Earth ChangesS

Binoculars

Video: Incredible Northern Lights display over Lake Superior, Michigan

Lake Superior northern lights
© Lake Superior Photo
Most times when you see a video of the Northern Lights, it's in time lapse so you can get a better idea of the shimmering waves of color.

Not this time -- not needed.

Check out this video taken over Lake Superior from Marquette, Michigan on Friday night, courtesy of Lake Superior Photo.


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Magnitude 6.4 quake hits 76 miles from Sabang, Indonesia

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© USGS
Location

16.838ยฐN 94.724ยฐE depth=7.7 km (4.8 mi)

Time
  1. 2015-11-08 16:47:01 (UTC)
  2. 2015-11-08 11:47:01 (UTC-05:00) in your timezone
  3. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 123km (76mi) NNW of Sabang, Indonesia
  2. 156km (97mi) NNW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
  3. 211km (131mi) NW of Sigli, Indonesia
  4. 248km (154mi) NW of Reuleuet, Indonesia
  5. 873km (542mi) WNW of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Comment: Indonesia has been a hotbed of seismic and volcanic activity lately:


Attention

Farm worker killed by wild boar in Andhra Pradesh, India

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A 45-year-old farm worker was killed in a wild boar attack near Buchireddypalem mandal headquarters near here on Friday night, while two others escaped unhurt in the incident.

The deceased has been identified as Tirumalasetti Chenchaiah. He was returning home, along with two other daily wagers from work in a neighbouring village when the boar attacked them.

An injured Chenchaiah started running to escape the attack, as the animal gave him a chase. While running without realising where he was heading to, Chenchaiah accidentally fell into an open well, so did the animal. Confined within the walls of the well, the animal attacked Chenchaiah again and he had nowhere to escape, before succumbing to his serious injuries. The other two daily wagers who succeeded to escape alerted the villagers. The villagers did arrive at the well to the rescue Chenchaiah, but it was too late by then. The boar also reportedly died when it was being taken out of the well.

Attention

Seven earthquakes in seven hours shake Oklahoma-Kansas border area

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Starting with a magnitude-4.1 temblor at 5:11 a.m. close to the Oklahoma-Kansas border, the region experienced a series of six earthquakes within a 75-minute period Saturday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on its website.

The largest earthquake Saturday morning was the 4.1, which had an epicenter nine miles northwest of Medford, Okla., 59 miles southwest of Wichita.

That was followed by five more quakes near Medford with magnitudes of 2.5, 2.8, 2.5, 3.1 and 2.9 - the last of which came at 6:24 a.m.

A seventh earthquake - this one a magnitude-4.2 temblor - was recorded at 12:29 p.m., 10 miles north-northwest of Medford.

Late Friday night and early Saturday morning, two other earthquakes were recorded. A magnitude-3.0 quake was recorded at 11:30 p.m. Friday near Perry, Okla., while a magnitude-2.9 quake was recorded near Harper about 90 minutes later.

The largest of the Saturday morning earthquakes was felt throughout northern Oklahoma and central Kansas, with respondents to the USGS recording information from Wichita, Hutchinson and Salina in Kansas and Stillwater and Tulsa in Oklahoma.

The 12:29 earthquake was the largest recorded in the region since a 4.5-magnitude quake Oct. 10 near Cushing, Okla.
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Umbrella

Powerful tropical cyclone Megh makes landfall in Socotra Island; headed to south-central Yemen

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Tropical Cyclone Megh will continue to closely follow in the footsteps of Tropical Cyclone Chapala into Wednesday, but only in terms of its track, not its intensity.

Much like Chapala, Megh will continue to track from the Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Aden into midweek. Megh is taking a track slightly farther south than Chapala but still threatens to impact many of the same communities that endured the recent powerful cyclone's wrath.

Megh is not expected to strengthen into the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane such as Chapala, but may bring more devastating conditions to Socotra. Megh made landfall across the eastern portion of Socotra with maximum sustained winds of 203 kph (127 mph), equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane just before noon local time on Sunday. Chapala passed to the north of Socotra.

"At peak intensity, Tropical Cyclone Chapala (04A) was the equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific Ocean on [Oct. 30], making it one of the strongest cyclones on record in the Arabian Sea," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Eric Leister.

Megh has strengthened to the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans as it blasts across the island of Socotra across the Arabian Sea before a weakening trend begins as it moves across the Gulf of Aden.
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© NOAA
The cyclone is expected to produce 50 to as much as 100 mm (2 to as much as 4 inches) of rain and wind gusts of around 200 kph (125 mph) across Socotra, threatening to cause more flooding and damage in communities beginning to clean up following Chapala.

