Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

7.3 Magnitude earthquake off Fukushima triggers tsunami warning


RT
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 21:19 UTC
Japan Earthquake
© USGS
A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck Fukushima Prefecture in Japan, USGS reported. A three meter tsunami wave alert was issued for Fukushima, Nippon reported.

The quake struck 67km northeast of Iwaki, a city located in the southern part of the Hamadori coastal region of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.


Comment: Update: Fukushima reactor cooling system stops following quake & tsunami
The cooling system of the third reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has stopped circulating water following a powerful 7.3 offshore earthquake. TEPCO said it managed to restart the system some 90 minutes after the failure.

The cooling system servicing the Unit 3 spent fuel pool was not able to circulate water to cool the nuclear fuel because of a broken pump, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.

The temperature in the pool went up to 29 degrees Celsius. It takes up to seven days for temperatures to rise to 65 degrees Celsius, which is the upper operational limit, Japan's national nuclear agency said.

At such a pace, the cooling system failure posed no "immediate danger," although the agency admitted "gradual" rise in temperatures.

The exact cause of the cooling system stoppage is currently unknown. However, the system might have been "shaken" during the earthquake, according to nuclear agency officials, as reported by NHK. The station's storage pool currently contains 2,544 spent fuel rods. No cooling water leaks or any other "abnormalities" have been reported.

The first tsunami wave which hit the nuclear power plants was about one meter high, while the second was "not very high," according to TEPCO. There has been no "major physical damage" to the nuclear power plants, NHK reported.


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Cloud Precipitation

Storm Angus: Flooding strikes south-west England

Steven Morris
The Guardian
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 19:03 UTC
The flooded Whitchurch Lane in Bristol, pictured, was hit with more heavy rain during the course of the day
The flooded Whitchurch Lane in Bristol, pictured, was hit with more heavy rain during the course of the day
A swath of south-west Britain is coping with flooding and high winds as another block of torrential rain swept into Britain on the heels of Storm Angus.

The Met Office issued an amber warning - the second highest severe weather alert - for Devon and parts of Somerset, predicting that up to 30mm of rain could fall within an hour. It also released a yellow "be aware" warning for areas of northern England.

By early afternoon on Monday, there were 15 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected and immediate action is required - in Devon, Somerset and Dorset. In addition, there were 89 flood alerts (flooding is possible, be prepared) across England and Wales.

Impacts were likely to include flooding of properties and parts of communities, the Met Office said, and significant disruption to travel, with a number of roads and rail services likely to be affected.

The Environment Agency said: "Across England and Wales localised impacts from river or surface water flooding are possible. Gales and large waves will affect the east Channel coast for a time overnight, giving the potential for soma localised spray and wave overtopping here."

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Attention

Grizzly bear mauls hunter west of Choteau, Montana

Karl Puckett
Great Falls Tribune
Sun, 20 Nov 2016 15:57 UTC
Bear attack
A grizzly bear mauled a Montana hunter Sunday morning in a surprise encounter 15 miles west of Choteau, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The man was in an elk hunting party on a creek bottom on private property near the Ear Mountain Wildlife Management Area on the Rocky Mountain Front, said Capt. Dave Holland, FWP's head game warden in Great Falls-based Region 4.

He was mauled at about 9 a.m. by a female grizzly with two cubs, he said.

"It appears the sow was protecting her cubs at this point," Holland said late Sunday afternoon.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: A 1-headed, 2-bodied seal fetus discovered in Quebec, Canada

Priscilla Hwang
cbc.ca
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 15:28 UTC
Aibillie Elijassiapik found this one-headed, two-bodied ringed seal fetus near Inukjuak, Que., on Monday.
© Aibillie ElijassiapikAibillie Elijassiapik found this one-headed, two-bodied ringed seal fetus near Inukjuak, Que., on Monday.
Aibillie Elijassiapik was out hunting seals near Inukjuak, Que., when he noticed his catch had an abnormally protruding belly.

He assumed the seal was pregnant, and pregnant it was — but what he found in its womb was what he called, in Inuktitut, a total surprise.

He began to skin the ringed seal — a normal hunting procedure. That quickly took an unexpected turn.

"I noticed in the uterus two sets of flippers, so I was expecting to pull out two seal pups," said Elijassiapik, who said it's rare for a seal to give birth to two seal pups.

"In fact, it was only one conjoined seal pup at the head."

Elijassiapik, who has been hunting since his father taught him at a young age, said he has never seen anything like it.
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Snowflake Cold

Officials declare 'yellow alert' for severe cold weather in China


Shanghai Daily
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 14:59 UTC
Snowplows clear a main road in Mudanjiang City in northeastern Heilongjiang Province yesterday. Heavy snow fall since Friday has closed several expressways in the province.
© Xinhua Snowplows clear a main road in Mudanjiang City in northeastern Heilongjiang Province yesterday. Heavy snow fall since Friday has closed several expressways in the province.
China's national observatory yesterday issued a yellow alert for a cold front that is forecast to sweep central and eastern China.

