Earth ChangesS


Health

Teenage surfer bitten by shark off Avalon State Park, Florida

Lamaur Stancil
TC Palm
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 11:15 UTC
Shark attacks
A surfing teenager bitten on his right forearm by a shark Tuesday was released from a hospital Wednesday.

"He came into the house with blood spilling out of his arm and told me, 'Don't freak out, Mom'," Sherry Davis said about learning her son, Zack Davis, 16, had suffered the bite. "It was more shock than anything else."

Paramedics responded and took the teen, who attends Vero Beach High School, to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce. Sherry Davis said doctors stitched up the wound Tuesday and released him Wednesday. It took 42 stitches to seal it up.

The shark bite happened about 5 p.m. Tuesday at Avalon State Park beach, not far from the Davis home in the 100 block of Ocean Estate Drive.

Zack Davis describes his shark bite ordeal that occurred at about 5 p.m. Tuesday while at Avalon State Park beach
© Eric Hasert/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERSZack Davis describes his shark bite ordeal that occurred at about 5 p.m. Tuesday while at Avalon State Park beach
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Attention

Shark bites woman snorkelling off the coast at Ningaloo, Western Australia

Belinda Cleary
Daily Mail
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 11:09 UTC
Shark attacks
A woman has been bitten on the bottom by a shark while snorkeling off the Western Australian coast on Christmas Eve.

The woman did not see the predator which took a bite of her as she glided through the water but did feel it nudge her in the shallow waters.

The shark attack occurred a kilometre from the coast in the famous Ningaloo marine park which is known for its shark dives.

The woman was swimming in five-metre deep water in the Bundegi Sanctuary Zone when she was bitten but didn't report it immediately.

The woman took herself to Exmouth Hospital where she was treated.

The Department of Fisheries are aware of the attack.
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USA

The United States' 10 most extreme weather events of 2016

Jason Samenow
Washington Post
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 09:28 UTC
In 2016, of all the weather events to affect the nation, four stood out: a hurricane, a flood, a drought and a blizzard. These four were historic and extreme, setting numerous records and affecting large areas. Unfortunately, they caused a great deal of suffering and economic losses.

Six other storm events, which were more localized, round out the top 10.

Tornadoes were not among this year's most significant weather events. This year was, generally, a quiet year both in terms of the overall number of tornadoes and tornado fatalities.

Much more than wind, in 2016, water (or, in one case, lack of water) caused the lion's share of weather-related deaths and damages.

As seven of the top 10 weather events involved extreme rainfall, and several 1-in-1,000 year events, perhaps you could call it the year of the flood.

Without further ado, here is our rundown of the most significant and extreme weather events of 2016 in the Lower 48:

1. Hurricane Matthew (September-October)

Hurricane Matthew floodwaters
© Chris Keane/ReutersFuel tanks are seen after floodwaters rose because of Hurricane Matthew in Lumberton, N.C.

Comment: For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the entire planet, check out our monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - November 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Cloud Grey

Global cloud cover changes caused by increases in galactic cosmic rays not CO2

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Mon, 26 Dec 2016 08:27 UTC
cloud changes MSM article
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
With record warm next to record cold in the Arctic, clouds and jet stream patterns are beginning to shift across the planet. These changes occur regularly with every grand solar minimum, but the Main Stream Media (MSM) will have you believe it is because of CO2 which has no effect on the jet stream at 60,000ft.


Comment: See these related articles for more information:

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Seismograph

'Severe', shallow magnitude 5.5 earthquake strikes central New Zealand


SBS
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 04:01 UTC
New Zealand's south island quake map
© USGSThe area where the quake struck off New Zealand's south island
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has struck central New Zealand on Thursday afternoon.

According to RNZ, the strong quake was centered around 35km east of Seddon, a town on the northern tip of New Zealand's south island.

The quake, which hit at 3.34pm, had a depth of 15km and was followed soon after by a 4.7 aftershock.

GeoNet rated the intensity of the earthquake as 'severe'.

Shaking was felt in Wellington more than 150km away.

The island has been hit by several aftershocks following the devastating 7.8-magnitude quake which struck in November.

The New Zealand Herald reported that no injuries or damage had been reported to the Wellington Free Ambulance or St John central communications.

Comment: Earlier this month the same area was rocked by another severe, shallow magnitude 5.5 earthquake; and two earthquakes in two minutes, one of them strong.

