Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

Waterspout caught on camera near Horn Island, Mississippi

waterspout near Horn Island
© YouTube/16 WAPT News Jackson (screen capture)
A waterspout forms near Horn Island over the Labor Day holiday weekend.


Attention

Shallow 4.0 magnitude earthquake underneath summit of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii

Map Mauna Loa
© Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded a magnitude-4.0 earthquake beneath Hawaii Island at 4:25 a.m. Tuesday.

The earthquake occurred underneath Moku'aweoweo, Mauna Loa's summit caldera, at a depth of 1.2 km (0.74 mi).

The USGS "Did you feel it?" website received only one felt report within an hour of the earthquake. This report described light shaking (Intensity III). The lack of felt reports is consistent with the remote location and shallow depth of the earthquake.

The earthquake appears to be isolated. As of 6:30 a.m., no aftershocks have been observed.

Magnitude-4 or greater earthquakes occurred in the summit of Mauna Loa six to seven months prior to the volcano's two most recent eruptions in 1975 and 1984. Tuesday's isolated earthquake, however, does not represent a significant departure from the seismic activity rate for the past year, so the Volcano Alert Level for Mauna Loa will remain at Advisory.

According to HVO's Scientist-in-Charge, Christina Neal, the earthquake had no apparent effect on Kilauea Volcano's ongoing eruptions.

Attention

3 more dolphins strand in Florida

Staff of the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder team bring one of three stranded spinner dolphins to a rescue boat
Staff of the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder team bring one of three stranded spinner dolphins to a rescue boat
Three more spinner dolphins were found stranded in the shallow waters of Florida Bay in the Everglades National Park Monday.

Veterinarians concluded that the mammals were too sunburned and dehydrated and euthanized them to avoid additional suffering. This was the second spinner group in two days found stranded in the bay.

Saturday, marine mammal rescuers with Key Largo's Dolphins Plus responded to four stranded spinners near Rabbit Key and another off Lower Matecumbe Key.

They too were extremely dehydrated, said Art Cooper of Dolphins Plus, and veterinarians euthanize three of them. The other two were taken to Sea World in Orlando. One died there Sunday and as of Monday, the remaining spinner is in critical condition.

Comment: See also: 5 dolphins discovered stranded off Islamorada in Florida Keys; 3 euthanized


Attention

Signs and portents: Mutant pig found in China with human face and 'penis' on forehead

deformed pig
The pig was born with 'penis' on its forehead

It is unclear where the video originated from but it has been widely shared on Chinese social media

Disturbing footage has emerged online showing a 'mutant' pig born in China.

The creature appears to have a human face and a 'PENIS' on its forehead.

The piglet is seen yawning or gasping for breath as it is held up to the camera.

It is unclear where the video originated from but it has been widely shared on Chinese social media.

Many viewers are now speculating about the reason behind the animal's deformity - with some blaming environmental pollution.

Black Cat

Man-eating leopard kills for a second time within 2 weeks in Nepal; 24 such attacks in past 4 years

Leopard
Leopard
Authorities in Nepal have launched a hunt for a wild leopard after it killed two girls in two weeks in the country's remote western region, local officials said on Tuesday.

The animal pounced on a group of four children playing in the courtyard of their home and dragged away a four-year-old girl, said Kishor Kumar Chaudhary, chief administrative officer of the Baitadi district, an area 600km west of Kathmandu.

The girl's body - with an arm missing and head separated - was found on Sunday about 800m away from the house, said Chaudhary.

"She was the second victim in two weeks. A seven-year-old girl was also killed in the same region. The animal attacked her and snatched her away from her house," he said adding that the number of victims has reached two dozen in the past four years.

Fish

Thousands of dead fish wash up on beach in Cyprus

Dead fish
© CNA
Thousands of fish, particularly mullet, are washing up on a beach near occupied Vokolidha in the north, and more found floating at the edges of a small lake near Galateia in the same area, according to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press on Monday.

