Earth ChangesS


Attention

48 Kemps Ridley turtles have washed ashore dead on Gulf Coast so far in 2016


wdsu.com
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 10:49 UTC
Turtle
Dead turtles have recently washed ashore along the Gulf Coast, and members of the Institute for Marine Mammal

Studies are working find out why.

Officials are trying to determine if the turtle deaths are linked to the BP oil spill in the Gulf that happened in 2010, WLOX-TV reports.

Wendy Hatchett, IMMS veterinarian technician, said the spike in deaths has officials concerned. She said whether its red tide or deaths left over from the oil spill, they really don't have a clue until tissue can be analyzed.

So far this year, 48 dead Kemps Ridley turtles have washed ashore across the Gulf Coast; including one turtle recovered Sunday and three on Saturday.

Source: The Associated Press
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Cloud Precipitation

'Walnut-sized' hailstones pound town in India


Nagaland Post
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 10:13 UTC
Roof damaged by hailstones that fell in and around Suruhuto-Asuto town under Zunheboto district on April 18.
Roof damaged by hailstones that fell in and around Suruhuto-Asuto town under Zunheboto district on April 18.

Heavy storm accompanied by hail and rain lashed Zunheboto district Monday night, causing extensive damages to hundreds of houses and crops.

Of all places, the worst affected was in Suruhuto sub-division, especially in Aichi Saghemi village alone, where 171 houses suffered damages and 51 of them extensively by a torrent of hailstorm.

Vikuto Nurumi, GB Aichi Saghemi, said that the villagers of the affected household had to struggle throughout the night to seek safe shelter as hailstones of "huge sizes" battered the roof-tops. In the morning, the magnitude of destruction was evident when standing crops were totally razed.

"The storm has not only devastated our homes but has destroyed our maize, potatoes and varieties of vegetables in our fields which is the source of livelihood for our village," Nurumi lamented. He said resented that no official from the civil administration visited the village to take stock of the situation.

Roof damaged by hailstones that fell in and around Suruhuto-Asuto town under Zunheboto district on April 18.
Roof damaged by hailstones that fell in and around Suruhuto-Asuto town under Zunheboto district on April 18.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 6 in 3 districts of Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 10:02 UTC
lightning
Six people, including two schoolgirls, were killed by lightning in Habiganj, Sylhet and Panchagarh districts yesterday and on Monday evening.

A thunderbolt struck two siblings when they were harvesting paddy at a field at Kaliabhanga village in Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj district on Monday evening.

They later died at a hospital, reports our Moulvibazar correspondent.

The deceased are Abdul Alim, 40, and his brother Wali Miah, 34, sons of Buddu Miah of the village.

Meanwhile, a youth was killed by lightning during a storm at Kamalkhani village in Baniachong upazila the same day.
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Attention

Fresh earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hits Ecuador coast


RTE News
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:50 UTC
More than 100 people are still missing from the weekend earthquake
More than 100 people are still missing from the weekend earthquake
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador this morning, just days after a major quake hit the country, killing nearly 500 people.

This morning's quake was centred 70km west-southwest of Esmeraldas at a shallow depth of 10km, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, not far from the epicentre of Saturday's 7.8 magnitude quake.

Reuters witnesses in the zone said two strong tremors of about 30 seconds each were felt, waking people up and sending them racing them into the streets.

It was not felt in the highland capital of Quito.

There was no immediate word from authorities on the impact of this morning's quake.
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Heart

Four killer whales saved in rescue operation in Russia's Far East


RT
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 03:58 UTC
Russians rescue whales
A challenging rescue operation in Russia's Far East was declared a success after four orcas, including a pup, were freed from an ice trap in the Sea of Okhotsk off Sakhalin Island.

The killer whales' plight triggered a unique eight-hour rescue mission, which was carried out by the Russian Emergencies Ministry with the help of a local fishing company. As the bay where the orcas got stuck was shallow and filled with ice and rocks, a traditional fishing boat was enlisted for the job, in place of a rescue vessel.

Rescuers used hooks to move pieces of ice out of the way of the animals, but they turned out to be no match for the largest chunks. Undeterred by the obstacle, however, they used some ingenuity and attached a thick rope to a vehicle on the shore that towed the bigger slabs of ice out of the path of the whales.

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Bizarro Earth

Geologists concerned over unusual string of large earthquakes spanning a vast area in southern Japan


Asian Review
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
landslide minamiaso earthquake
© APRescuers and a search dog check the damage around a landslide area caused by earthquakes in Minamiaso, Kumamoto prefecture on April 17
Seismic activity in southern Japan is mystifying geologists and keeping the nation on edge.

The island of Kyushu has been struck by a series of significant earthquakes, with the epicenters moving progressively further inland. The cluster started with the deadly quakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture last Thursday and Saturday. Temblors subsequently rocked the Mount Aso region and neighboring Oita Prefecture.

There is a known concentration of faults in the area. Still, experts say it is highly unusual to have a string of quakes measuring around magnitude 6 and stretching over such a vast area. The epicenter of the Oita jolt was about 100km away from the first Kumamoto quake.

