Earth ChangesS


Attention

Chile shaken by two earthquakes of magnitudes 6.0 and 6.1

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Two earthquakes, magnitude 6.0 and 6.1, hit northern and southern Chile today, but caused no known injuries or significant damage, the government's National Emergency Office (ONEMI) said.

A series of smaller quakes also shook parts of the South American country today.

The 6.1-magnitude quake occurred at 3:03 am (0603 GMT) 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of the town of Lebu, in southern Chile, at a depth of 20 kilometers.

The second quake occurred at 3:26 am 17 kilometers southeast of the northern town of Tongoy, at a depth of 33 kilometers.

Chile last month was hit by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that left 15 dead and over 16,000 homeless.

Attention

Large sinkhole appears on The Villages golf course, Florida

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The sinkhole near Jebber Loop at the seventh hole of the Truman Executive Golf Course
Golfers may find an extra hole on one of the courses at The Villages.

The sinkhole can be found near Jebber Loop at the seventh hole of the Truman Executive Golf Course.

Officials say it's about 50 feet across and is the result of a broken water pipe.

While there are homes that sit just feet away, officials say residents shouldn't be worried.

"It's far enough away and again it was created by the water pipe," said Lt. John Longacre with The Villages Public Safety Dept. "So it's not underground where the actual rock is disintegrating or collapsing, then it sinks. There's no concern for that."

The course will remain open as crews fix the issue.

Fish

Thousands of dead fish wash up on British Virgin Islands

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Dead fish
On Friday morning, thousands of dead fish lay in the sun along Handsome Bay, Virgin Gorda, as frigate birds circled overhead and pelicans and seagulls perched on nearby rocks.

Other dead sea creatures on the shoreline included eels, a six-foot-long shark, lobsters, parrot fish and blowfish, to name a few.

Environmental officials believe the culprit was sargassum seaweed, which covered much of the bay on Friday and which has also been blamed for VG's water shut-off this week.

In recent months, Handsome Bay has been among the areas hardest hit by the seaweed, and residents have held several cleanups there in part to battle the sulfur smell emitted by the decaying vegetation.

On Friday, the dead fish were in larger numbers along the southwest side of the bay near the Taddy Bay Airport. On the other side, near the Handsome Bay Desalination Plant, the sulfur smell wasn't as strong, but a 14-foot-wide barrier of sargassum lined the beach.

Several bloated sea creatures with bulging eyes were entangled in the thick mat of seaweed.

Comment: A day before this event the region was hit by an earthquake. See also: 4.8. Magnitude earthquake rattles St Lucia

Perhaps outgassing from the sea bed caused by this seismic activity had more to do with these deaths than the seaweed that had been lying about on the shore for some time prior to the mass fish kill event?


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill six in West Bengal, India

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Six persons were killed in lightning strike in three places of Birbhum district Friday evening.

Seikh Aktar (32), Seikh Sabir (42) and Seikh Abraj (34) were killed as lightning struck them when they were working in a quarry at Bahdurpur village under Nalhati police station area, police said.

13-year-old Dashami Let of Ebai village under Nalhati police station area was struck by lightning when she was going home, police said.

At Saithia, Dhalu Murdi (48) and Matal Murdi (55) were also killed in lightning strike.

Source: PTI

Cloud Precipitation

Mudslide in Guatemala kills at least 25; up to 600 people missing

Mudslide in Guatemala
© AP Photo/Moises CastilloRescue workers and residents respond after a landslide in Santa Catarina Pinula, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Recent rainfall provoked the landslide, affecting dozens of homes.

Santa Catarina Pinula - The collapse of a hillside onto a town on the edge of Guatemala City killed at least 25 people and left hundreds missing on Friday, as rescue crews searched for survivors in homes buried by dirt and sludge.

Loosened by heavy rains, tons of dirt and trees tumbled onto Santa Catarina Pinula in a valley on the southeastern flank of the capital late on Thursday, flattening dozens of flimsy houses when many residents had gone home for the night.

An aerial video broadcast in Guatemalan media showed the tree-lined hillside laid bare above a huge mound of earth, foliage and debris that completely covered part of the town, which hugs the side of a river in a deep ravine.

Scores of rescue workers laboured until nightfall to recover bodies from the tangle of mangled walls, beds and furniture churned up in the landslide. A Reuters photo showed the face of one person who had apparently been buried alive.

Alejandro Maldonado, head of Guatemalan disaster agency CONRED, told a news conference that as many as 600 people could still be missing after the disaster, which he said hit 125 homes.

Question

Quake-like mystery boom shakes Kennebunk, Maine area homes

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© etravelmaine.comKennebunkport, Maine.
Residents in areas of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel have reported hearing, and feeling, a mystery boom this morning, but no one can seem to pinpoint the cause.

Word of the rumbling, which happened around 10 a.m. Thursday morning, is abuzz on Facebook, with residents in areas of the three towns asking "what was that?" Some have said it sounded like a tree coming down in their yard, others wondered about blasting from area construction, or a clap of thunder.

