Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Shallow 4.3 magnitude earthquake rattles Greece, tremors felt in Athens

Greece earthquake
© earthquaketrack.com
A 4.3 magnitude quake that shook Greece on Monday night was felt in Athens. Witnesses reported a strong tremor in the capital city.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Athens at a depth of 10 kilometers, just before 8.30pm local time.

According to the EMSC - an independent provider of real-time earthquake warnings - the tremor was felt over an area inhabited by 3.6 million people

Witnesses close to the epicenter near Marathon, in southeast Attica, told the agency it felt like a bomb exploded nearby. "It sounded like someone dropped a bomb and then everything started shaking," one person who was three kilometers from the epicenter reported.

Reports from central Athens and the suburbs described the quake as strong but quick.

Road Cone

SOTT Focus: California Mudslides, a Sign of Worse to Come?

oprah mudflow
Oprah Winfrey surveys the damage from the mudflow on her property in Montecito, southern California
13 years to the day since the La Conchita landslide killed 10 people following a deluge, the same stretch of southern California between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles was hit with another deluge that produced instant and devastating mudflows. With the area torched by the Thomas Wildfire the preceding month, the heavy rain that fell on 9-10 January produced instant run-off from higher ground that washed away everything in its path, all the way down to the ocean.

As more dead bodies are found in the disaster zone, local authorities have gradually increased the death toll - which currently stands at 20 - while they report that another 8 people remain missing. The surge also injured about 200 people and destroyed or damaged about 500 homes in Montecito, Santa Barbara County - located just a few kilometers from La Conchita - and washed out a 30-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway.

From above, the debris flow appears to have converted the wealthy neighborhood - which is home to mega-stars like Oprah and Ellen - into a brown swamp.


Snowflake

Snow blankets parts of central and northern Greece (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

Near Karpenisisi
Near Karpenisisi
A weather front called 'Theseus' has brought a wave of cold and wet weather to Greece.

Many central and northern parts of the country have been covered by a blanket of snow as temperatures have plummeted.

In Thessaly heavy snowfall has created problems on roads. In areas of high altitude in the region of Larisa, Volos and Trikala snow ploughing vehicles are working overtime to clear the roads.


Eye 2

Signs and Portents: Two-headed snake found outside Branson, Missouri

This two-headed western ratsnake found last fall in Stone County is currently on display at the Missouri Department of Conservation's Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery in Branson.
This two-headed western ratsnake found last fall in Stone County is currently on display at the Missouri Department of Conservation's Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery in Branson.
A two-headed snake — or is it snakes? — found this fall by a southwestern Missouri teenager is now on display at a hatchery outside Branson, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced Friday.

The unusual reptile, a nonvenomous western rat snake, was found in October by Terry Lowery under the deck of his family's home in Hurley, about 45 minutes south of Hurley, according to the department.

After the family took photographs of the young dual-headed snake, they contacted the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, and zoo staff forwarded them to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery operated by the Department of Conservation.

The hatchery near Branson is primarily a trout-raising facility producing hundreds of thousands of trout a year, but its staff agreed to observe the snake.

Attention

Thousands flee as Mayon volcano erupts in Philippines

Mayon volcano in the Philippines could explode in the next few days, spraying lava, hot rocks and gases as fast as 60mph on to surrounding towns
Mayon volcano in the Philippines could explode in the next few days, spraying lava, hot rocks and gases as fast as 60mph on to surrounding towns
Thousands fled their homes in terror as lava oozed from a rumbling Philippine volcano today - as experts warned this 'quiet eruption' could lead to a hazardous in the next few days, spewing lava and hot rocks at 60mph.

Lava is slowly flowing out of the Mayon volcano's crater along with a spectacular 1,000 metre (3,280 foot) ash plume rising into the sky, the nation's volcanology institute said.

More than 12,000 people have been ordered to evacuated from a seven kilometre (four mile) danger zone around the crater, as officials warned them of potentially destructive mudflows and toxic clouds.