From today until Thursday, temperatures in most of the central and eastern part of the country are expected to drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius, said the National Meteorological Center.

In some parts of Henan, Anhui, Hubei and Hunan provinces, the temperature will drop by up to 16 degrees, said the NMC.

Yellow is the second-most severe level on China's four-level color weather alert scheme.

The cold front will be accompanied by gales, rain and snow.

Meanwhile, under the influence of a strong cold spell, parts of Beijing have been hit by snowfall since early yesterday.

Much of the capital city has been hit with snow after 8pm yesterday.

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Info

Global warming fraud: NOAA shows record warming where NO temperature stations exist

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:57 UTC
NOAA global warming fraud
© YouTube/Adapt 2030
NOAA shows record warm temperatures where there are no temperature monitoring stations or ocean buoys, that is straight up fraud. From Africa, Middle East and Antarctica, all made up data. All the while second most snow for Northern Hemisphere and RSS land stations show strong cooling and the sunspots are gone from our Sun three years early on the regular 11 year solar cycle.


Comment: See also:

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Cloud Precipitation

Flood warnings after UK battered by Storm Angus


Daily Mail (UK)
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 00:06 UTC
Storm Angus hits UK
Waves crash over the harbour wall in Dover, Kent, as Storm Angus hit the UK with gusts anticipated to reach up to 80mph.
Heavy rain will see parts of Britain already battered by Storm Angus at risk of further flooding in the next 24 hours.

Wet weather is expected to sweep across the south west and move north, causing damage and disruption as it falls on already saturated ground.

The Environment Agency said it is preparing to put up temporary defences "where necessary" and said rivers have been cleared to make sure water can flow freely.

Motorists are being warned not to drive through flood water and residents in at-risk areas have been advised to contact their local councils for sandbags to protect their homes.

An amber "be prepared" warning has been issued for Devon, where the worst of the rain is expected to hit in the early hours of Monday.

Exeter had already faced more than two inches (54mm) of rainfall overnight into Sunday - more than half of what is usually expected in the area for the entire month of November.

The West Midlands, Wales and north of England are all covered by a yellow "be aware" warning, with more than two inches (60mm) of rain forecast to fall in some places.

Alison Baptiste, national flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: " Large parts of southern England have already experienced the impacts of Storm Angus this weekend.

Comment: Last week tornado-like winds whipped through western Britain.

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Bizarro Earth

Strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Argentina


BNO News
Sun, 20 Nov 2016 20:57 UTC
Argentina Quake
© Google Map
A strong earthquake (sismo) with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 has struck near San Juan in western Argentina, with tremors being felt as far away as Chile's capital Santiago, seismologists and residents say.

The earthquake, which struck at 5:57 p.m. local time on Sunday, was centered about 75 kilometers west of San Juan, or 253 kilometers northeast of Santiago. It struck at a depth of about 115 kilometers, making it a deep earthquake.

Chile's seismological agency put the preliminary magnitude of the earthquake at 6.3, while the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude at 6.4. Shaking was felt across parts of Argentina and Chile, including cities such as San Juan, Mendoza, San Rafael, San Felipe, and Santiago.

There was no immediate word about damage or casualties, but authorities say there is no threat of a tsunami because the earthquake was centered on land. We're working to gather additional information.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash flood in Licata, Italy; 6 inches of rainfall in 3 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Sun, 20 Nov 2016 17:54 UTC
Floods in Licata, Sicily, November 2016.
© Angelo CambianoFloods in Licata, Sicily, November 2016.
Over 160 mm of rain fell in just 3 hours yesterday, 19 November, 2016, causing major flooding in the city of Licata, Italy. The city is in the province of Agrigento, and is located on the south coast of Sicily at the mouth of the Salso River.

The Mayor of Licata, Angelo Cambiano, requested that people stay at home until the severe weather had passed.

In a statement via Social Media he said that areas of his city were flooded after 162 mm of rain fell in 3 hours. Despite serious damage to roads and buildings, there has been no reports of injuries of fatalities.

Mayor Cambiano said "I want to thank all those who have worked so hard: civil defence, the fire department, the municipal police, the municipal employees, volunteers and citizens. Thanks to them the worst was avoided, and their commitment testifies that when everyone works together, the community benefits."



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Bell

Oil from the BP spill has officially entered the food chain

Dan Zukowski
EcoWatch
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 15:53 UTC
BP Deepwater Horizon oil
Seaside sparrows show signs of BP Deepwater Horizon oil.
Researchers in Louisiana have found carbon from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the feathers and digestive tracts of seaside sparrows, proving for the first time that oil from the disastrous 2010 spill has entered the food chain.

The study, published today in Environmental Research Letters, was conducted by scientists from Louisiana State University and Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. They found oil carbon signatures consistent with the Deepwater Horizon event in each of 10 birds tested.

These marsh-dwelling sparrows inhabit an area known to have been contaminated by the spill. Sediments from the site also tested positive for oil with the same fingerprints as that found in the tested birds.
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