Earth ChangesS

Attention

Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes Afghanistan: Strong tremors felt in India and Pakistan capitals

Earthquake map
A powerful earthquake has struck the border area between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, with tremors felt in Delhi and Islamabad.

The quake was intially measured at magnitude-6.6 and depth 210km by the USGS, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Reports from across South Asia described buildings swaying for more than a minute with tremors felt in the Pakistani city of Lahore some 630km from the epicentre.

Pakistani official Arif Ullah said the magnitude-7.1 quake was centered near Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan. Germany's GFZ Research Center for Geosciences set the quake's magnitude at 6.5.

Bizarro Earth

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes off Indonesian coast

http://cdn5.img.sputniknews.com/images/102956/34/1029563401.jpg
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Indonesia, the country's National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) said on Sunday.

The earthquake took place in the Indian Ocean, over 60 kilometers (37 miles) off the coast of Bengkulu, a province in Indonesia's southwestern Sumatra island, the agency said.

While the earthquake's epicenter was recorded at 16 kilometers below ocean surface, the BNPB has not issued a potential tsunami warning.

Question

Reports of mysterious tremors in eastern North Carolina attributed to sonic booms from military activity

sonic boom wave map north carolina
© WECTWhat appears to be a sonic boom wave caught on radar.
Did you feel a bit of a shake Friday afternoon? You're not alone.

WECT received several emails and messages on social media about a possible tremor in the Myrtle Grove area, as well as in Leland.

However, the United States Geological Survey's website showed no earthquake activity in North Carolina.

Our First Alert meteorologists did manage to see what appears to be remnants of a sonic boom wave on radar just off the coast of the Cape Fear region.

Cloud Precipitation

Freak hailstorm strikes Saudi Arabia

hail
An unusual freak hailstorm hit Saudi Arabia on April 6, 2016 covering the desert, streets and entire cities with white icy stones.

The thunderstorms were so powerful that they created a tornado just 100km way from Riyadh.

And here it comes:

storm
Stormy conditions are growing and sweeping across Saudi Arabia since Monday, April 3, 2016.

The storm line has now reached central Saudi Arabia where the desert suddenly turned white on April 6, 2016.

Hail

Comment: See also: Cars swept away as Arabian peninsula is slammed with deluges of rain and hail


Question

Two dozen dead birds discovered along road in Chantilly, Virginia

Dead starlings
© Fairfax County Police DepartmentDead starlings
Two dozen dead birds, believed to be European starlings, were found Friday along a road in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County.

No cause could be determined for the deaths of the birds found near Avion Parkway and Lee Jackson Memorial Highway.

Nothing suggested that the deaths were the result of malice, but the birds appear to be among the most unwelcome of creatures, often because of the wastes they leave in trees and on buildings.

Although large numbers of dead starlings are found throughout the area from time to time, starlings represent a story of startling multiplicative power. Sixty were introduced to this country in 1890, and, by 2000, their number was more than 200 million. The deaths will be investigated.

Dead starlings
© Fairfax County Police DepartmentDead starlings

Eye 2

Symbolism? Electrocuted snake found while eating another by city workers in Morganton, North Carolina

Two snakes were electrocuted when they crawled into an electrical box on E. Parker Road.
© City of MorgantonTwo snakes were electrocuted when they crawled into an electrical box on E. Parker Road.
Workers in a North Carolina city found a snake had electrocuted itself at a home slated for demolition and a second snake died while trying to eat the first.

The City of Morganton said in a Facebook post that Electric Services Department workers visited a home last week to disconnect the power prior to its scheduled demolition and they were greeted with a bizarre sight when they opened the electrical box.

"They were greeted by two dead snakes that had managed to climb into the box. One snake slithered across two hot terminals and was electrocuted; the second snake was biting the first and received the jolt as well," the post said.

The post quoted Electric Services Director Brooks Kirby as saying workers find electrocuted snakes every two or three years "and that's one time too many!"

