Earth ChangesS


Fish

Thousands of fish wash up on shore in County Donegal, Ireland


BBC
Sat, 31 Aug 2019 14:34 UTC
dead fish
© Amanda Meehan
Thousands of small fish have been found washed up on a beach in County Donegal.

The fish were discovered at Downings beach on Saturday morning and the cause, so far, is a mystery.

A holidaymaker told BBC News NI she was shocked to find the fish during a morning walk.

"The lifeguard said he thought the high tide had washed them onto the beach, but no one has ever seen anything like it before," Amanda Meehan said.

Various possible causes have been suggested to BBC News NI including the tide and rough weather.


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Cloud Precipitation

Floods leave at least 78 dead and 40,000 homes damaged in Sudan (UPDATE)


Floodlist
Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:12 UTC
Khartoum, August 9, 2019
© RDKhartoum, August 9, 2019
Sudan news agency SUNA reported on 15 August 2019 that floods across the country have now left at least 46 people dead and damaged almost 10,000 homes.

Flooding first hit parts of the country in early August and has since affected 25 localities in 16 of the country's 18 states, according to government statements.

Across the country as a whole, 9,260 homes have been damaged, of which 595 are completely destroyed and 3,317 severely damaged. Over 120 public buildings have also been damaged, including mosques, schools and health centres.


Comment: Radio Dabanga reports on September 1:
Sudan's Deputy Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Ahmed Fadlallah reported new figures on the size of damage and losses due to rain and floods in the country on Friday. The death toll has risen to 78.

In total 89 people were injured. The number of families affected is 65,322; 40,800 homes collapsed totally; 24,444 homes collapsed partially; 184 schools were affected; and 4,707 animals drowned.

67 localities

In total 67 localities are affected in 14 states. Most damage was reported in White Nile state, Kassala, El Gedaref, Khartoum, El Gezira, Sennar, and Red Sea state.

On Friday morning, the first of eight aircraft from Kuwait arrived in Khartoum, carrying 40 tons of relief goods for those affected by floods and rains in Sudan.

Fadlallah said the flight delivered 5,000 blankets, 200,000 boxes with a variety of food, and personal hygiene kits.

'Disaster zone'

As reported by Radio Dabanga last week, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) have demanded that the government declare Sudan a natural disaster zone following widespread destruction from heavy rains and flash floods over the past months.

They appealed to international, regional, and local voluntary organisations to assist those affected in the affected areas.



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Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed turtle spotted on South Carolina beach

Chris Ciaccia
Fox News
Thu, 29 Aug 2019 10:37 UTC
The two-headed turtle stunned researchers.
© Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head IslandThe two-headed turtle stunned researchers.
Twice the body parts, twice the cuteness.

A two-headed spotted turtle hatchling was found on Hilton Head Island, S.C. on Wednesday, Fox 46 Charlotte reports.

Non-profit Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island posted the adorable picture to Facebook Wednesday, adding in the caption that although the mutation is more common in reptiles, it's still very rare.

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed timber rattlesnake found in New Jersey

Frank Kummer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Fri, 30 Aug 2019 10:22 UTC
two-headed timber rattlesnake
© DAVID SCHNEIDER / HERPETOLOGICAL ASSOCIATES INC.Two-headed timber rattlesnake
David Schneider and Dave Burkett were out in the field this week scouring New Jersey's pine barrens for timber rattlesnakes, one of the state's most endangered species. But what the two herpetologists found was much more rare: a two-headed timber rattlesnake.

"I've been doing this professionally for 19 years," said Schneider, who lives in Pennsauken, "and I've never seen this before. It's really rare. Every once in a while, you'll hear a story about a two-headed snake, or see something online. But it's not common at all."

The two men work for Herpetological Associates Inc., a Pemberton-based consulting firm that provides experts for habitat evaluations or wildlife surveys.

Burkett first spotted the snake and called out to Schneider. Their discovery was reported in the SandPaper, a newsmagazine of Long Beach Island.
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Seismograph

No tsunami threat after 6.7 earthquake near Fiji


Big Island Video News
Sun, 01 Sep 2019 09:57 UTC
graphic adapted from USGS interactive map
© USGSGraphic adapted from USGS interactive map
A Magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck in the vicinity of Fiji this morning, but a tsunami was not generated, emergency officials say.

