Earth ChangesS


Health

Woman attacked by fisher cat in Coventry, Rhode Island

Image
A Coventry woman says she feared for her life when she was attacked by what she says was a fisher cat.

It happened in her backyard, and now she's warning others in the area to be on the look out in fear the animal may strike again.

ABC6 News would like to warn you some of her injuries in the photos attached are graphic.

Stitches
© Honey Marie Meaker
"All of a sudden I felt immense pain of my right foot and I just screamed really loud because I was trying to scare it away," said Honey Marie Meaker, who is still shaken up form the traumatic experience after being attacked by what she calls a vicious animal.

The injury she sustained is so bad she's now on crutches.

"I had no idea what it was, I didn't hear any noise, didn't hear any sounds. I just felt the pain, this excruciating pain," said Honey Marie.

It happened when she and her 13-year-old daughter took out the trash.

Honey had no clue what attacked her, but her daughter got a better look at it saying it was a fisher cat.

Comment: See also: Boy bitten by a fisher in Rehoboth backyard, Massachusetts

Unusual fisher attack on dog in Ledyard, Connecticut


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill two farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India

lightning
© 123RF
Two farmers were killed after they were struck by lightning in separate incidents in the city, police said today.

Rambhavan (40) died after being struck by lightning in Paderi village while Sukhdev (35) died in a similar incident in Narayadh village yesterday, they said.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) JN Sachan said compensation would be provided to the families of the victims.

Cloud Precipitation

Hailstones the size of golf balls pelt Nkomazi, South Africa

Hailstones
Joy over the long-awaited rain quickly turned to terror for the residents of Komatipoort, KaMaqhekeza, Mangweni, Schoemansdal and surrounds on Friday at about 19:00.

Hail stones the size of golf balls came pelting down, shattering vehicle windscreens, while the severe winds ripped off roofs.

Damage to a vehicle in Komatipoort.
Damage to a vehicle in Komatipoort.
According to Mr Cyril Ripinga, spokesman for the Nkomazi Local Municipality, about 426 houses, 25 schools, five clinics and Tonga and Shongwe hospitals were damaged, but the verification process is ongoing.

More than 100 houses' roofs were blown away, more than eight collapsed and infrastructure such as gravel roads and electricity cables were damaged.

Large parts of Nkomazi were left without electricity, but municipal employees worked around the clock over the weekend to fix the cables.

Many residents had to run for their lives as their houses collapsed, leaving their possessions to the mercy of the elements.

Ms Thobile Mashaba had to run to her neighbours for safety when the corrugated iron of her shack was ripped off by the wind.

Storm damage

Camcorder

USGS releases video of volcano lava lake at Kilauea, Hawaii

Hawaii volcano lava lake
© YouTube/Associated Press (screen capture)
The US Geological Survey has produced new, high definition images of the Hawaii volcano Kilauea summit eruption and the active lava lake formed in the crater at the top of the volcano.


Comment: There has been increased activity at Kilauea volcano this year. See also:


Cloud Precipitation

Worst disaster in Haiti since 2010 earthquake: Hurricane Matthew leaves 340 dead as it approaches US (PHOTOS)

A man cuts branches off fallen trees in a flooded area by a river after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 5, 2016.
© Andres Martinez Casares/ReutersA man cuts branches off fallen trees in a flooded area by a river after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 5, 2016.
The death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew has gone up to 339 with authorities saying it's the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago.

Authorities in Haiti have reported 339 deaths, Reuters reports, citing local officials. Many of the deaths were caused by falling trees or other debris. The Caribbean nation has been the hardest hit by the hurricane, suffering the most casualties and severe structural damage. The storm has destroyed more than 3,200 homes, displaced 15,000 people and decimated plantations and livestock.

"Haiti is facing the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago," said Mourad Wahba, the UN special representative for Haiti, as quoted in USA Today.

"Much of the population is displaced and communication systems are down. At least 10,000 people are in shelter. We've received reports of destroyed houses and overflowing hospitals with shortages of buckets and fresh water."



Info

Hurricane Matthew has been blasting through records

hurricane Matthew
© NASA
Since it formed late last week, Hurricane Matthew has shattered records from rapid intensification to longevity, and it has the potential to end a decade-long lull in major hurricane landfalls.

On Sept. 28, Matthew developed from an area of low pressure as it approached the Windward Islands. It was a very fast-moving system early in its formation, and it steered rapidly westward by high pressure to its north. In the first few days of its life, that speed inhibited intensification, but as soon as it slowed, Matthew began to strengthen.