Comment: For more on snakes discovered at unusual locations and of a symbolic interpretation of same, see: Snakes alive! Countless reports of snakes turning up in weird places


Tornado1

'Mothership' supercell thunderstorm drops two tornadoes on Tulsa, Oklahoma

Supercell over Tulsa
© Lanny Dean, Extreme Chase ToursA tornadic supercell wreaks havoc on Tulsa, Oklahoma last week.
This, ladies and gentleman, is what we call a "mothership" supercell.

Meteorologists and storm chasers refer to a select few supercell thunderstorms as "motherships" for a simple, very non-meteorological reason: they resemble spaceships. To be considered a mothership supercell, the whole structure of the storm must typically be seen from top to bottom and end to end. They often have a striated appearance (also known as "frisbee stacks") spiraling up and resembling a barber pole to altitudes higher than where planes fly. These striations are a visible cue the storm has a strongly rotating updraft, the prerequisite needed to be considered a "supercell" thunderstorm.


These storms can be striking to those in the path, resembling UFO's over typical thunderstorms. Need more convincing. Check out this photo that was snapped of the same supercell. "Mothership," right?

Comment: A couple of weeks before an ominous supercell hit Illinois, spawning a tornado that caused structural damage


Cloud Precipitation

Cars swept away as Arabian peninsula is slammed with deluges of rain and hail

Saudi Arabia Weather
© Saudi Arabia Weather
These are the first videos erupting on social network of the biblical flooding hitting Ta'if, Saudi Arabia right now.

And when I say biblical, it's because I didn't want to use apocalyptical!

Unstable conditions started sweeping across Saudi Arabia on Monday, April 3, 2016.

And reinforced during the beginning of the week to deliver heavy downpours on Ta'if and its region.

The low is sweeping from North to South and has created biblical hailstorms in the central part of the country on April 6, 2016.



Attention

Shark attacks jet ski off Fraser Island, Australia (VIDEO)

Shark attacks jet ski
© LiveLeak / YouTube
Two incredibly brave (or incredibly stupid) tourists got way too close to a shark while enjoying a jet ski excursion in Australia and were lucky to escape without injury.

While cruising around Fraser Island's idyllic blue waters off the coast of Queensland, the couple noticed a shadow in the waters below and - cue the Jaws theme - decided to check it out.

Getting far too close for comfort, the pair was lucky to escape when the shark launched from the water to attack but only connected with the jet ski and, thankfully, not one of their limbs.

"No one was injured although the jetski did get some small scuff marks where the shark contacted the ski," the couple wrote online afterwards.


Arrow Down

Large sinkhole forms in San Diego causing landslide near homes

San Diego landslide
© Fox 5A house appears to be compromised after land slides into canyon in the College Area.
A portion of land slid down into a canyon behind a house in the College area after a large sinkhole formed Wednesday morning, officials said.

"They saw a large portion of the earth give way behind this address," said Captain Joe Amador, San Diego Fire & Rescue. Captain Amador described the slide as 30 to 40 feet wide and about 150 feet up the ravine. He said crews were called to home 5600 block of Dorothy Way just after 9AM.

"Reportedly some of the neighbors heard noises last night even up to 2 or 3 nights ago," said Amador. "There was no hazards, no body was hurt , we sealed off the area with bannered tape."

No one was hurt, but the slide has neighbors living on edge. "I hope it doesn't come on my side," said Julia Bain, neighbor.
Bain is one of the original residents in the neighborhood. "We built here in 1954, my father built the home with a contractor," said Bain.

Julia said she's pretty sure her home is stable and safe. "There are pillars that go down some 20 feet under the house itself, my house should be safe," said Bain. "I'm a little nervous with the rains this week. I am a little concerned."

City engineers red-tagged the pool and shed of the home, late Wednesday evening the main house was declared safe. Julia hopes the landslide will not grow. "This is my home of 60 years and I don't know what I'd do if I have problems here," said Bain