Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

'Disaster zone': Tornadoes kill at least 5 in southeast US states


RT
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 22:16 UTC
Deadly tornado
© wokephotography / Instagram
Tornadoes have ripped across Alabama and Tennessee leaving at least five people dead, more injured and a trail of destruction in what authorities are calling a "disaster zone".

Three people are reported dead in Jackson County, Alabama and two in Polk County, Tennessee. The deaths in Jackson County are reported to all be from the same home while the Polk County deaths are reported to be a husband and wife.

It's understood two more people have died in Meigs County, Tennessee, according to a local ABC reporter.

Deadly storms hit the southeast of the US late Tuesday night, causing damage to numerous properties and leaving thousands without power. Images taken in DeKalb County show a daycare center completely destroyed after a tornado hit.
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Cloud Precipitation

Atlantic Hurricane season ends above normal in count says NOAA scientists

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:51 UTC
Hurricanes
As the Atlantic, eastern Pacific and central Pacific 2016 hurricane seasons end today, NOAA scientists said that all three regions saw above-normal seasons.

For the Atlantic, this was the first above-normal season since 2012. The Atlantic saw 15 named storms during 2016, including 7 hurricanes (Alex, Earl, Gaston, Hermine, Matthew, Nicole, and Otto), 3 of which were major hurricanes (Gaston, Matthew and Nicole). NOAA's updated hurricane season outlook in August called for 12 to 17 named storms, including 5 to 8 hurricanes, with 2 to 4 of those predicted to become major hurricanes.

Five named storms made landfall in the United States during 2016, the most since 2008 when six storms struck. Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Matthew struck South Carolina. Tropical Storms Colin and Julia, as well as Hurricane Hermine, made landfall in Florida. Hermine was the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005.
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Attention

Alarming levels of mercury found in Florida Everglades dolphins; highest concentration ever recorded

Joane Adkins
Phys.org
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
dolphins Florida everglades
© Florida International University
Bottlenose dolphins in the Florida Coastal Everglades have higher concentrations of mercury than any other populations in the world.

FIU scientists examined dolphins from the lower Florida Keys, Everglades National Park and Florida Bay, looking for mercury and organic pollutants in their skin and blubber. Not only did they find high mercury levels in the coastal Everglades dolphins, but they found the highest levels of concentration ever recorded. Potential sources of mercury are both natural and from man-made sources. The finding raises concerns about potential impacts on the health of local populations.

During the past several decades, a variety of marine mammal species from all across the world have experienced unusual die-offs, including bottlenose dolphins along the East coast of the United States. Some scientists believe toxic algae and toxic pollutants like mercury are the primary culprit. Mercury can disrupt the immune system and reproduction of dolphins, making the animals more vulnerable to infection and disease.
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Cloud Precipitation

Floods and lightning kill seven in Saudi Arabia


Al Arabiya
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:27 UTC
At least seven people died and many others were injured or trapped by heavy rain and floods that swept various regions of Saudi Arabia.
© AFPAt least seven people died and many others were injured or trapped by heavy rain and floods that swept various regions of Saudi Arabia.
At least seven people died and many others were injured or trapped by heavy rain and floods that swept various regions of Saudi Arabia, press reports said on Tuesday.

The dead included three young Saudi men in Bisha, two others in Baha and two expatriates who were struck by a thunderbolt in Qunfudah.

Torrential floods also destroyed a number of houses, blocked roads and overturned vehicles. The rain and floods in the last few days uncovered the ineffective drainage systems in many parts of the country.

The two expatriates were killed by a thunderbolt, which also injured two of their companions in Qunfudah governorate in Makkah province. Civil Defense teams rushed the victims to hospital.

The rain inundated various parts of Qunfudah governorate and washed away large sections of the International Road linking Jeddah and Jazan.
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Black Cat

Man killed by leopard in Himachal Pradesh, India


The Times of India
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:56 UTC
Leopard
Leopard
Animal attacks on human beings are not stopping in Himachal Pradesh. While on Friday a resident was killed by a leopard in Bharari area of Bilaspur district, a resident of Bhunad village of Chamba district was left grievously injured in a bear attack on Sunday.

Tilak Raj (45), a resident of Dadhol Kalan village of Bilaspur was attacked by a leopard on Friday night and his body was found the next day 5,000m away from his house. Forest department had installed three cages to trap the leopard but wild animal is still roaming free in the area.