Kennebunk Police Lt. Eric O'Brien said the department received a number of calls, but police have not determined the source. A dispatcher at the Kennebunkport Police Department also said they did not know where the boom came from, but she likened it to an earthquake.

A representative of the U.S. Geological Survey said that there is no record of any earthquake activity in Kennebunk or southern Maine Thursday morning.

Kate Mastrangelo, who was working in Arundel, said "I don't know how else to explain it other than a boom.

"I could tell it was in the distance somewhere but I could hear it and at the same time the ground shook. It wasn't like an earthquake shake, it just bumped," she said.

Mastrangelo said she immediately thought of the furnace turning on for the first time this year or other equipment in the building, but then thought "no, that was too loud."

Comment: Space rocks exploding in the atmosphere are a possiblity.

Forget About Global Warming: We're One Step From Extinction!


Question

Dozens of migrating birds found dead near transmission tower in Nashville

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© WKRNDozens of dead birds were discovered at a west Nashville church Thursday.
Dozens of dead birds were discovered all over a west Nashville church ground's property Thursday morning.

The birds scattered Highland Park Church's parking lot, sidewalks and roof.

Church members, animal lovers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services were all called to the property after the discovery was made.

"We pulled into the parking lot and all over the place there were little green things coming. The birds were on their way down from Canada. It was a sea of green on the ground and asphalt with green spots on it," church member Greg Levenduski said.


Comment: A similar incident happened close to the above location in March this year: Dozens of disoriented birds fall out of the sky in Spring Hill, Tennessee

See also: Mobile phone towers in Hyderabad, India are driving migratory birds crazy:
Increasing radiation from thousands of mobile phone towers in Hyderabad is playing havoc with the natural flight paths of migratory birds, experts said on Monday. Rare species of birds are unable to find their way back home after winter, they added.

While migratory birds use the geomagnetic field as a compass to track their route from Europe to the Indian sub-continent every year, radiation emitted from these mobile phone towers (6,000 of which came up in just two years) is damaging their brain cells and sense of direction, several environmentalist groups said.



Cow

Welsh government begins investigation after mad cow disease identified in dead animal

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© GettyThe dead cow is not reported to be a risk to public health
The Welsh Government says it has identified the body of a cow with mad cow disease

An investigation has been launched after a case of 'mad cow disease' was found in a cow in Wales. It did not enter the food chain and there is no risk to human health, the Welsh Government said in a statement.It is appears to be the first BSE case for the whole of the UK in 2015.

A wave of panic started in 1995, when 19-year-old Stephen Churchill died of a fatal brain condition linked to mad cow disease. By 2000, the leading group monitoring the outbreak was warning that the worst-case scenario could see 500,000 people die a similarly horrifying death. But there has been just one death from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) - the condition which killed Stephen - in the last three years.

The location of the farm where the latest case was found hasn't been identified and it's not known what measures were put in place on the farm as a result.

Comment: More reasons to avoid factory-farmed (CAFO) foods.


Snowflake Cold

Scottish Highland town is coldest and hottest place in the UK - in a single day

scotland temperature extremes
© HEMEDIATemperatures in Aviemore plummeted to just 1C on Tuesday night leaving the mountain village shrouded in mist on Wednesday morning. Above, ducks swim on Loch Morlich
  • Temperatures in Aviemore plummeted to near freezing on Tuesday night
  • Climbed to 21C on Wednesday morning - hotter than Rome and Paris
  • Met Office spokesman said difference was due to high pressure in the air
  • Weekend should stay fine and dry with temperatures dropping next week
The Scottish weather showed its unpredictability yesterday as one Highland village was declared both the hottest and coldest place in the UK. Temperatures in Aviemore plummeted to just 1C on Tuesday night leaving the popular ski resort shrouded in mist on Wednesday morning. But the chill didn't stay for long as by lunchtime the village saw temperatures reach 21C - hotter than Barcelona, Rome and Paris.

The Scottish weather showed its unpredictability yesterday with one Highland town declared both the hottest and coldest place in the UK. Above, Maja Aas relaxes in the warm autumn sunshine on a beach on the shores of Loch Morlich

Claire Smith, 35, the manager of the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore, said it was as if autumn had been skipped altogether.

She said: 'It was incredibly chilly coming in the morning with a coat, scarf and gloves on. You could see the grass glistening and frost appearing on cars.

'But I have to carry all my clothes home later on because it will be far too warm. 'It's been really strange here because we're having a bit of an Indian summer but starting our day with winter - it's as if we've skipped autumn completely.

Attention

Man receives 30 stitches following shark attack in Vilano Beach, Florida: 5th attack in 2 weeks

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Shark bite in Vilano Beach
A 22-year-old is recovering Wednesday night from an apparent shark bite while surfing at Vilano Beach Tuesday.

David Morrison, 22, says it all happened in a matter of seconds.

"My foot was completely covered in blood," Morrison said.

He said the shark bit his ankle Tuesday while he was lying on his surfboard.

This is the fifth shark attack on our local beaches in the last two weeks.

Two occurred at Vilano Beach and one each at Fernandina Beach, Big Talbot Island and Jacksonville Beach.