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Shiveluch volcano erupts in Russia's Far East, spewing ash 5km high


TASS
Mon, 21 Dec 2015 07:02 UTC
Shiveluch volcano
© ITAR-TASS/Alexander Petrov, Archive
Columns of ash were raised up to five kilometers above the sea level, scientists say

Lava descending from the Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Far East has raised columns of ash up to five kilometers above the sea level, scientists from the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) told TASS on Monday.

"The volcano continues erupting. Lava has descended today from the top of the Young Shiveluch. Columns of ash were raised up to five kilometers above the sea level," scientists said adding that there is no threat to settlements in the area.

The ash cloud is drifting to the east and south-east, with the plume covering the area of around 15 kilometers.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry's department in the Kamchatka region said that no ash falls were reported in the area.

An orange alert was issued over the eruption of the Shiveluch which can spew ash up to 10 kilometers above the sea level at any moment. Airlines that fly near the Shiveluch are recommended to change their routes. There are over 150 volcanos on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East, and up to 30 of them are active.

The Shiveluch is located some 450 kilometers (280 miles) to the north-east of the Kamchatka Peninsula's largest city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchhatsky with the population of over 181,600 people. However, nearest residential areas are located within the distance of 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Shiveluch, which had been regularly spewing out ash since 1980s.
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Chilling footage shows Shenzhen landslide demolish multi-level building in seconds; 91 now missing in disaster


RT
Mon, 21 Dec 2015 02:14 UTC
Shenzhen landslide
© CCTV News / YouTube
A horrifying video of a landslide swallowing up the city of Shenzhen in southern China shows entire buildings being gobbled up in seconds. Meanwhile, the number of people missing has jumped to 91, China Central Television (CCTV) reports.

The disaster occurred in the Hengtaiyu industrial park in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Sunday morning, destroying a total of 22 buildings and causing a gas pipeline explosion.

Shocking video footage from CCTV shows an entire multi-level building collapse in under five-seconds. At first, people are in disbelief, but are then seen running away from the landslide seeking safety.

Comment: See also: 22 missing after landslide in industrial park in Shenzhen China

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Christmas Lights

Amazing pillars of light captured in Russia


Strange Sounds
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 21:15 UTC
If you have ever been privy to the phenomenon of light pillars, then you know it is truly an amazing sight. They appear when the weather is extremely cold and form vertical columns of light beaming directly towards the sky. Here a compilation of pillars of light for December 2015.

They sometimes look like multiple fireballs heading to the sky:
Yekaterinburg light pillar
© Alex JuliaThe mysterious pillars of light phenomenon over Yekaterinburg on December 20, 2015.
They are created when light from the sun, moon, streetlamps, or any terrestrial source, reflects on the surface of a flat piece of ice crystal as shown in the diagram below:
Light pillar diagram
© Strange sounds
When the light source is close to the ground, the light pillar appears above the floating crystals.
Sterlitamak ice pillar
© Stanislav GilyazovLight pillars in the night between 18 and 19 December 2015 at Sterlitamak.
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Attention

6.0-magnitude earthquake rattles Indonesia's Borneo


Channel News Asia
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 04:05 UTC
Indonesia earthquake
© USGS
A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia early on Monday (Dec 21), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, but no immediate damage or casualties were reported.

The quake, which was relatively shallow, struck the northeastern corner of Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of Borneo island, 34 kilometres north of the coastal city of Tarakan, according to the USGS. The agency reported the quake hitting at a depth of 22 kilometres.

Indonesia's tsunami warning centre said there was no potential for the quake to trigger a tsunami. There were also no immediate reports of damage.

The archipelago nation sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity in the region.

Last month, a 6.1-magnitude undersea earthquake struck eastern Indonesia that was felt in Saumlaki and prompted some residents to run outside, though the tremor had no tsunami potential, disaster officials said.

Earlier in November, two powerful quakes struck Sumatra - an initial 6.1-magnitude undersea tremor followed hours later by a strong 6.4-magnitude quake.
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Fire

Forest fires rage over northern Spain despite winter rain

Ana Vicario and Sarah White
NewsDaily
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 20:07 UTC
burnt out truck
© Reuters/Eloy AlonsoAn emergency services helicopter flies over a burnt out area devastated by a forest fire in La Caridad, northern Spain, December 20, 2015.
Dozens of forest fires raged across northern Spain on Sunday after strong winds hindered efforts to keep them from spreading, forcing some homes to be evacuated in the worst-affected Asturias region.

More than 100 fires were still burning on Sunday morning in Asturias alone despite rain overnight in some areas, emergency services said.

Television pictures showed several rural houses destroyed by fire but officials said there had been no reports of casualties or damage to villages or towns. Some residents were told to leave their houses as a precaution.

Spain is prone to wildfires in summer, especially in the more arid southern regions and along its Mediterranean coastline. But such incidents are unusual in winter, especially in rainier northern regions including Asturias.
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Binoculars

Rare Quetzal bird from Southern Mexico & Central America facing extinction?

