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Rare Quetzal bird from Southern Mexico & Central America facing extinction?

Colleen Anne
LatinOne
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 19:25 UTC
Quetzal
© Donna J. ProvancherQuetzal
The rare quetzal bird, long seen as the national bird of Guatemala, is now on the verge of extinction. Reports say that the beautiful bird's numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. There are a range of threats that pose a danger to the rare bird, including poaching and habitat loss.

In a report with Fox News Latino, the endemic bird of southern Mexico and Central America, is now on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching.

Sofia Solorzano Lujano, researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that the resplendent quetzal faces a range of existential threats, such as illegal trafficking and habitat loss and forest destruction.

The researcher from the institution also said that the birds have fallen prey to predators such as the green toucan, squirrels, as well as other nocturnal mammals. These predators normally attack quetzal eggs or young chicks. The researcher also added that bigger prey, like falcons and eagles, prey on the adult quetzals.

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22 missing after landslide in industrial park in Shenzhen, China


Asia Times
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 13:35 UTC
Landslide China
Rescuers search for survivors among collapsed buildings after a landslide in Shenzhen
At least 22 people went missing after a landslide hit an industrial park collapsing nearly 20 buildings, including two dormitories, on Sunday in Shenzhen city of south China's Guangdong Province, rescuers said.

Police received the report of the landslide at 11:40am, which took place in the Liuxi Industrial Park in Guangming New District in northwest part of the city.

An area of 20,000 square meters (24,000 square yards) was covered under soil, the Ministry of Public Security's fire-fighting bureau said in an online statement.

More than 700 people are searching in debris for life. Rescuers have brought four people to safety, three of them suffering minor injuries.

A total of 185 firefighters, 37 fire trucks and rescue dogs have been rushed to the scene, according to the Weibo account of People's Daily.


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Attention

5.4 earthquake hits parts of Uttarakhand, India


ndtv.com
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 13:17 UTC
Uttarakhand map
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Uttarakhand in the wee hours.
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Uttarakhand in the wee hours today.

Epicentred in the India-Nepal border region, the earthquake occurred at 3.47 am, the MeT department in Dehradun said.

As the tremors were moderate and occurred in the wee hours when people are usually asleep they were not felt by many, it said.

However, a report from Chamoli said the quake shook people out of their sleep in the district.

The tremors were also felt in Pithoragarh district which borders Nepal.

Source: Press Trust of India
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Sinkhole devours highway, disrupts traffic in Oregon


Tilamook County Pioneer
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 11:55 UTC
Sinkhole Oregon
© ODOTThe sinkhole on Highway 22.
(Update) The driver of the vehicle that encountered the sinkhole early this morning was not injured. He was driving a hay truck for Jenck Farms, of Tillamook, and managed to avoid landing in the hole, but did end up with the vehicle in a nearby ditch, according to Michelle Jenck, Jenck Farms co-owner. The truck is heavily damaged.

Oregon Highway 22, also known as the Three Rivers Highway or - by locals - "the Sour Grass," is closed until further notice owing to a sinkhole located about 2.5 miles east of the Dolph Junction and roughly 12 miles east of Hebo and the U.S. Highway 101 intersection.

Early reports indicate the hole is roughly 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep and affects both lanes. A vehicle narrowly avoided landing in it about 1 a.m. this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 8. It is unknown at this time if the driver was injured. A detour to Grand Ronde and the Willamette Valley is available via U.S. Highway 101 south to Lincoln City, and then east via Oregon Highway 18, the Salmon River Highway.

Comment: Car with mother and girl swallowed by enormous sinkhole in Tver, Russia

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Fire

Extreme fire danger for Victoria, Australia: Temperatures soar to 45 degrees with strong north winds

Darren Gray
The Age
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 07:07 UTC
Victoria bushfire
© 9NEWSThe Wandin North bushfire in Victoria, Australia
Victoria will roast under temperatures tipped to soar as high as 45 degrees in the state's north-west on Saturday, with Melbourne not expecting a reprieve from the dangerous heatwave until Sunday afternoon.

"Extreme" fire danger ratings have now been applied to four Victorian fire districts for Saturday, Central - which includes Melbourne and surrounds - North Central, Wimmera and South West. A further four districts are facing "Severe" fire danger conditions.

A total fire ban has been declared for the whole weekend and a number of parks have been closed. Ambulance Victoria meanwhile is bracing for what could almost be a "perfect storm" on Saturday night, due to the extreme heat and the potential for people to party too hard.

Higher wind speeds than were earlier expected, which could gust to 70 or 80km/h on Saturday and Sunday, have increased fire danger ratings.