Matthew reached hurricane intensity Sept. 29, and since then has been breaking records. Below are some of the milestones that Matthew has achieved so far:
  • Hurricane Matthew underwent a remarkable rapid intensification of 80 mph in 24 hours, intensifying from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane. This was the third-strongest rapid intensification in a 24-hour period for any Atlantic hurricane on record, trailing only Hurricane Wilma (2005) and Hurricane Felix (2007).
  • It also became the first Atlantic-basin Category 5 hurricane since Felix (2007). Matthew is the 31st Atlantic-basin Category 5 hurricane on record.

Comment: Defying historical norms, Hurricane Matthew also developed in a high-intensity wind shear environment facing headwinds of 30MPH and formed below the 15 degree north latitude marker - an area traditionally too close to the equator to allow the requisite spin for tropical formation and development. See: Unusual Atlantic storm: Matthew may hit US as Category 5 Hurricane next week

Meanwhile in the Pacific, Typhoon Chaba has just set new records in South Korea.


Tornado1

'Monster storm': Hurricane Matthew roaring towards the US

monster storm Hurricane Matthew
© @eteaching101 / Instagram
Hurricane Matthew is continuing to roar its way along the Caribbean coast towards the US with satellite photos revealing just how intimidating the powerful storm looks from space.

NASA has been sharing satellite images and timelapse videos taken from the International Space Station (ISS) as Hurricane Matthew hurtled through Haiti and Cuba, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Florida is now bracing itself for a 'direct hit' from the deadly category 3 storm which is expected to strengthen to category 4 as it approaches the southern part of the state.

It's also expected to pass close to or over NASA's Kennedy Space Center, near Melbourne Beach which, ironically, is home to America's next-generation weather satellite - the GOES-R.


Moon

Decades-long megadrought may hit US Southwest, drying it to the bone

Folsom Lake reservoir
© Mark Ralston / AFPBoat docks sit empty on dry land, as Folsom Lake reservoir near Sacramento stands at only 18 percent capacity, as the severe drought continues in California on September 17, 2015.
The American Southwest has surely seen some drought, but things may turn sour, or should we say 'even drier'? Scientists from Cornell University say there's a high chance that a decades-long 'megadrought' is coming by the end of this century.

The scientists, led by atmospheric researcher Toby Ault, have just published their findings in Science Advances journal.

It should be noted that 'megadrought' isn't just a scary-sounding word, it is an existing term: an extreme, bone-dry time that can last for over 35 years.

"In some ways, it's as simple as less rainfall and hotter weather," Ault says as quoted by Popular Mechanics. "Basically the risk of a megadrought depends critically on the balance of soil moisture at the soil's surface, and that's a tug-of-war between evaporation from hotter weather and the supply of moisture through precipitation."

The study suggests that the production of greenhouse gases, if carried on at the current rate, could cause the megadrought, and the chances are very high, 70 to 99 percent - which makes it "virtually certain," in the scientists' words.

Comment: Man made global warming didn't cause the megadrought in the 16th century, and it's not going to be the cause of a future one. Any solutions involving that bogus claim are useless. This is not to say that such kinds of megadroughts are not on the way. They very well may be, but the earth changes we are seeing are not so black and white as some pseudo-climate scientists would like them to be.


Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Matthew killed at least 261 in Haiti, dozens in one village

haiti_mathew
© REUTERS/Carlos Garcia RawlinsDestroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016.
The Interior Ministry, a mayor and other local officials confirmed the numbers across Haiti to Reuters, with many victims killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers when Matthew hit with 145 mph (230 kph) winds on Tuesday.

Haiti's civil protection service has so far put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 108 dead.

Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in the country's southwest, one of Haiti's most picturesque regions. The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes on Monday and Tuesday.

"Several dozen" died in the coastal town of Les Anglais in Sud Department, said Louis Paul Raphael, the central government's representative in the region.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Raphael.

Telescope

Amazing 'Proton Arc' aurora photographed over Scotland

Proton Arc
© Stewart Watt
Keen photographer Stewart Watt was thrilled when he managed to capture these strange Northern Lights on camera.

Amateur astronomer and photographer Stewart Watt was spellbound by the strange streak of light he spotted in the night sky, which he thought was a Proton Arc.

An unusual form of aurora, a Proton Arc is an streak of colour separate from the usual dancing lights of the aurora borealis, which can be spotted regularly in the Scottish Highands at this time of year.

Stewart, from Thurso, contacted physicist Dr Melanie Windridge to see if she could shed some light on the subject.

He says: "She is currently looking into it for us but she did get information from Leicester university which suggested it is actually a Stable Auroral Red arc or SAR arc.