The quake occurred 213 miles southeast of Levuka, Fiji at 5:54 a.m. HST, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense issued a message at 6:30 a.m., saying that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed there is no tsunami threat to the Island and State of Hawaiʻi.

A Civil Defense radio message was also distributed.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods kill 5 as tropical storm Podul barrages through Thailand

Tappanai Boonbandit
Khaosod English
Sun, 01 Sep 2019 09:19 UTC
A bird's eye view of flooding Sept. 1 in Khon Kaen.
A bird's eye view of flooding Sept. 1 in Khon Kaen.
Flash floods in the North and Isaan have killed a total of five people as the tropical storm Podul barrages through Thailand.

Samorn Suekwan, 67, was swept away by a flash flood in Ubon Ratchathani's Kut Khaopun district on Saturday. His body was found at a nearby stream where he had gone to catch insects.

Jamnong Buasaeng, 50, was killed by collapsing brick wall while he was sleeping in his house in Mueang Chaiyaphum district on Saturday.

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Cloud Precipitation

At least 6 people killed by flash flood at Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya


Al Jazeera
Mon, 02 Sep 2019 09:04 UTC
Hell's Gate is named after a narrow break in its cliffs
© GettyHell's Gate is named after a narrow break in its cliffs
At least six people have been killed and one person is missing in Kenya after flash floods at a national park swept away their tour group, according to authorities.

The incident on Sunday occurred at Hell's Gate National Park in the Rift Valley region, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on its Twitter account.

"Six bodies of the flash flood victims have been recovered, leaving one tourist missing. The search and rescue operation continues as we reach out to next of kin to share details of sad incident and plan together next course of action," KWS tweeted on Monday.

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Windsock

Category 5 Hurricane Dorian makes destructive landfall in the Bahamas


RT
Sun, 01 Sep 2019 19:21 UTC
Hurricane Dorian tracks towards the Florida coast
© Handout/Getty ImagesIn a Noaa satellite handout image, Hurricane Dorian tracks towards the Florida coast.

Video footage has captured the intense force of Hurricane Dorian, as the storm made landfall in the Bahamas, bringing 300 kph winds that have levelled buildings, uprooted trees, and smashed vehicles.

Hurricane Dorian -a Category 5 storm- touched down on the Abacos Islands on Sunday afternoon. With sustained winds of 180 mph (289 kph) and gusts of 220 mph (354 kph), the storm is the most powerful Atlantic hurricane to make landfall since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

While local officials pleaded for those in Dorian's path to make for higher ground, those that remained caught the storm's awesome power on video. Torrents of flood water followed the winds, churning through streets and threatening to sweep away entire buildings.


Comment: Stunning satellite imagery shows Hurricane Dorian sparkling as it approaches US - UPDATE: Upgraded to Category 5

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Seismograph

Alaska hit with shallow magnitude 5.0 earthquake, felt in capital city


MSN
Sun, 01 Sep 2019 04:28 UTC
Alaska earthquake
© Loren Holmes/Alaska Dispatch News/AP
The Alaska Earthquake Center reports that a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit southern Alaska. It was felt by people in the state's capital Juneau.

The center says the earthquake hit at 8:32 p.m. Saturday and had an epicenter 43 miles (70 kilometers) west of Klukwan, a village of about 95 people. The earthquake had a depth of less than a mile (about 1 kilometer.)

Several Juneau residents reported on social media that they felt the quake. One person tweeted: "Juneau just had an earthquake... I actually felt it. My bed was literally moving."

There were no reports of significant damage.

The last big earthquake to hit Alaska took place on Nov. 30, when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near Anchorage.

Comment: See also: The really big one: The next full Cascadia rupture will spell the worst natural disaster in North American history

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Doberman

Dog bites baby to death in Volgograd, Russia


Crime Russia
Sat, 31 Aug 2019 13:43 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
The child died on the way to the hospital.

Volgograd investigators establish the circumstances of the death of a one-year-old child.

The kid died as a result of a dog's attack, the representative of the regional ICR Directorate Nataliya Rudnik said, Interfax reports. According to her, the boy lived in one of the settlements of the Nekhaevsky district of the Volgograd region with his parents.

"Today around noon, he independently went out into the courtyard of the household and headed to the neighboring plot, where the dog was on a leash," she explained. According to her, the dog attacked the child. The cries of the baby were heard by the mother, who was engaged in household chores.
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