Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Worst disaster in Haiti since 2010 earthquake: Hurricane Matthew leaves 340 dead as it approaches US (PHOTOS)

A man cuts branches off fallen trees in a flooded area by a river after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 5, 2016.
© Andres Martinez Casares/ReutersA man cuts branches off fallen trees in a flooded area by a river after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 5, 2016.
The death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew has gone up to 339 with authorities saying it's the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago.

Authorities in Haiti have reported 339 deaths, Reuters reports, citing local officials. Many of the deaths were caused by falling trees or other debris. The Caribbean nation has been the hardest hit by the hurricane, suffering the most casualties and severe structural damage. The storm has destroyed more than 3,200 homes, displaced 15,000 people and decimated plantations and livestock.

"Haiti is facing the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago," said Mourad Wahba, the UN special representative for Haiti, as quoted in USA Today.

"Much of the population is displaced and communication systems are down. At least 10,000 people are in shelter. We've received reports of destroyed houses and overflowing hospitals with shortages of buckets and fresh water."



Info

Hurricane Matthew has been blasting through records

hurricane Matthew
© NASA
Since it formed late last week, Hurricane Matthew has shattered records from rapid intensification to longevity, and it has the potential to end a decade-long lull in major hurricane landfalls.

On Sept. 28, Matthew developed from an area of low pressure as it approached the Windward Islands. It was a very fast-moving system early in its formation, and it steered rapidly westward by high pressure to its north. In the first few days of its life, that speed inhibited intensification, but as soon as it slowed, Matthew began to strengthen.

Matthew reached hurricane intensity Sept. 29, and since then has been breaking records. Below are some of the milestones that Matthew has achieved so far:
  • Hurricane Matthew underwent a remarkable rapid intensification of 80 mph in 24 hours, intensifying from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane. This was the third-strongest rapid intensification in a 24-hour period for any Atlantic hurricane on record, trailing only Hurricane Wilma (2005) and Hurricane Felix (2007).
  • It also became the first Atlantic-basin Category 5 hurricane since Felix (2007). Matthew is the 31st Atlantic-basin Category 5 hurricane on record.

Comment: Defying historical norms, Hurricane Matthew also developed in a high-intensity wind shear environment facing headwinds of 30MPH and formed below the 15 degree north latitude marker - an area traditionally too close to the equator to allow the requisite spin for tropical formation and development. See: Unusual Atlantic storm: Matthew may hit US as Category 5 Hurricane next week

Meanwhile in the Pacific, Typhoon Chaba has just set new records in South Korea.


Tornado1

'Monster storm': Hurricane Matthew roaring towards the US

monster storm Hurricane Matthew
© @eteaching101 / Instagram
Hurricane Matthew is continuing to roar its way along the Caribbean coast towards the US with satellite photos revealing just how intimidating the powerful storm looks from space.

NASA has been sharing satellite images and timelapse videos taken from the International Space Station (ISS) as Hurricane Matthew hurtled through Haiti and Cuba, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Florida is now bracing itself for a 'direct hit' from the deadly category 3 storm which is expected to strengthen to category 4 as it approaches the southern part of the state.

It's also expected to pass close to or over NASA's Kennedy Space Center, near Melbourne Beach which, ironically, is home to America's next-generation weather satellite - the GOES-R.


Moon

Decades-long megadrought may hit US Southwest, drying it to the bone

Folsom Lake reservoir
© Mark Ralston / AFPBoat docks sit empty on dry land, as Folsom Lake reservoir near Sacramento stands at only 18 percent capacity, as the severe drought continues in California on September 17, 2015.
The American Southwest has surely seen some drought, but things may turn sour, or should we say 'even drier'? Scientists from Cornell University say there's a high chance that a decades-long 'megadrought' is coming by the end of this century.

The scientists, led by atmospheric researcher Toby Ault, have just published their findings in Science Advances journal.

It should be noted that 'megadrought' isn't just a scary-sounding word, it is an existing term: an extreme, bone-dry time that can last for over 35 years.

"In some ways, it's as simple as less rainfall and hotter weather," Ault says as quoted by Popular Mechanics. "Basically the risk of a megadrought depends critically on the balance of soil moisture at the soil's surface, and that's a tug-of-war between evaporation from hotter weather and the supply of moisture through precipitation."