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Fish

Thousands of dead lobsters, crabs and herring washing up along St. Mary's Bay, Nova Scotia

Adina Bresge
The Canadian Press
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 21:03 UTC
Dead Starfishes
© Eric HeweyAmong the things Eric Hewey discovered washed up on the beach near Savary Park in Digby County were these starfish.
Massive numbers of dead starfish, clams, lobsters and mussels have washed up on a western Nova Scotia beach, compounding the mysterious deaths of tens of thousands of herring in the area.

Ted Leighton, an adjunct biology professor at Nova Scotia's University of Sainte-Anne, said social media photos showing bottom-dwellers strewn in the sand near Plympton, N.S., could be an indication that the phenomenon that has killed schools of herring in St. Marys Bay is possibly spreading to new species.

The retired veterinary pathologist has compiled more than 40 sightings of dead herring since late November, to shed light on an ecological puzzle that has stumped the scientific community.

The herring deaths were cause enough for concern, Leighton said, but now that new species have surfaced dead on a beach in Digby County, it's time to figure out "what's really going on."

"We're kind of in the dark, not from lack of trying, but from the complexity of the case," he said. "(There's) no firm data to rule anything in or out."

In mid-December, federal scientists said they had yet to determine what is causing the herring die-off, despite a battery of tests. Negative results have been reported for physical damage and several types of bacterial infections and viruses.

Comment:
Thousands of dead herrings wash ashore in St. Marys Bay, Nova Scotia

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Attention

Colima volcano erupts in Mexico; 1.5 mile ash plume

Andrew V. Pestano
UPI
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 20:20 UTC
Colima eruption on December 27, 2016.
Colima eruption on December 27, 2016.
Mexico's Ministry of Interior said the Colima volcano has generated eruptions that have created ash plumes up to 1,000 feet tall.

Luis Felipe Puente Espinosa, the Interior Ministry's public safety coordinator, said in a statement that the latest eruption occurred early Tuesday, and created an ash plume about 1.5 miles tall. Ash could fall up to 30 miles away from the volcano, he said.

The Colima volcano -- known by Mexicans as the Volcano of Fire -- is in Mexico's Colima state, a small state on the Pacific coast. Authorities have also declared an exclusion zone in neighboring Jalisco state.

"Respect the radius of exclusion of 4.6 miles in Jalisco and 7.4 miles in Colima," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The Interior Ministry said ash will mostly affect areas east and west of the volcano, while areas within about three miles of the volcano are at risk of falling volcanic debris.

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Attention

2 volcanoes explode into life triggering state of emergency in Peru

Jon Rogers
The Daily Express (UK)
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 19:52 UTC
Sabancaya volcano
Two volcanoes in Peru have erupted into life, just 60 miles apart sparking widespread fears and authorities have declared a state of emergency and started a mass evacuation.

The Sabancaya volcano started spewing ash and smoke some 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) into the air on Monday, in the latest in a series of worrying explosions in the south of the South American country.

The volcano, situated just 40 miles from Peru's second most populous city Arequipa in the Andes, returned to life at 8.24am on Monday just over a week after it began activity on December 16.

Local authorities have warned the local inhabitants they are likely to be affected by the ash from the 20,000-ft (6,000m) volcano whose name translates at 'tongue of fire' in the local dialect of Quechua.

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Cloud Precipitation

Record breaking rain causes flooding in Northern Territories, Australia

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 19:29 UTC
Floods in Kintore, Northern Territories, Australia, December 2016.
© Northern Territories PoliceFloods in Kintore, Northern Territories, Australia, December 2016.
Parts of southern Northern Territories and northern South Australia have seen record breaking rain over the last two days.

The rain, caused by a deep low pressure system, was described as a one-in-50-year event by Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Parks Australia to close the Uluru National Park on Monday 26 December, 2016. Images on Social Media showed streams of water cascading down the sides of the landmark rock. The park has since re-opened.

Elsewhere in the Northern Territories, the Walungurru district recorded 231.6 mm of rain in 24 hours between 25 and 26 December, cutting off roads and washing out tracks. The previous highest daily rainfall record was 127.2 mm set in March 2006.
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Attention

Attack by elephant herd leaves 1 dead and 2 seriously injured in Nepal


Online Khabar
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 17:44 UTC
elephants
One person died and two sustained serious injuries when wild elephants attacked them at Praseni Bazaar, Bardiya district, on Wednesday morning.

At around 7 am, elephants entered the bazaar from Bardiya National Park and trampled on Bimal Pariyar.

Ram Prasad Lamichhane and Dinesh Singh Thakuri were seriously injured in the attack.

Terrified local people ran for their dear life when the elephants entered the bazaar.

Nepal Army personnel and local people drove them back to the forest later.
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