Melbourne is expecting a staggering 41 degrees on Saturday - an unusual peak before Christmas - with northerly winds in the morning of 35 to 50km/h. The hottest temperature for Saturday, 45 degrees, is forecast for in the Mallee including the small towns of Werrimull and Underbool.
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Alarm Clock

Chile struck by 6.0 magnitude earthquake


BNO News
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 14:40 UTC
chile earthqauke map
© google
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 has struck east of the city of Ovalle in Chile's Limarí province, seismologists say, with shaking felt over a large area.

The earthquake, which struck at 4:25 p.m. local time on Saturday, was centered about 13 kilometers (8 miles) east of Ovalle, or 82 kilometers (51 miles) southeast of La Serena. It struck about 49 kilometers (30 miles) deep, making it a relatively shallow earthquake, according to Chile's seismological center.

The earthquake could be felt over a large area, with medium intensity shaking reported in the regions of Atacama and O'Higgins. There was no immediate word about possible damage or casualties.

Chile's seismological center initially put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.2, but later downgraded it to 6.0. Chile's Hydrographical and Oceanographical Service of the Navy said the earthquake did not meet the characteristics necessary to generate a tsunami off the coast.
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Car with mother and girl swallowed by enormous sinkhole in Tver, Russia


Strange Sounds
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 21:16 UTC
Sinkhole swallows car
© Evil_Sheen49
And suddenly the road opened up just under their car.

A mother and her girl were swallowed by a giant sinkhole in Tver, Russia and were saved by a passing by family on December 14, 2015.

A car transporting a mother and her girl was swallowed by the ground on December 14, 2015 in Tver.

A family passing by heard a noise and saw the car beginning to fall into a large pit.

The husband ran to the car and pulled out of the trunk the child and then the woman.

Luckily they didn't get seriously injured. However, the child is still under shock.

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Avalanche buries about 10 houses in Svalbard, Norway


thelocal.no
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 19:16 UTC
avalanche norway
© APSearch and rescue crews work after an avalanche hit several houses in Longyearbyen, Norway, Saturday Dec. 19. 2015. It is unclear about the number of people caught in the avalanche but authorities are calling for volunteers with shovels to help in the search to locate victims
Several people were injured and several others missing on Saturday after an avalanche buried about 10 houses on the Svalbard archipelago in the heart of the Norwegian Arctic, local officials said.

"Several people have been injured and hospitalised. Some people are also missing," the region's government said on its website. "All available human resources are mobilised for the rescue operation."

A spokesman for the rescue services said four adults and two children were hospitalised but that their injuries were not life threatening.

Around 10 brightly-coloured wooden houses, typical of the style found in the archipelago, were buried by the avalanche which happened at around 11:00 am (1000 GMT).

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Airplane

Researchers claim aircraft contrails could be 'unintentionally' changing the atmosphere and exposing us to more solar radiation

Stacy Liberatore
Daily Mail
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 19:20 UTC
contrails
On any a clear day you can usually spot a white trail from an airplane in the sky. They might be fun to look at, but they could be the reason more solar radiation is reaching our surface. Researchers have found new data that suggests the layer of crystals left from the contrails is causing a more diffuse type of light.
On a clear day you can usually spot a white trail from an airplane in the sky.

They might be fun to look at, but they could also be the reason more solar radiation is reaching our surface, scientists have warned

Researchers have found new data that suggests the layer of crystals left from the contrails is causing a more diffused type of light.

Comment: Chemtrails? Contrails? Strange Skies
Most logical (and scariest) conclusion: the cold layer of the upper atmosphere has gotten lower and probably thicker and therefore, more airplanes flying at lower altitudes are forming contrails in that icy air which used to be the much higher domain of cirrus clouds.

Because, again, if you understand about the layers of the atmosphere, temperatures, winds, etc, then you will realize that what is happening is NOT spraying of the human population or even intentional weather manipulation, it is the EVIDENCE that our planetary atmosphere has changed dramatically in the past ten years or so. More like 20 because that was when I began noticing the changes in cloud formation.


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Attention

Dead whale found off Maldives atoll

Ahmed Adhshan and Ali Naafiz
Haveeru Online
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 15:38 UTC
dead whale Maldives
The dead whale that had drifted off to the surf break of Meedhoo late Friday evening.

Residents of Meedhoo in the southernmost atoll of Addu are working on salvaging a dead whale that had drifted in Saturday morning.

Ali Mohamed, a member of the council in Hulhu-Meedhoo ward of the city, told Haveeru that residents had come to notice the dead whale at around 7.30am. It measures about 50 feet in length, he added.

The councillor stressed that soldiers, policemen and employees of the port in the city are helping the residents salvage the dead whale.

"If they don't succeed in doing so, we'll have to bring the body ashore and dump it," he said.

A resident from Meedhoo said the head of the whale is mostly visible from the surface. Rest of its body is believed to have been decomposed, he added.

According to the resident, the dead whale had drifted in to the surf break of Meedhoo late Friday evening.
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