It is considered the nation's most active volcano


Fire

Australian birds have weaponized fire: Astonishing research indicates black kites are purposefully spreading wildfires

Raptors, including the whistling kite, are intentionally spreading grass fires in northern Australia, a research paper argues. The reason: to flush out prey and feast

Black kites
© Bob GosfordBlack kites (Milvus migrans) visit a grass fire in Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia, in 2014.
Dick Eussen thought he had the fire beat. It was stuck on one side of a highway deep in the Australian outback. But it didn't look set to jump. And then, suddenly, without warning or obvious cause, it did.

Eussen, a veteran firefighter in the Northern Territory, set off after the new flames. He found them, put them out, then looked up into the sky.

What he saw sounds now like something out of a fairy tale or dark myth. A whistling kite, wings spread, held a burning twig in its talons. It flew about 20 metres ahead of Eussen and dropped the ember into the brittle grass.

And the fire kicked off once again.

Snowflake

Erie in Pennsylvania on pace for snowiest season with 136.5″ of snowfall so far this winter

Erie, PA on pace for snowiest season
Erie, PA on pace for snowiest season
Snow. Something Erie, PA is probably tired of talking about this season. In fact, the city is on pace for the record snowiest season on record.

So far this winter season, the city has received 136.5″ of snowfall...an incredible 88″ more than a normal year.

The city was clobbered with more than 60″ of snow in a single lake effect snow event in December, prompting a state of emergency for the city. December, by far, was the big player in the seasonal snow, with nearly 121″ in that month alone!

Snowflake

Nearly two feet of snow wallops Wilmington, Massachusetts

snow
Thursday's snowstorm brought almost two feet of snow in some areas of town, with snow falling from 7 a.m. on Thursday through into the night. Wilmington DPW, however, was ex­pecting the snow to start at 3 a.m., so they delayed their start plowing until about 10:30 a.m.

Operations Manager Jamie Ma­galdi explained that the excessive winds make it hard to quantify exactly how much snow fell, but he provided an average of 17.5 inches throughout the day. This storm fell in the midst of an extremely cold week, with temperatures in the negative degrees, which made the cleanup and the aftermath of the storm particularly difficult.

Magaldi shared that the town had a total of 90 workers plowing from Thursday morning to Friday afternoon.

"We had 45 staff and 45 contractors," he said.

The equipment they use ranges from snow plows to front loaders to sidewalk cleaners.

Ice Cube

Record-cold wave recedes, but now ice jams are causing flooding in US northeast

River ice
Winter weather conditions continue to plague the Northeast.

The combination of melting snow, mild temperatures, and heavy rain have caused numerous ice jams to form in several Northeast states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts. The ice jams have caused some evacuations in areas near rising creeks and rivers. The ice jams are also responsible for shutting down parts of roadways.

Despite much colder temperatures than the end of last week, the threat of ice jam-related flooding will remain on Sunday across much of the Northeast. Runoff from heavy rain in area waterways, combined with chunks of ice will continue to cause water levels to change. Some parts of the region have flood watches and advisories through Sunday. Some waterways will begin to refreeze on Sunday.


Black Cat

Leopard attacks five people in Maharashtra, India

leopard attack
First recorded incident of a leopard finding its way into Mulund-east; the cat covered a distance of nearly 5 km outside the National Park.

A leopard that strayed into a residential colony in Mulund east early Saturday morning attacked five people and could be trapped only after a marathon rescue operation by forest officials that left the neighbourhood on the edge for over five hours.

This was the first recorded incident of a leopard finding its way into Mulund-east and forest officials said the cat covered a distance of nearly 5 km outside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, its natural habitat.

Among the five injured in the leopard attack was Ganesh Pujari, 45, an electrician, who fought off the leopard to save his 18-year-old son's life after being pounced upon in their house in Nane Pada.