Earth ChangesS


Attention

Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica erupts with ash, gas and incandescent material

Image of the Turrialba Volcano
Image of the Turrialba Volcano
The Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica had for the past weeks presented a diminished seismic activity and also a decreased degassification; however, the volcano raised its voice again this March 7th when it entered an strombolian eruption phase (relatively mild blasts).

The phase which began at 00:00 hours included the emission of gases, ashes and incandescent fragments of fresh lava which lasted through the first hours of the morning of this Wednesday.

According to Dr. Mauricio Mora from the National Seismology Network, a volcanic tremor (signal generated by the flow of fluids, water, gas of magma through the interior conducts of the volcano) was registered along with the activity.


Bizarro Earth

Canadian moose moving from boreal forest to prairies

moose in calgary
© Lis RobertsonThese moose were seen wandering around the Strathcona Park and Aspen Woods neighbourhoods in southwest Calgary last month.
Better food sources and lack of predators mean moose are becoming more prominent in Alberta

More and more in recent years, moose have been making their way onto the prairies in what biologist and author Chris Fisher calls an "opportunistic adaptation."

Normally found in the boreal forest and Rocky Mountains - where they usually spent the winter months feeding on trees and bushes - moose have moved in recent years as they seek out new and easier to acquire food sources.

Cloud Precipitation

Evacuation, roads closed as flash floods hit Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

flood
Heavy rain has closed a number of roads around Hawke's Bay, including theNapier-Taupo road, as a severe weather hits the region.

The Eastern District Police this morning said State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupo would be closed for the foreseeable future due to surface flooding.

NZTA have announced Makahu Road is closed, and slips have closed Glengarry Road and Waipunga Road.

Motorists are advised to use alternative routes.


Cloud Precipitation

Strengthened Tropical Cyclone Hola pummels Vanuatu

ropical Cyclone Hola sits to the west of Vanuatu at 7am Thursday in the satellite image from Vanuatu's Meteorology & Geo-Hazards Department
ropical Cyclone Hola sits to the west of Vanuatu at 7am Thursday in the satellite image from Vanuatu's Meteorology & Geo-Hazards Department
A third cyclone heading for New Zealand this year has intensified to Category 4, with damaging winds striking Vanuatu.

Tropical Cyclone Hola crossed islands in the South Pacific country overnight - and will make a path to New Zealand, MetService said.

The Fiji Meteorological Service said Hola had intensified to Category 4 strength between 6am and 7am (NZT). It had sustained winds of 165kmh and gusts of 230kmh.

Hola was expected to continue to intensify during the next 24 hours, and had the potential to become a Category 5 storm in that time.

Seismograph

Huge earthquake strikes Ring of Fire: Papua New Guinea hit by shallow 7.5 magnitude quake - at least 100 dead (UPDATE)

map map
Papua New Guinea has been rocked by a huge 7.5magnitude earthquake just moments after a smaller seismic event struck Japan, increasing fears of a natural disaster impacting the dangerous region dubbed the 'Ring of Fire'.

The 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the heart of the island near the near the Southern Highlands area, with tremors felt across the nearby region.

The phenomenon hit at a depth of two kilometers at roughly 4am local time (6pm GMT).

It is currently unclea rif any damage or injuries were cause by the substantial siesmic event.

Comment: On the 26th the local newspaper the Post-Courier reported:
A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake severely hit Hela and Southern Highlands last night.

Although communication networks into the two provinces have been cut off, reports through satellite communication by Hela Provincial Administrator William Bando reveal that about 10 people have been killed while thousands of properties have been destroyed.

Mr Bando said it is a very severe disaster as many lives have reportedly been lost.

It is believed that the earthquake started around Kiunga and affected lives and properties in Hela and Southern Highlands while other provinces also felt the effect of the quake.

Mr Bando said the Komo Airport is believed to be damaged as half of the airfield has been destroyed.

The PA is now meeting with the department of inter-government relations in relation to the disaster.

According to new information received at (11:30am) the quakes have resulted in homes and properties being buried as the ground opened up and sank. Reports are yet to be confirmed but the situation looks severe.
Update - 27th of February, 2018:

More than 30 people are now feared dead in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that shook Papua New Guinea on Monday, local media outlets have reported. Hela Provincial Administrator William Bando noted that the earthquake led to the appearance of landslides and sinkholes. Over 300 people have been reportedly injured. Numerous properties have suffered damage and the electricity has been cut off in some of the affected areas.



Update - 5th of March, 2018:

The latest via the Loop news website:
As of midday today, 55 people have been confirmed dead in parts of Hela and Southern Highlands provinces.

This is according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference based on reports received from the Mendi Diocese in SHP.

General Secretary for Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, Father Victor Roche, said coordination amongst authorities, churches and parties on ground is key during this trying time.

Initial reports provided by the Mendi Diocese following the earthquake confirm 20 deaths in Hela Province and 35 in parts of Mendi.

These figures account for just fractions of both provinces while attempts to update these statistics are ongoing.

Father Victor said coordination from the government right down to people on site at the impacted areas is crucial to enable swift coordination of relief efforts.

"Schools, houses, clinics, roads and bridges have been affected and people are finding it difficult to move around and relief efforts are also hampered by this, so it is good that we coordinate more," Fr Roche stated.
Update - 6th of March, 2018:

RNZ reports:
The death toll in Papua New Guinea following last week's magnitude 7.5 earthquake has risen to 75.