Reports said the lake water had turned reddish and suggested it was because it was polluted but 'local authorities' denied this though conceding that tests had not been done on it yet. They said it was possibly due to reduction of oxygenation in the lake water. Kibris said that residents in the area of the lake near to the beach were concerned.

When it came to the fish on the beach, the local 'mayor' said the water there had been tested and it was not the reason the fish had died, he said. He criticised the media for suggesting the seawater was polluted when it was not true, according to Afrika.

Attention

Dead humpback whale washes up at Grassy Head, Australia

The 14-metre humpback whale washed up on Grassy Head beach died of unknown causes and was buried in the dunes behind the beach.
The 14-metre humpback whale washed up on Grassy Head beach died of unknown causes and was buried in the dunes behind the beach.
Manager of Grassy Head Holiday Park Margaret Burton didn't believe reports of a huge whale on the beach because she thought people were joking.

The 14-metre humpback washed up dead on Grassy Head beach on Thursday and was examined by National Parks and Wildlife staff before being removed from the beach on the weekend.

Mrs Burton said she had several people inform her that there was a whale on the tidal mark and it was decomposing.

"I didn't believe them because people are always pulling my leg around here!" she told the Argus.

National Parks area manager Russell Madeley said there were no obvious signs of injury to the whale and the cause of death 'could not be determined'.

Question

Strange foam-like 'clouds' with candy floss texture fall from sky in Morocco

foam morocco
A video appearing to show cloud-like shapes covering the ground in the region of Doukkala in Morocco was widely shared on social media after it was published on YouTube in February this year.


The video shows the whole area covered in a thick, foam-like substance.

Large chunks of the mysterious substance were captured on video rolling on the ground as if pushed by the breeze.

The people who filmed it said they were amazed by these mysterious substance.

The cameraman said that he has never seen a similar substance before and that he believes the substance is clouds that fell down from the sky.

"I have never seen clouds fall down to the ground. It is strange," he said.

The strangeness of the substance and rarity of such a phenomenon divided YouTube commenters on the logical explanation for the appearance of the thick foam.

Comment: Hmmm, it's not actually clear whether or not these 'clouds' were seen to fall from above.

It's interesting that there is a nearby water source (a river) because weird foam has been washing into seaside towns all over the world in recent years.

Weird foam has also recently formed after earthquakes, and caught fire in lakes in India!


Windsock

Hurricane Newton heading for Mexico's Baja peninsula

Hurricane Newton
© AFPStorm surges could produce serious flooding along the affected coast
A huge storm bearing down on the Pacific coast of Mexico has strengthened to a hurricane just hours before it is due to make landfall.

Hurricane Newton is heading north-west towards the southern end of the Baja California peninsula with winds of about 75mph (120 km/h).

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Newton could trigger flash floods.

It warned that preparations to protect life and property "should be rushed to completion".

Late on Monday, overcast skies in the Los Cabos municipality gave way to heavy rain and the wind was building in strength.

Twelve shelters opened and motorists queued to fill their cars with fuel ahead of the hurricane's arrival.

The same weather system lashed areas of the south-western state of Guerrero over the weekend before strengthening to a tropical storm.

Torrential rain that began on Saturday caused more than 30 mudslides across the state, forcing main roads to close.

In the resort of Acapulco, floods and landslides affected dozens of homes and schools and about 200 people had to be rescued from a housing complex.

Seismograph

Shallow 6.2 magnitude earthquake hits off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula

Russia quake
© USGS
A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake has rocked Russian islands in the volatile "Ring of Fire".

The earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean near the Commander Islands, just off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, on Tuesday.

The epicenter was shallow - just 8 miles below the surface.

It was just over 100 miles south east of Bering Island, in the Commander Islands chain.

No tsunami warning has been issued yet.

But the quake is situated right on the "Ring of Fire" - which is known for it's fearsome volcanoes.

The epicentre is not far from Japan or Alaska.