Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

India's Ganges river floods 'break previous records'; water levels 'unprecedented' at four locations

Navin Singh Khadka
BBC News
Tue, 30 Aug 2016 07:30 UTC
flooded Ganges river in Allahabad city
© APAn aerial view of the flooded Ganges river in Allahabad city
The monsoon floods in India's Ganges river this year have broken previous records, officials have told the BBC.

They said water levels reached unprecedented levels at four locations in northern India.

The highest record was in Patna, the state capital of Bihar where flood waters reached 50.52m (166ft) on 26 August, up from 50.27m in 1994.

Floods across India this year have killed more than 150 people and displaced thousands.

'Unprecedented'

"We have also recorded unprecedented flood levels at Hathidah and Bhagalpur of Bihar state and Balliya of Uttar Pradesh," chief of India's Central Water Commission GS Jha said.

"In all these four places, the floods crossed the previous highest flood level and they all were unprecedented."

Bihar is one of the worst flood-hit states in India with at least 150 deaths and nearly half a million people evacuated.

Neighbouring Uttar Pradesh has also been severely affected by floods in the Ganges.

Comment: Floods in India kill 300, affect 6 million

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Arrow Up

Mexico's Colima volcano erupts, filling sky with dark ash


Reuters
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 00:43 UTC
Colima volcano eruption
© YouTube/webcamsdemexico (screen capture)
Mexico's Colima or "Fire" Volcano spewed a large column of gas and ash some 2,400 metres (7,874 feet) high into a blue sky. According to officials, the latest eruption took place on Monday at 10:19am, or 04:19pm GMT. The Fire Volcano, officially known as the Colima Volcano, is part of the Pacific's Ring of Fire.

Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanoes, but only 14 are considered active. Major eruptions in Mexican history have included the 1953 eruption of the Paricutin Volcano in Michoacan, the 1982 eruption of Tacana Volcano in Chiapas and the 1986 eruption of the Colima Volcano.

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Cloud Grey

Stunning 'fire rainbow' seen over Lavonia, Georgia

Kendra Kent
Fox Carolina
Fri, 26 Aug 2016 21:07 UTC
Circumhorizontal arc in Georgia
© Stacey Wood
Take a look at the attached image! It's what appears to be a rare "fire rainbow" in Lavonia, Georgia, captured by Stacey Wood. This occurs when the ice crystals in the high level clouds refracts the sunlight in just the right way.

It is not caused by fire, so the name "fire rainbow" can be misleading. When it is fully formed, it will make a complete arc across the clouds.

We don't see these very often, so I am thrilled that Stacey got this snapshot!
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Attention

Sudden 'sonic' boom shakes homes, rattles nerves in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

Nathan Bechtold
Lake Expo
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 17:44 UTC
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
© Lake Area Chamber of CommerceLake of the Ozarks, Missouri
A sudden boom shook homes and rattled nerves for Lake-area residents on Wednesday afternoon, but so far, no one is claiming responsibility.

The incident occurred between 4 and 5 p.m. on Aug. 24, and Camden County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Scott Hines acknowledged the department's dispatch office received a flurry of phone calls immediately afterward. But Hines said he has no idea what caused the boom.

Many speculated the noise and vibration came from a sonic boom—created by an aircraft breaking the sound barrier. Fort Leonard Wood is only about 40 miles from the Lake of the Ozarks, as the fighter-jet flies, but the base's communications office pointed out that while the National Guard does fly out of there, they only fly A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthogs", which have a max speed of about 439 miles per hour, far short of the 768 mph needed to break the sound barrier.

No aircraft flying out of Fort Leonard Wood could have caused a sonic boom, the FLW communications office said. The B-2 Stealth Bomber flies out of nearby Whiteman Air Force Base—in fact, the base hosts 20 bombers. But the B-2 only hits Mach 0.95 (630 mph) at top speed.

However, the T-38 Talon training jet flies out of Whiteman, and it can reach Mach 1.3 (858 mph). Could the boom have come from a T-38 training session? A public affairs officer at Whiteman stated, "The aircraft stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base all fly at sub-sonic speeds, so the noise would not have resulted from one of our aircraft."

Could Boeing be the culprit? The company's St. Louis facility focuses on defense, space and security. As of Thursday at close of business, multiple calls to Boeing had not produced any clear information about the matter.
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Arrow Down

Two giant sinkholes open on Miami, Florida turnpike

Mimi Whitefield
Miami Herald
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 15:46 UTC
Miami sinkholes
© Miami Herald
Two giant holes opened up Saturday afternoon in the southbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near Hard Rock Stadium, snarling traffic and closing lanes and two exits.

