A 10-year-old girl is missing following a landslide at the famous chalk cliffs on the German island of Rügen, a popular destination for tourists. Local officials are blaming the recent increase in cliff falls on erosion caused by fluctuating weather conditions and rising sea levels.

Forever immortalized in canvas by painter Caspar David Friedrich, the chalk cliffs on the German island of Rügen have been a major tourist draw for two centuries. In recent years, however, the cliffs have suffered from major erosion. Now, following a landslide that took down part of a cliff near the Kap Arkona cape on Monday afternoon, a 10-year-old girl is missing.

The landslide struck the girl, her mother and a sister. Emergency workers were able to rescue the seriously injured mother and lightly injured sister, who were taken to a hospital. More than 100 rescue workers continued through the night searching for the young girl, who they believe is buried beneath the chalk sludge. With low temperatures, local officials said the chances of finding the child alive were slim.

The family had been walking along the beach below the the 35-meter-high cliffs (115 feet) on Monday afternoon when the landslide happened. At the time, near gale-force winds had been reported in the area.

Date-Time:
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 15:21:56 UTC
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 10:21:56 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
51.858°N, 95.825°E

Depth:
6.9 km (4.3 miles)

Region:
SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA

Distances:
96 km (59 miles) E of Kyzyl, Russia

336 km (208 miles) NE of Ulaangom, Mongolia

361 km (224 miles) ESE of Abakan, Russia

3744 km (2326 miles) ENE of MOSCOW, Russia

As many as a half-billion trees may have died across Texas from the effects of the 2011 drought, the state's forest service says.

A survey released Monday by the Texas Forest Service estimates 100 million to 500 million trees, or 2% to 10% of the state's 4.9 billion trees, have been killed by the severe drought, which began last year.

Although it will take several years to obtain enough data to determine the full effect of the drought, "ultimately, Mother Nature is going to dictate what will happen," said Chris Edgar, a forest resource analyst.

Two earthquakes occurring three hours apart caused a short-lived panic in the Kuşadası district of Aydın, a western province in Turkey.

The quakes, which registered 4.3 and 4.0 in magnitude, did not cause any loss of life or property damage. The Kandilli Observatory at Boğaziçi University and the Earthquake Research Institute said that the magnitude 4.3 tremor occurred at 7:59 on Tuesday morning. The second quake occurred at 9:51 a.m.

The tremors were felt in Kuşadası, Selçuk, central Aydın and in the city of İzmir.

"No negative consequences were suffered as a result of the earthquakes," Kuşadası District Governor Mustafa Esen said. He also called on the relevant authorities and the press to refrain from statements that might cause panic in the public.

One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes erupted Tuesday, spewing clouds of ash and panicking villagers but no evacuation has been ordered so far, a government vulcanologist said.

The first eruption at Mount Lokon was at 3:07 am (1907 GMT Monday), followed by two more bursts within minutes, Farid Bina told AFP from a monitoring post near the volcano on Sulawesi island.

"The eruption was heard as far as five kilometres (three miles) away, causing panic among villagers living close to the volcano," he said, adding that winds blew volcanic ash to villages up to five kilometres to the east and northeast.

"Two villages with about 10,000 people each have been affected by the ash, which stopped later in the morning," he added.

More than 5,200 people were evacuated to temporary shelters when the 1,580-metre volcano erupted in July, sending huge clouds of ash as high as 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) into the sky.

Lokon's last deadly eruption was in 1991, killing a Swiss tourist.

Almost 1,500 people are now known to have died in flash floods that struck the southern Philippines more than a week ago.

Officials say more bodies had been found in the waters south of the island of Mindanao.

It is not clear how many people are still missing but officials say the search for bodies will continue.

Typhoon Washi struck from 16 to 18 December, devastating the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Many of those who died were sleeping as Typhoon Washi caused rivers to burst their banks, leading to landslides. Entire villages were washed away.

The civil defence office said the number of people now known to have died had risen to 1,453 after 200 more bodies were found in the water.

Date-Time
Monday, December 26, 2011 at 04:48:08 UTC

Monday, December 26, 2011 at 06:48:08 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
16.155°S, 173.799°W

Depth
78.6 km (48.8 miles)

Region
TONGA

Distances
28 km (17 miles) SSW of Hihifo, Tonga

272 km (169 miles) N of Neiafu, Tonga

346 km (214 miles) SW of APIA, Samoa

2552 km (1585 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand

Atmospheric deposition of mercury is about four times higher in lakes near several major US cities compared to lakes in remote areas, according to a new study by the US Geological Survey.

Atmospheric deposition is the predominant pathway for mercury to reach sensitive ecosystems, where it can accumulate in fish and harm wildlife and humans, the US Geological Survey reported.

Coal-fired power plants and industries are among the primary sources of mercury emissions. Mercury emissions can travel far in the atmosphere, and the relative importance of local, regional, or international mercury emissions to natural waters is generally unknown.

This is the first study to quantify the relation between mercury fallout and distance from major urban centers.

The study included lakes nearby, and remote from Boston, Mass.; Albany, N.Y.; Montreal, Canada; New Haven, Conn.; Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; Chicago, Ill.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Denver, Colo.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Portland, Ore.

To better understand geographic patterns of mercury deposition, the USGS analyzed sediment cores from 12 lakes with undeveloped watersheds near to - less than 30 miles - and remote from - more than 90 miles - several major urban areas in the United States.

About one hundred people in southern Thailand were evacuated overnight when a large wave flooded a coastal village.

The three-to-four metre high wave inundated a shore on the Gulf of Thailand, causing floods of one metre deep and damaging houses in a village in Chumphon province, according to provincial governor Pinich Charoenpanich.

Dozens of tourists were stranded on Phitak Island with about 1000 people in total affected by the waves. Reports suggest about 200 households were hit, although there are no reports of casualties.

Mr Pinich said officials helped evacuate about a hundred people to a safe place farther inland, and were expected to return home when the waters had subsided and the wind dropped.

Giant waves measuring at least five meters high hit part of Southern Thailand Sunday, forcing residents in the affected areas to flee as their houses were swept away by the storm-induced waves from the sea.

Among the areas hardly-hit were Hua Lame village in Langsuan district and sub-villages in the three sub districts as giant waves struck before noon time. No casualties have been reported so far.

Flooding in the coastal villages did not originate directly from heavy rainfall in contrast with the flooding devastation in Southern Philippines as giant waves struck the villages which reportedly caused the flooding.