Earth ChangesS


Attention

Large alligator snuck up on golfers at Kiawah Island golf course during tournament

alligator golf course
© Carrie Moores
A chance encounter with a large alligator at Kiawah Island Club's River Course has created quite the social media buzz for the Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic.

Carrie Moores, the Marketing and Communications Specialist for the Johns Island clinic, was taking photos during a fund-raising golf tournament Monday when out of the corner of her eye she saw an alligator heading toward a group of golfers with their backs turned.

"I was marching up to the hole with my camera poised to get the golfers' picture. Then I realized the alligator and I were coming together in a 'V' right toward the golfers. I quickly snapped the photo, then ran back to the person who was driving a golf cart for me to see if she knew what the protocol was for an alligator on the golf course," Moores said.

Moores said she and her driver eventually got the golfers' attention, and they hopped in their cart and drove away. Meanwhile, the gator continued on its way before disappearing into a lagoon near where the golfers had been standing.

Ambulance

11 Asian Elephants rescued from mud-filled Vietnam War bomb crater

elephants
© WCS CambodiaEleven Asian elephants trapped in a Vietnam War bomb crater in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia.
A rescue in Cambodia saved 11 Asian elephants from a muddy death after they fell into an old bomb crater. The herd — three adult females and eight juveniles — was discovered in the large crater in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary on March 24, covered in mud and unable to escape, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Local farmers notified the Cambodian Department of Environment, which called in the WCS to save the unfortunate pachyderms. [Watch Video of the Muddy Elephants Rescued from Pit]

"Too often, the stories around conservation are about conflict and failure, but this one is about cooperation and success," Ross Sinclair, the country director for WCS in Cambodia, said in a statement. "That the last elephant to be rescued needed everyone to pull together on a rope to drag it to safety is symbolic of how we have to work together for conservation."

Bizarro Earth

Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano keeps throwing ashes, gases

Turrialba volcano
Turrialba volcano
The Turrialba volcano has continued to release ash, gases and water vapor after its eruption shortly after 24 hours ago, the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica reported. The report indicates that from 01:33 local time last Sunday, the colossus began releasing a small continuous column of ashes that has become constant. At 07:52 local time Wednesday explosions from the Turrialba were heard after almost two months of relative calm, volcanologist Eliécer Duarte recalled.

The volcano's behavior in recent days confirms that since last year it has been going through periods of calm and active stages. After remaining quiet for over 130 years, the Turrialba woke up in 2007 and from January 5, 2010, it has been erupting, being the one in October of 2014 and of March 12, 2015 the most serious. An eruption last September forced the authorities to suspend air traffic in San José.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt striking moving car filmed in Morocco

LIGHTNING HITS CAR
A moving car on a street in Morocco was struck by lightning in a moment caught on camera by a person filming the road.

A video posted to YouTube shows the car traveling down a road during a rain storm and being struck in its back end by a bolt of lightning.

The car continues moving, but starts billowing smoke and pulls over a short distance up the road.

The driver and passengers are able to get out of the car without apparent injuries as a crowd gathers to inspect the smoldering vehicle.

The video's description says it was recorded in Morocco, but the exact location and date of the event were unclear.


Tornado2

Waterspout filmed in Penang, Malaysia

WATERSPOUT
Social media was abuzz recently when a viral video depicting a natural yet uncommon phenomenon known as 'Waterspout' occurred near the Penang Bridge - raising alarm amongst netizens and the public.

The video revealed that the waterspout which resembles a mini tornado was spotted in the Penang channel during a downpour as the natural phenomenon is often linked with strong winds and thunderstorms.

"It's a miracle and an act of God when we have such a phenomenon like a tornado," one netizen described about the 16-second video circulated on Facebook, as quoted in The Star.

The Sun reported that the video was recorded by motorists and the Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that no casualty reports were received.


Wolf

Man mauled by own Staffordshire bull terrier dies in London

Dog attack
The Staffordshire bull terrier, which is not a breed prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act, injured the 41-year-old in Wood Green on 20 March.

The man, named locally as Mario Perivoitos, suffered injuries to this throat and was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead two hours later.

The man was taking part in a BBC documentary at the time of the attack.

'A lot of blood'

Neighbour Geoff Morgan, 52, who was home at the time, said: "I heard shouting - 'Get him off! Get him off me!'

"He was shouting really loudly. He was bleeding from his neck. There was a lot of blood."

Avraam Avramidis, 31, who lived upstairs, said: "For me, Mario was a good guy. He was actually very clever."

Attention

Dead humpback washes ashore in Aurora, Philippines

Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
A dead humpback whale washed ashore in the town of Dipaculao, Aurora province Tuesday night.

The marine mammal, which measured almost 15 feet long, was covered with wounds and bruises.

Dipaculao Mayor Joana Salamanca said they deployed a pay-loader to haul away the carcass and bury it Wednesday.

Local fishermen have also reported regular sightings of butanding or whale sharks off the coast of Casiguran. Last year, a dead whale shark washed ashore in the town.

Officials measure the humpback whale carcass that washed ashore in Dipaculao, Aurora.
© Cris SansanoOfficials measure the humpback whale carcass that washed ashore in Dipaculao, Aurora.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills prophetess in Ghana

LIGHTNING
A prophetess, Ewura Esi Amanda, has been struck and killed by lightning at Assin Fosu in the Central Region.

Amanda, who is the spiritual leader of the International Christian Bible Church, was struck dead at her house on Sunday, according to a report by the Daily Guide.

The report quoted an eyewitness, Blessing Kwame Mensah, as saying that the incident happened at about 8:30 pm.

According to Mensah, the prophetess, who stayed at Assin Foso Mempasem behind Stroman Preparatory School, did not go to church that fateful Sunday.

Cloud Precipitation

Floods in the Dominican Republic leave 1,700 displaced, 3 missing

Weather alerts in the Dominican Republic, 25 March 2017.
© Emergency Operations Center of Dominican Republic (COE)Weather alerts in the Dominican Republic, 25 March 2017.
Disaster authorities in the Dominican Republic say that a period of heavy rain caused flooding in northern areas of the country from 23 March 2017.

As of 25 March, 1,770 people had been forced from their homes. Around 364 homes have been damaged and a further 8 completely destroyed. Seven bridges have also suffered some flood damage. At one point around 27 communities were cut off by flood water.


Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 6.6 earthquake recorded over Kamchatka region

Kamchatka Earthquake
© USGS
A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, some 80 kilometers north east of Ust-Kamchatsk. The Sakhalin tsunami monitoring center issued a warning of possible local waves of up to 1.5 meters.

The quake occurred in the Bering Sea, just off the eastern coast of Kamchatka on Wednesday afternoon (4:09am GMT), Kamchatka's branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Interfax.

"Residents of the Klyuchi and Kozyrevsk of the Ust-Kamatsky villages experienced this earthquake with a five points magnitude," the representative of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.

The Sakhalin Tsunami Center has warned the earthquake can possibly trigger local tsunami waves of up to 1.5 meters, TASS reports, adding that waves could reach North-Kurilsk island within two hours.