The study suggests that the production of greenhouse gases, if carried on at the current rate, could cause the megadrought, and the chances are very high, 70 to 99 percent - which makes it "virtually certain," in the scientists' words.

Comment: Man made global warming didn't cause the megadrought in the 16th century, and it's not going to be the cause of a future one. Any solutions involving that bogus claim are useless. This is not to say that such kinds of megadroughts are not on the way. They very well may be, but the earth changes we are seeing are not so black and white as some pseudo-climate scientists would like them to be.


Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Matthew killed at least 261 in Haiti, dozens in one village

haiti_mathew
© REUTERS/Carlos Garcia RawlinsDestroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016.
The Interior Ministry, a mayor and other local officials confirmed the numbers across Haiti to Reuters, with many victims killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers when Matthew hit with 145 mph (230 kph) winds on Tuesday.

Haiti's civil protection service has so far put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 108 dead.

Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in the country's southwest, one of Haiti's most picturesque regions. The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes on Monday and Tuesday.

"Several dozen" died in the coastal town of Les Anglais in Sud Department, said Louis Paul Raphael, the central government's representative in the region.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Raphael.

Telescope

Amazing 'Proton Arc' aurora photographed over Scotland

Proton Arc
© Stewart Watt
Keen photographer Stewart Watt was thrilled when he managed to capture these strange Northern Lights on camera.

Amateur astronomer and photographer Stewart Watt was spellbound by the strange streak of light he spotted in the night sky, which he thought was a Proton Arc.

An unusual form of aurora, a Proton Arc is an streak of colour separate from the usual dancing lights of the aurora borealis, which can be spotted regularly in the Scottish Highands at this time of year.

Stewart, from Thurso, contacted physicist Dr Melanie Windridge to see if she could shed some light on the subject.

He says: "She is currently looking into it for us but she did get information from Leicester university which suggested it is actually a Stable Auroral Red arc or SAR arc.

Windsock

Thousands of lives at risk as Japan prepares for battering from record breaking typhoon Chaba

Typhoon Chaba
© NASA / Getty
Thousands of lives are at risk as a record-breaking typhoon is set to plough through northern Japan.

The potentially catastrophic Typhoon Chaba is set to reach mainland Japan at some point today, with coastal cities particularly at risk.

As the powerful typhoon, which has record breaking winds of up to 375 kilometres-per-hour - the highest on record since monitoring began in 1951 - battered the south coast of South Korea, it is now barrelling towards northern Japan.

Major cities such as Niigata, on the east coast, and Sendai, on the west coast, are particularly vulnerable.

The two cities have a combined population of almost two million people, with a further 300,000 in the mainland city of Fukushima, which the typhoon will also pass over.

Seismograph

Shallow 5.7 earthquake hits off southeast Taiwan

Chart
© Reuters
A shallow 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the southeast coast of Taiwan late Thursday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

The quake hit 34 kilometres (21 miles) east-southeast of Taitung City at 11:52 pm (1552 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau measured it at a stronger 6.0 magnitude at a depth of 20 kilometres.

The quake caused short power outages and toppled goods from shop shelves, photographs posted on the Central News Agency website showed, but there were no reports of major damage.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake in February left 117 dead when an apartment complex collapsed in the southern city of Tainan.

Source: AFP

Question

Starlings fall to the ground along motorway near Vienna, Austria

Starling
© Philip HeronStarling
A flock of drunken starlings caused chaos on an Austrian motorway earlier this week when they fell onto a stretch of the A2 road between Inzersdorf and Vösendorf, causing traffic jams several kilometres long.

Witnesses described the scene as like something out of a horror film. Some people commented on the unusual event online, joking that the birds ought to have been tested for "air worthiness".

Ornithologists were initially confused as to what had caused the birds to fall into the road but now believe that they had gorged on fermented berries - which contain naturally occurring alcohol - and got drunk on them.

Rain and foggy conditions further confused them, so that they didn't know where they were going and lost their bearings over the motorway, crashing into cars and trucks.