Crew continued to repair the sinkhole-like openings early Sunday morning and lanes reopened after 10 a.m.

"No one was hurt. That is our mission, said Joe Sanchez, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

"Can you imaging a car, doing 75 miles per hour, running into this?

The openings aren't natural-occurring sinkholes because they were caused by a broken water line under a southbound section of the turnpike just north of Northwest 199th Street in Miami-Dade County.

Southbound traffic iwas diverted to the Homestead Extension (821) of the Turnpike. The 2X (NW 199th St.) and 4X (County Line Road) exits were shut down.

FHP said it was notified of the holes at 1 p.m. Saturday. There were no immediate reports of damage to vehicles or injuries related to the holes in the highway.

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Wolf

Toddler dies after family pit bull terrier attack in South Africa

Monique Mortlock
Eyewitness News
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 20:37 UTC
Dog attack
A one-year-old girl has died after a pit bull attacked her in Hermanus.

Police say the family dog, a power breed, attacked the child and her grandmother for no apparent reason yesterday.

The girl suffered severe bite marks on her head and body.

Her grandmother is recovering in hospital.

The police's Frederick Van Wyk says, "The pit bull, a family dog, was taken to Hermanus' animal welfare and put down. The grandmother was transferred to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. We've opened an inquest docket for further investigation."
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Fire

Calaveras County, CA: DUI driver charged with starting wildfire

Dana Griffin
KCRA 3
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 15:45 UTC
burnt car
A woman who was arrested for driving under the influence also faces additional charges in connection with sparking a wildfire in Calaveras County that prompted evacuations Sunday.

The fire was reported just after 1 p.m. east of San Andreas after California Highway Patrol officers were investigating a report of a woman driving up Mountain Ranch Road as her car was emitting sparks, officials said.

Officers arrested Renee Hogan for driving under the influence, CHP said.

Investigators said they determined Hogan was driving her 2002 Kia Rio on a right rear rim that was creating sparks. Her vehicle later burned as the flames spread.
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Ambulance

Aftershock shakes central Italy


RT
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 14:58 UTC
Itay
© Google Maps
A new 4.4-magnitude aftershock with a depth of about 9 km has rattled the region not far from the town of Arquata del Tronto in central Italy, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported. The area suffered a deadly earthquake four days ago. The aftershock's center is located nearly 7 km from Arquata del Tronto. The tremor was felt in Rome, situated more than 150 kilometers south of the town, according to local broadcaster RaiNews24.

A powerful earthquake hit central Italy on Wednesday night, leaving at least 290 people dead with the death toll still rising. A number of small towns and villages were reduced to rubble. Rescue teams dug deep underneath the rubble in the search for possible survivors. Strong tremors were felt in the Italian capital on Wednesday night as well.

As many as 2,500 people have lost their homes to the earthquake, according to the data released by the Italian civil defense authorities. More than 1,800 aftershocks have rocked the region since Wednesday's quake with Saturday night being the first one without any major tremors. Rescue operations are still in progress.

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Attention

Iceland raises warning after largest volcano starts to rumble

Omar Valdimarsson
Bloomberg
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 05:58 UTC
Iceland volacano
Iceland raised the alarm after its largest volcano was hit by the biggest tremors since 1977.

Two quakes larger than 4 in magnitude early Monday rocked the crater of Katla, the country's Met Office said in a statement. That was followed by at least 10 more tremors at the volcano, which rises 1,450 meters (4,757 feet) into the air on the North Atlantic island's southern coast.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages to property.

Comment: See also: Weather bomb: The rare, deep-Earth tremor that shook the planet

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Cloud Lightning

323 reindeer killed by lightning in Norway


RT
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 12:14 UTC
reindeer killed by lightning norway
The reindeer were found dead in an area of 50m radius
If the chances of getting struck by lightning are slim, the chances of 323 reindeer getting struck by lightning must be miniscule, but that's exactly what seems to have happened on a mountain plateau in Norway.

When Knut Nylend, an official from the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate (Statens naturoppsyn - NNI) went out on a routine inspection near Hardangervidda National Park on Friday, he wasn't expecting to see hundreds of dead reindeer lying across a field.

"They were lying there dead in a fairly concentrated area. Reindeer are pack animals and are often close together. During a heavy thunderstorm, they may have gathered even closer together out of fear," NNI spokesman Knut Nylend told Norwegian news outlet NTB, as cited by The Local.

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