whale calf (pictured) has washed up on a North Wales beach. The marine mammal is believed to have become stranded at Hell's Mouth in Gwynedd yesterday
A sperm whale calf has washed up dead on a Welsh beach, only the second to do so in a century.

The marine mammal is believed to have become stranded at Hell's Mouth in Gwynedd yesterday.

It is the first time a sperm whale has ever washed up on a Welsh beach, and only the second time it has happened anywhere in the UK in over 100 years.

A team from Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) and the Zoological society of London (ZSL) are heading to North Wales to examine the calf, where they will be working with the Marine Environmental Monitoring.

The team have stressed that this is an unusual stranding and will be investigating the calf's cause of death.

Attention

Two eruptions at Sakurajima volcano in Japan

Eruption from Sakurajima on 29 October
© JMAEruption from Sakurajima on 29 October
Eruptions with continuous pyroclastic flow may continue to occur.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) recorded two eruptions at the Minamidake summit crater and few volcanic earthquakes.

JMA in cooperation with the JMSDF Air Group confirmed a slight increase of white fumarole from the Showa crater.

Sakurajima has a large amount of volcanic gas (sulfur dioxide) released per day.


Bizarro Earth

Strong earthquake hits the Philippines again

Philippines Earthquake
© ReutersSocial media video grab shows a man looking at a damaged hotel building after an earthquake in Kidapawan City.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked southern Philippines still reeling from two strong tremors this month, killing at least five people and causing previously damaged buildings and homes to collapse.

The integrity of several buildings and homes on Mindanao have already been weakened by a 6.3 earthquake that struck on Oct. 16 and another 6.6 quake on Oct. 29.

A social welfare officer said five people in North Cotabato province died due to the quake, including a village chief when the office wall collapsed on him. This brought the number of killed to 20 in the series of tremors since Oct. 16.

The latest quake occurred 33 km (20 miles) northeast of Tulunan town in Cotabato province, which lies west of Davao City, where President Rodrigo Duterte was when it happened. His spokesman, Salvador Panelo said the Philippine leader is safe.


Snowflake

Harvest lags in Iowa, and this week's snow won't help

A soybean field near Anamosa is covered in snow Tuesday morning
© Dean BorgA soybean field near Anamosa is covered in snow Tuesday morning
Prime harvesting weather is fading in Iowa, but three-fourths of the state's corn acreage isn't yet harvested.

The latest update from the U-S Department of Agriculture Monday said Iowa's corn harvesting lags 11 days behind the five-year average at this stage of the season.

As of this past weekend, one-third of the state's soybean crop was still in the field. That's about a week behind average.