Comment: The mundane explanation proffered above for this strange event (that of starlings becoming drunk after eating fermented berries), does not really stand up to close scrutiny. Starlings are largely insectivorous and forage close to the ground and probably only eat berries when their natural prey items are not available to them, for instance, during adverse weather conditions of prolonged snow cover or severe frosts.

See also this substantial catalogue of similar reports from over the last 6 years:

Dozens of dead and dying starlings found on road in Wichita, Kansas

Dozens of dead birds found on street in Elmira, New York

Dozens of dead birds found along I-5 in Redding, California

Two dozen dead birds discovered along road in Chantilly, Virginia

100 birds found dead on roadside near Picher, Oklahoma

Dozens of dead birds found along highway in Youngstown, Ohio

Flock of dead starlings falls out of sky in Bolton, England after 'loud bang' heard overhead

Scientists baffled by over 100 dead starlings in Missouri

Dozens of disoriented birds fall out of the sky in Spring Hill, Tennessee

Hundreds of birds mysteriously dying in El Reno, Oklahoma

Dead birds falling from the sky in Oklahoma, experts say 'no cause for concern.' Right!

Over 30 birds fall dead from the sky in Norman, Oklahoma

Hundreds of birds fall dead from the sky on Aden Road in Nokesville, Virginia

Dead birds fall 'like raindrops' In Winnipeg's North End

Double deja vu on December 31st? Up to 300 starlings litter roadway and fields in Seymour, Tennessee

Dead birds "falling from the sky" in Port Arthur, Texas neighborhood

Dead birds fall out of the sky near Fort Worth, Texas - Second time in 5 months

Meteoric Deja-vu: Exactly one year later, dead blackbirds fall again in Beebe, Arkansas

Alabama: Hundreds of Dead Blackbirds Found Along I-65 In Athens

More birds fall out of the sky, this time in Sweden

US, Kentucky: Over 30 Birds Mysteriously Die on Montgomery County Road

Now HUNDREDS More Birds Fall from the Sky in Kentucky and Louisiana and Tens of THOUSANDS of Dead Fish Wash Ashore

A Sign for the New Year: 1,000 Birds Fall From the Sky in Beebe, Arkansas

'Crazy': Dozens of dead birds fall from the sky in New Jersey

Mysterious Bird Deaths Investigated Near Dacono

US: Thousands of Dead Birds Picked Up in Arkansas Town

US: Hundreds of dead blackbirds found in Louisiana

US: Hundreds Of Birds Found Dead in Oklahoma

Grisly Mystery After Scores of Starlings Fall Out of the Sky and Lie Dying...in a SINGLE Front Garden


Cloud Precipitation

7 dead after Typhoon Chaba drops 11 inches of rainfall in South Korea

Typhoon Chaba
Typhoon Chaba
Typhoon Chaba left a trail of destruction in South Korea on Wednesday, 05 October, after dumping over 280 mm (11 inches) of rain in some areas. Chaba is thought to be the strongest typhoon to hit South Korea since Maemi in 2003.

South Korea's Ministry of Public Safety and Security said that seven people have been killed and four are missing.

The southern cities of Ulsan, Busan and South Gyeongsang province (Yeongnam region), as well as South Jeolla (Honam region), Jeju (Jeju Region) were the worst affected.

Three people died in the city of Busan, three the Ulsan and one victim in Gyeongju. One of the victims is thought to be an emergency worker who was helping with rescue efforts in Ulsan. Most of the victims are believed to have died as a result of flooding.

Rescue workers carry a resident through a flooded street caused by Typhoon Chaba in Ulsan
Rescue workers carry a resident through a flooded street caused by Typhoon Chaba in Ulsan, South Korea
Over 300 hundred homes have been damaged by flooding, with around 14 of them severely damaged or completely destroyed. Shops, businesses and vehicles have also suffered damaged. Power outages were reported across affected areas. Schools and transport, including flights, have been disrupted. The heavy rain has also caused dozens of landslides and major damage to banks along swollen rivers. Huge waves and storm surge has also caused damage along the coastline, including sea walls.

Footage shows vehicles swept away by muddy water racing through city streets. At one point a building was swept away by a swollen river.


Comment: See also: Typhoon Chaba sets new records in South Korea