Colleen Anne
LatinOne
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 19:25 UTC
Quetzal
© Donna J. ProvancherQuetzal
The rare quetzal bird, long seen as the national bird of Guatemala, is now on the verge of extinction. Reports say that the beautiful bird's numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. There are a range of threats that pose a danger to the rare bird, including poaching and habitat loss.

In a report with Fox News Latino, the endemic bird of southern Mexico and Central America, is now on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching.

Sofia Solorzano Lujano, researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that the resplendent quetzal faces a range of existential threats, such as illegal trafficking and habitat loss and forest destruction.

The researcher from the institution also said that the birds have fallen prey to predators such as the green toucan, squirrels, as well as other nocturnal mammals. These predators normally attack quetzal eggs or young chicks. The researcher also added that bigger prey, like falcons and eagles, prey on the adult quetzals.

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22 missing after landslide in industrial park in Shenzhen, China


Asia Times
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 13:35 UTC
Landslide China
Rescuers search for survivors among collapsed buildings after a landslide in Shenzhen
At least 22 people went missing after a landslide hit an industrial park collapsing nearly 20 buildings, including two dormitories, on Sunday in Shenzhen city of south China's Guangdong Province, rescuers said.

Police received the report of the landslide at 11:40am, which took place in the Liuxi Industrial Park in Guangming New District in northwest part of the city.

An area of 20,000 square meters (24,000 square yards) was covered under soil, the Ministry of Public Security's fire-fighting bureau said in an online statement.

More than 700 people are searching in debris for life. Rescuers have brought four people to safety, three of them suffering minor injuries.

A total of 185 firefighters, 37 fire trucks and rescue dogs have been rushed to the scene, according to the Weibo account of People's Daily.


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Attention

5.4 earthquake hits parts of Uttarakhand, India


ndtv.com
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 13:17 UTC
Uttarakhand map
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Uttarakhand in the wee hours.
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Uttarakhand in the wee hours today.

Epicentred in the India-Nepal border region, the earthquake occurred at 3.47 am, the MeT department in Dehradun said.

As the tremors were moderate and occurred in the wee hours when people are usually asleep they were not felt by many, it said.

However, a report from Chamoli said the quake shook people out of their sleep in the district.

The tremors were also felt in Pithoragarh district which borders Nepal.

Source: Press Trust of India
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Sinkhole devours highway, disrupts traffic in Oregon


Tilamook County Pioneer
Sun, 20 Dec 2015 11:55 UTC
Sinkhole Oregon
© ODOTThe sinkhole on Highway 22.
(Update) The driver of the vehicle that encountered the sinkhole early this morning was not injured. He was driving a hay truck for Jenck Farms, of Tillamook, and managed to avoid landing in the hole, but did end up with the vehicle in a nearby ditch, according to Michelle Jenck, Jenck Farms co-owner. The truck is heavily damaged.

Oregon Highway 22, also known as the Three Rivers Highway or - by locals - "the Sour Grass," is closed until further notice owing to a sinkhole located about 2.5 miles east of the Dolph Junction and roughly 12 miles east of Hebo and the U.S. Highway 101 intersection.

Early reports indicate the hole is roughly 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep and affects both lanes. A vehicle narrowly avoided landing in it about 1 a.m. this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 8. It is unknown at this time if the driver was injured. A detour to Grand Ronde and the Willamette Valley is available via U.S. Highway 101 south to Lincoln City, and then east via Oregon Highway 18, the Salmon River Highway.

Comment: Car with mother and girl swallowed by enormous sinkhole in Tver, Russia

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Fire

Extreme fire danger for Victoria, Australia: Temperatures soar to 45 degrees with strong north winds

Darren Gray
The Age
Sat, 19 Dec 2015 07:07 UTC
Victoria bushfire
© 9NEWSThe Wandin North bushfire in Victoria, Australia
Victoria will roast under temperatures tipped to soar as high as 45 degrees in the state's north-west on Saturday, with Melbourne not expecting a reprieve from the dangerous heatwave until Sunday afternoon.

"Extreme" fire danger ratings have now been applied to four Victorian fire districts for Saturday, Central - which includes Melbourne and surrounds - North Central, Wimmera and South West. A further four districts are facing "Severe" fire danger conditions.

A total fire ban has been declared for the whole weekend and a number of parks have been closed. Ambulance Victoria meanwhile is bracing for what could almost be a "perfect storm" on Saturday night, due to the extreme heat and the potential for people to party too hard.

Higher wind speeds than were earlier expected, which could gust to 70 or 80km/h on Saturday and Sunday, have increased fire danger ratings.

Melbourne is expecting a staggering 41 degrees on Saturday - an unusual peak before Christmas - with northerly winds in the morning of 35 to 50km/h. The hottest temperature for Saturday, 45 degrees, is forecast for in the Mallee including the small towns of Werrimull and Underbool.
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