Comment: Another tragedy for Yemen. The Yemeni people are already suffering a humanitarian disaster as a result of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies:


Cloud Precipitation

Tennis ball-sized hailstones pummel Brisbane, Australia

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© Louise Anica
A strong storm swept through Brisbane, Australia on Saturday, pummeling it with hail the size of tennis balls and prompting a barrage of posts on social media.

After some sun and heat, the Bureau of Meteorology warned that severe thunderstorms could hit Brisbane and nearby towns, urging local residents to move cars under cover and away from trees.

"Residents should bring loose outdoor items indoors and secure items, which can't be moved, such as swing sets and trampolines," it also recommended.

More than a thousand buildings were left without power in the nearby region of Somerset after a storm went through the area.



Comment: While Australia does experience a "season of storms," what does stand out here however is the huge size of the hail stones involved and not just there but also increasingly across the globe. See the following selection of such reports for the last two years -

Another violent hailstorm hits the Altai region, Russia

40-min hailstorm leaves a trail of destruction in Mathura, India

Hailstorm with golf ball sized hail causes injuries in Germany

Large hailstones fall in Oman

What's up with the weather? Huge hail stones damage multiple commercial planes

Rome to Milan plane encounters violent hailstorm, destroys its nose cone and shatters cockpit window

Golf ball-sized hail hits Las Cruces, New Mexico

Large hailstones kill horses, birds and ravage cotton crops in northern New South Wales, Australia

Giant hailstones fall in Queensland, Australia

Hailstorm with golf ball sized hail causes injuries in Germany

Flash flood hits Menorca and egg-sized hailstones strike Aragon, Spain

Fist-sized hailstones cause injuries and damage cars in Naples, Italy

Large hail stones reported as thunderstorm hits Malta

Huge hailstones batter New South Wales coast, Australia

Giant hailstorms and heavy rain kill at least 16 people in China

Baseball-sized hail strikes Nebraska during storm

Huge hail pelts Paris as severe thunderstorms erupt in Western Europe

Germany hailstorm: Wassel hit by giant hailstones

Nine people killed as freak hailstorm rains massive boulders down on Indian villages


Bug

7 kilometre long swarm of beetles in Mosul, Iraq

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Masses of black beetles have spread in the Peshmarga forces' strongholds in Tel Askof, in Mosul province, Kurdish military authorities in the area told Rudaw.

Commanders are concerned the insects could harm the Peshmarga if proper measures are not taken.

It is horrible. We cannot even take a rest,. We cannot have our meals. If they are not stopped, then they might get to the town of Tel Askof. We are waiting for the medical team to come and check the state of the Peshmergas' health," said Jalal Mohammed, a Peshmerga fighter.

In another location, grasshoppers have descended on farm land in Duhok province.

The Peshmerga on the scene say this is the first time they have ever seen such an incredible number of beetles in the same place. They said the beetle swarm has spread over 7km long of Peshmerga frontlines.


Attention

4.5 earthquake rattles Southcentral Alaska

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A preliminary magnitude-4.5 earthquake rattled Southcentral Alaska Friday morning, waking many before their alarm clocks could go off.

Early reports by the U.S. Geological Survey say the quake struck at 5:26 a.m. about 53 miles north of Anchorage, with the epicenter located near Y, Alaska.

It was recorded at a depth of 28 miles. There have been no reports of damage, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.

The quake woke many in the Anchorage area, according to posts on the KTVA Facebook page.

Attention

Series of earthquakes rock Indonesia, with strongest at 6.1 magnitude

Indonesia earthquakes
© earthquake.usgs.gov
At least three earthquakes have shaken Indonesia in recent hours, the USGS reported, adding that the strongest, with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale, struck only 81 kilometers from the nearest city.

The 6.1 magnitude quake struck 81 from of the city of Padang Sidempuan, which has a population of over 200,000 people, and 111 kilometers from the city of Sibolga in the western part of Indonesia. The epicenter of the quake was reportedly at a depth of 75 kilometers.

Comment: There has been increasing seismic and volcanic activity around Indonesia recently: Keep informed on these increasingly chaotic events by viewing the monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summary.

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - September 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor-Fireballs


Bizarro Earth

Mysterious giant sinkhole swallows at least 15 vehicles in Mississippi

Sinkhole in Mississippi
© noblejonesontv / Instagram
A 15-meter-wide sinkhole has recently opened up in a city in Mississippi and swallowed at least 15 vehicles, police said, adding that what caused the sinkhole is still unknown and is being investigated.

The sinkhole appeared in the parking lot of the new IHOP restaurant on Frontage Road in the city of Meridian. The customers at the restaurant told local WTOK-TV that they heard several booms that were quickly followed by the electricity loss.


Comment: See sinkholes for more events of this nature.