"I don't quite understand what is happening with the recent earthquakes, because it's an unfamiliar phenomenon," said Yoshihisa Iio, a professor at Kyoto University's Research Center for Earthquake Prediction.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it is unprecedented to have a group of large quakes in these three parts of Kyushu. Experts are divided over how far the shaking will spread and whether it could prompt more quakes centered elsewhere.

Comment:

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Bizarro Earth

Subduction process similar to one causing Ecuadorean quake could cause megathrust in India at any time


The Indian Express
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 00:00 UTC
earthquake in Imphal, Manipur
© xpress /Deepak Shijagurumayum.An under construction building that got damaged in the earthquake in Imphal, Manipur in January 2016
A subduction process similar to the one that caused the Ecuadorean quake is happening under the Himalayan region as well, where the Indian plate is getting inside the Chinese landmass.

This northward push has been creating a huge amount of tectonic strain in the region, making it particularly prone to earthquakes.

Scientists believe there is so much energy stored in the area that an earthquake of magnitude greater than 8, possibly even 9, would be needed to release it. This earthquake can come at any time.

The Nepal earthquake was a result of this same process, but it was relatively weak in magnitude.

Comment: Multiple recent powerful earthquakes reflect a planet in deep transition

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Map

Japan: Seismic activity from magnitude-7.3 earthquake stretched 100 kilometers

Shotaro Demizu and Takako Sasamoto
The Japan News
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 20:36 UTC
Rescue workers
© Yomiuri ShimbunSelf-Defense Forces personnel and other rescue workers search for missing people in a residential area of Minami-Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
The magnitude-7.3 earthquake that pounded Kumamoto Prefecture early Saturday was more powerful than a foreshock that struck two days earlier.

The seismic activity then moved northeast to reach areas in Oita Prefecture about 100 kilometers away from the focus of the magnitude-7.3 quake. Experts are concerned that quake activities could spread to a major active fault that lies further ahead in that direction.

On Saturday morning, Yomiuri Shimbun reporters entered the town of Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, where aftershocks continue to rattle the area. Many houses in the town's Dozono district have collapsed. A large crack ran through a field, leaving a line of what looked like overturned earth. A road crossing the field was buckled out of alignment.

According to a calculation by Masashi Omata of the Japanese Society for Active Fault Studies, the ground here moved about 20 centimeters vertically, and about two meters horizontally. This measurement was taken in a northeastern section of the Futagawa fault zone, which extends for at least about 64 kilometers. "Part of the Futagawa fault zone shifted and caused the magnitude-7.3 temblor," Omata said.

Comment: Seismic activity increasing: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under 'current conditions'

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Cloud Precipitation

At least 1,000 displaced following floods in Uganda

Benard Juma
Floodlist
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 18:52 UTC
Following torrential rains, fresh floods have started hitting Kasese destroying roads
Following torrential rains, fresh floods have started hitting Kasese destroying roads
Many people in parts of Western and Southern Uganda faced severe flood conditions as a result of a result of heavy rainfall that began on 13 April 2016. Further heavy rainfall on 17 April has hit flood-affected areas in the west, in particular Kasese, once again.

Kampala

In Kampala and its suburbs, houses were inundated by flood waters forcing people to evacuate to higher grounds for safety. Some of the buildings were reported to have collapsed. Flooding rendered roads impassable. According to the Uganda Radio Network (URN), floods on Wednesday, 13 April, affected several suburbs including Kyebando, Bwaise, Kamwokya, Mulago and Kalerwe. There were also some reports of flooded farmland and damaged crops.

Over the years Kampala and areas around Lake Victoria have experienced severe floods. In September 2013 for example, the streets of numerous suburbs were badly affected.

The locals of these suburbs believe these floods, which occur on a regular basis, are very much man made and mostly caused by building and development on flood plains and swamp areas. Flooding like this occurs on a regular basis in Kampala - mostly in the suburbs - during the rainy season. Two people died in floods in September 2011. Further floods occurred in November that year, as discussed in this report from Uganda's New Vision.


Kyebando road flooded leaving business at a standstill
© ALEX OTTO Kyebando road flooded leaving business at a standstill
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Ambulance

Power cut, copper mine shut, 4 million with no fresh water as massive flood hits Santiago, Chile


RT
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:40 UTC
Flooded Santiago street
© Ivan Alvarado/ReutersA man walks along a flooded street in Santiago, April 17, 2016.
Chile's capital, Santiago, has been inundated by rains that caused the Mapocho River to breach its banks and flow into one of the city's upbeat neighborhoods. The calamity has killed at least two people and left four million more short of water.

The intense rains that have been pouring down since Friday caused the Mapocho River to overflow for the first time in 30 years, mostly into the wealthy neighborhood of Providencia, with water streaming into cafes, shops, and underground car parking.

The local government blames the incident on the poorly designed roads that led a canal built to hold 80 cubic meters of water to exceed its capacity. Sacyr SA and Costanera Norte SA, the companies in charge of the road construction, which was part of a $197 million project designed to enhance the city's highway system, have been put under investigation.

Man next to river in Santiago
© Ivan Alvarado/ReutersA man is seen next to a river during floods in Santiago, April 17, 2016.
The flooding triggered landslides into the Maipo and Mapocho Rivers, killing at least two people and cutting more than four million residents off from the fresh water.


Comment: There is an extraordinary amount of flooding going on right now affecting millions of people all over. See our topic on Floods.

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