Sources said that on Saturday afternoon, some people were passing through the forest area when the leopard again attacked them but as people were carrying tools used for the job of a carpenter, they somehow managed to save themselves. Movement of the leopard has created panic in the area.
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Seismograph

Trinidad rattled by shallow earthquake of 4.2 magnitude


Antigua Observer
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 13:26 UTC
Earthquake
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 rattled Trinidad on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages.

The Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI), said that the quake, which occurred 3.43 pm (local time) had a depth of 10 kilometers.

It said it was felt west of San Fernando, south of here and south-west of the capital, Port of Spain and south west of Arima, east of here.

The quake was located Latitude 10.24 degrees north and Longitude 62.17 degrees west.

On November 20, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 hit Trinidad and Tobago. But in recent days, the SRC has recorded tremors in Dominica, grenada and Barbados.
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Wolf

Father killed following attack by 3 pitbull terriers in South Africa

Nadia Khan
Chatsworth Rising Sun
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:57 UTC
Dog attack
A 59-year-old father died yesterday evening after he was attacked by three pitbull terriers at a premises in Lakhimpur Road in Merebank, on Friday afternoon.

The deceased, Morganathan Moodley, was entering the premises which is near his home at around 2pm when he was savagely attacked by the dogs.

Speaking to the Rising Sun Newspaper, brother-in-law of the victim and family spokesman, Rocky Pather said, "It is alleged that the domestic worker was cleaning the dog enclosure and left the gate open. When my brother entered the yard, the dogs charged towards him, pushed him to the ground and ripped out chunks of his leg and bit his ears, hands, legs, face and other parts of his body."
"He screamed for help and another employee and the domestic worker came to his aid and tried to get the dogs off him. After numerous attempts, the dogs finally left him. My brother-in-law was taken into the house and his two sons were called. They immediately took him to the local hospital," he said.
Morganathan Moodley was attacked by three pitbulls.
Morganathan Moodley was attacked by three pitbulls.
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Seismograph

Series of earthquakes recorded in northern and central Italy


The Local it
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:45 UTC
Graph 2
Some residents of the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna were woken up by a 3.7 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday morning, after a 4.4 magnitude quake was felt near L'Aquila on Tuesday evening.

A quake measuring 4.4 magnitude, at 17.14pm on Tuesday, was recorded by Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology. The epicentre was 22km away from L'Aquila, which was hit by a deadly earthquake in 2008, and the affected towns were Capitignano, Montereale, Campotosto, Barete and Cagnano Amiterno.

The tremblor was also felt in Amatrice, the town recovering from August's deadly quake, but no new building collapses have been reported.

In Emilia Romagna, an earthquake was felt at 6:52am on Wednesday morning, with its epicentre in Bagnolo in Piano, Reggio Emiliia. It followed a series of smaller tremors which took place throughout Tuesday night.

Fire fighters carried out checks on buildings and schools in the morning, however the local schools all remained open on Wednesday.
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Seismograph

Shallow 5.7 magnitude earthquake strikes off Indonesia


news18.com
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:35 UTC
A man mapping the intensity of earthquake.
A man mapping the intensity of earthquake.
A shallow undersea quake of magnitude of 5.7 struck eastern parts of Indonesia on Wednesday, the meteorology and geophysics agency said. No tsunami warning was issued.

The quake struck at 9.42 a.m. (local time) with epicentre at 86 km northeast Maluku Tenggara Barat and at depth of 10 km under the sea bed, Xinhua news quoted an official.

Indonesia is prone to quake as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire". No casualties were reported.

Source: IANS
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Tornado2

Tornado kills at least three people in Alabama


Stuff
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:17 UTC
A building destroyed by tornado in Rosalie, Alabama on early Wednesday.
© Teri MonroeA building destroyed by tornado in Rosalie, Alabama on early Wednesday.
A tornado has killed at least three people in the US state of Alabama and injured many more, including four children critically hurt when their 24 hour daycare centre was destroyed.

A line of severe storms had moved across the South overnight, authorities said. Lightning set homes alight, large hailstones battered a wide area and thousands were without power.

The three people who died were all in a mobile home in the northeastern Alabama community of Rosalie, Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said early Wednesday (local time).
House damaged in Underwood Mountain area from severe storms pic.twitter.com/OPeyLnYhQ6
— Colbert EMA (@colbertema) November 30, 2016
Another person in the home was critically injured, Harnen said

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