The Highlands region was badly damaged in that tremor, and continues to be rattled by aftershocks as high as magnitude 6.

Much of remote Hela and Southern Highlands provinces were cut off by massive landslides, which has hampered the delivery of much-needed aid.

PNG journalist, Scott Waide, has just visited the region closest to the epicentre, including a village where 11 people died when the mountainside came crashing through.

He said he heard of a story about a boy whose whole family was killed in the quake.

"There's a chap who is in grade 5. He goes to school in Margarima - Margarima is very far away from his village. He came back to ask his parents for school fees [but] on his way back his whole family was wiped out - his siblings, his mother, his father and an uncle have all died. So he's the only one in the family left."
Update - 9th of March, 2018:

Local newspaper the Post Courier reports:
More than 100 people have lost their lives and many others remain unaccounted for 10 days after the 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the resource rich provinces of Southern Highlands, Hela, Enga and Western Province.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said this yesterday after he visited the remote disaster devastated communities and people on Wednesday.

"Authorities have estimated that over 100 have lost lives and or are missing, families who are stranded in remote communities because our accesses to them especially the road links have been closed off by landslips," he said.

"As we are clearing up the existing landslips, new ones are coming up because the aftershocks are causing new landslips so it is a huge challenge which will require a lot of effort and time so that we are able to take the relief supplies to these communities." He said the work of rebuilding the affected communities is going to be difficult will take some time.

"Our government's efforts are being supported by many countries like China, the Chinese government is one of the large contributors to that, the Australian government, New Zealand government, organisations like Oil Search, PNG LNG, many Chinese businesses right throughout the country and off course many of our development partners like the World Bank and ADB (Asian Development Bank) who have supported the relief effort," he said. Mr O'Neill said this yesterday when receiving a cheque of K1.006 million from the China Enterprise Association, comprising China's state-owned companies currently operating in Papua New Guinea, towards the disaster relief efforts.

"China and PNG are very historic friends, there are many generations of Chinese who have lived and work and families have lived in Papua New Guinea and will continue to be part of our country's history for many years to come so all these support and contributions is very much appreciated by our families who are suffering the loss," he said.

"We are trying to help rebuild their lives and the funds that you contributed will immediately go to providing food, water, medicine and shelter to many of these communities who are left homeless and without food and water.

"K1 million is a lot of money in these difficult economic times and to raise that kind of money in a matter of days is something we truly appreciate."



Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits east of Papua New Guinea island

earth
An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck 135 km (85 miles) east of the town of Rabaul, on the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea's island of New Britain, at 3.39 a.m. on Friday, local time (1739 GMT on Thursday), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Although the quake was under the seabed at a relatively shallow depth of 10 km, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a tsunami.

A quake of magnitude 7.5 struck the rugged highlands of the Papua New Guinea mainland on Feb. 26, killing more than 100 people.

Source: Reuters

Comment: See also: Huge earthquake strikes Ring of Fire: Papua New Guinea hit by shallow 7.5 magnitude quake - at least 100 dead (UPDATE)


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 6 cattle in Beaudesert, Australia

The cows were discovered two days after a storm swept through Beaudesert.
© Derek ShirleyThe cows were discovered two days after a storm swept through Beaudesert.
A Queensland farmer says the death of six cattle found lying in a row along a fence line on his property is a warning about the dangers of lightning strikes.

Derek Shirley discovered the dead animals two days after a storm at his mother's property in Beaudesert last month.

Three calves and three cows, worth approximately $10,000, were all dead following a lightning strike.

Mr Shirley said it was the first time he'd encountered a lethal lightning strike.

"The storm was on the Monday afternoon and at about 6pm there was one hell of a bang," Mr Shirley told AAP.


Wolf

Baby girl dies following attack by family dog in Lee County, Virginia

canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
According to Sheriff Gary Parsons of the Lee County Sheriff's Office, a family dog mauled an 8-day-old baby at their home Wednesday.

He told News Channel 11 the baby girl passed away at UT Medical Center.

Sheriff Parsons said the call came in around 11:40 a.m. that a family pet had attacked a child. Within a matter of hours, the child was initially taken to Lonesome Pine Hospital, then Holston Valley Medical Center and then to UT Medical Center in Knoxville.

Parson said the baby girl had extensive injuries to the upper part of her body.


Cloud Lightning

Thundersnow roars over New York City as nor'easter slams East Coast

new york
All hail "thundersnow," one of Mother Nature's most bizarre mashups!

Thundersnow — a thunderstorm that produces snow instead of rain — was reported Wednesday in New York City from the powerful nor'easter lashing the Northeast. It also rattled portions of eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.


Attention

Wild boar enters mosque and attacks man in Malaysia

The animal was earlier spotted chasing some children outside the mosque before it ran inside and charged at the man.
The animal was earlier spotted chasing some children outside the mosque before it ran inside and charged at the man.
A wild boar interrupted prayers when it burst into the main hall of a mosque and attacked a man on Tuesday night, local media reported.

The man suffered lacerations in the attack in Sungai Buloh near Kuala Lumpur, the New Straits Times said Wednesday.

"It took us more than 30 minutes before the animal finally ran out of the mosque," a witness was quoted as saying.

The animal had also reportedly chased children outside the mosque before it was shot dead by a resident. Police were later informed of the incident.

Muslims make up 60 percent of the population of Malaysia. Pigs are viewed as unclean by Muslims and both breeding them and consuming their meat is haram or forbidden.