Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

6.7 magnitude earthquake hits off Solomon Islands, no tsunami threat

The 6.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Solomon Islands on Tuesday (Dec 20) is the second powerful tremor to hit the islands to Australia's north in two weeks
© USGSThe 6.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Solomon Islands on Tuesday (Dec 20) is the second powerful tremor to hit the islands to Australia's north in two weeks
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck off the Solomon Islands on Tuesday (Dec 20) according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the second powerful tremor in the islands to Australia's north in less than two weeks .

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said the quake, which was centred some 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Kira Kira at a depth of s 44 km, had not triggered any tsunami threat.


Comment: See also: 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes off Solomon Islands


Ice Cube

At minus 2 degrees, Chicago, Illinois is colder than Mars

Commuters in Chicago
© Getty ImagesCommuters brave the cold and make their way to work across the Madison Street Bridge on Monday in Chicago.
Brutal cold has many Chicagoans thinking about getting away to some place warmer.

How about Mars?

Chicago is currently one of the coldest spots on the planet and is even colder than Mars
. According to NASA, the current temperature on Mars is minus 2 degrees. Chicago was minus 6 degrees with a wind chill of minus 20 degrees as of 9 a.m. Monday.

The city nearly beat a record for low temperatures, but fell 1 degree shy of the 1983 record when a temperature of minus 13 was recorded at O'Hare International Airport overnight Monday, according to the Tribune.

That means that it was colder overnight in Chicago than in the South Pole, Antarctica, which was at minus 12 degrees at the local time of 3:57 a.m.

There are a few spots on Earth more chilly than Chicago. The North Pole is at minus 18 degrees, and Siberia, home of the coldest town in the world, is currently at minus 31 degrees.

A wind chill advisory will remain in effect until 10 a.m. Monday.

Bizarro Earth

'Big boom' heard from 3.0 earthquake in southwest Nova Scotia

Digby, Nova Scotia
© Natural Resources CanadaA 3.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded about 42 kilometres soutwest of Digby on Tuesday at 10:40 a.m.
If you were in southwest Nova Scotia on Tuesday you may have felt the earth move.

At 10:40 a.m., a 3.0-magnitude earthquake was recorded about 42 kilometres southwest of Digby, according to Natural Resources Canada. The centre of the quake was about 18 kilometres below the earth's surface.

Brenda Small of Weymouth North felt it.

"I heard a very loud bang, just a big boom and then it was over," she said of the "shiver" she felt in her house.

"It wasn't anything to be a afraid of or think, 'Oh my, it's the end of the world,' nothing like that. It was just a big boom and then it was over."

Donna Gaudet was at her cousin's basement in Little Brook, N.S., a few kilometres from the epicentre, enjoying a coffee.

"We went flying up the stairs. If it wasn't an earthquake, we thought maybe a plane crashed. It was loud, it was louder than thunder," she said. "It wasn't really that exciting once the initial impact happened."

Seismograph

At least two killed by 5.8 magnitude earthquake off coast of Ecuador

Two people were killed during the earthquake
© EPATwo people were killed during the earthquake
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken Ecuador's Pacific coast early, killing at least two people, injuring 15 others and halting production at the Esmeraldas oil refinery, officials said.

The country's geological institute recorded the quake off the coast of Atacames in Esmeraldas province, northwest of Quito, the capital. The quake was followed by 15 lesser-magnitude aftershocks.

President Rafael Correa was meeting with local officials in the area, which earlier this year was devastated by a 7.8-magnitude quake that killed about 670 people, displaced thousands and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Attention

Paddler survives shark attack in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

Shark attacks
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in Plettenberg Bay is urging the public, paddlers and bathers, to be cautious by swimming close to lifeguards in the area, who are on alert following what it has described as an "out of the ordinary shark incident".

News24 reports a paddler was knocked off his surf ski after a shark apparently breached and took a bite out of the lightweight vessel near the breaker line at Keurbooms Lagoon in Plettenberg Bay.

Local NSRI station commander Marc Rodgers says Ben Swart, 55, had been in the water with two friends when he felt a "hard bump" shortly after 07:00 - read the full report here.

Rodgers told Traveller24 they have spoken to a resident shark expert who is currently investigating the bite marks to determine the size and type of shark.

The shark took a fair bite out of Swart’s surf-ski.
The shark took a fair bite out of Swart’s surf-ski.

Attention

Rhino kills woman in Nepal

Charging rhino
© Dhritiman MukherjeeIndian rhino
A woman died in a rhino attack incident near the Chitwan National Park on Monday.

The victim has been identified as Motimaya Tamang (69) of Chitwan district.

The sexagenarian was attacked by the wild animal on the bank of Rapti River in Sauraha, Ratnanagar Municipality-19.

The District Police Office said she had been to the river area to quench the thirst of her cattle.

The woman had died on the spot.

Further investigation is underway.

Source: Rastriya Samachar Samiti

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills couple in Malawi

lightning
A couple has died after being struck by lightning in Mangochi district.

Mangochi Police Deputy Public Relations Officer Amina Daudi has identified the two as Yusuf Mbalako, 66, and his wife Annie Akibu, 56, both from Chilinda village, Traditional Authority Makanjira in Mangochi.

Daudi told Malawi24 that the two went to their garden which is few meters away from their house and whilst there rainfall started.

They decided to return home but suddenly a lightning struck them on the way and were pronounced dead at Makanjira Health Centre.

Attention

Whale dies on beach in Cape St Francis, South Africa

 Swimmers try to push the whale out to sea, but it was already dead
© Catherine Richards Swimmers try to push the whale out to sea, but it was already dead
A brave attempt by about 20 beachgoers to save a whale in distress at Seals Beach in Cape St Francis ended disappointingly when it was discovered that the whale was already dead.

The whale had been stranded in shallow water about 100m from the shore.

Residents and holidaymakers had flocked to the beach in droves as word spread about the distressed whale.

Bayworld marine mammal curator Dr Greg Hofmeyr said the whale was probably of the Bryde's species.

As a man, identified only as Ryan, and a friend waded into the surf to try to save the whale by pushing it into deeper water, they were quickly joined by other men, women and children.

But NSRI members who arrived shortly afterwards urged them to get out of the water because it was dangerous. Onlookers on the shore then started chanting "shark, shark, shark", which had the desired effect, with those in the water all out within minutes.

Igloo

Resembling a scene from 'The Day After Tomorrow': Chilly winter turns Michigan lighthouse into frozen castle

Icy lighthouse in Michigan
© Via YouTube/Great Lakes Drone Company
It's been really, really cold in some parts of the country this week (don't say we didn't warn you) but one side effect has been some incredible images like this lighthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan, along the southwest shores of Lake Michigan.


Another terrific video, captured by photographer Joshua Nowicki gives you an even closer look at the frozen castle that looks straight out of a fairy tale.


Comment: From January 2014:


Cloud Grey

Strange bird-like cloud forms over Poland

A strange cloud suddenly appeared in the sky over Poland on December 18, 2016.
Bird-like cloud over Poland
© vK.com
Bird-like cloud over Poland
© vk.com