Earth ChangesS


Attention

Turrialba volcano erupts for third time this week in Costa Rica


New China
Thu, 22 Sep 2016 13:30 UTC
Volcanic ashes emanating from Turrialba volcano during an eruption is seen from San Gerardo de Irazu in the province of Cartago, Costa Rica, on Sept 20, 2016.
© Kent GilbertVolcanic ashes emanating from Turrialba volcano during an eruption is seen from San Gerardo de Irazu in the province of Cartago, Costa Rica, on Sept 20, 2016.
Costa Rica's central Turrialba Volcano on Thursday erupted for the third time this week, sending a plume of ash and gas more than 2,000 meters above the crater.

This latest eruption occurred at 3:20 a.m. (09:20 GMT), Costa Rica's volcano and earthquake monitoring agency Ovsicori said.

Turrialba's strongest eruption to date was just before noon on Monday, when it spewed ash some 4,000 meters into the sky. Earlier that day, it has a smaller eruption.

The volcano, located in the province of Cartago, 37 km east of the capital San Jose, has registered intermittent eruptions since late last year.

Ovsicori says the volcanic material expelled is falling mainly to the west of the crater, in the direction of the country's Central Valley, which is home to Costa Rica's most densely populated cities, including the capital.

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Black Cat

Leopard kills 4-year-old boy near Nashik, India


NDTV
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 10:37 UTC
Leopard
Leopard
A four-year-old boy was killed near Saikheda village after he was attacked by a leopard, forest officials said.

The incident took place last evening when Sarthak Solse, a resident of Kutevasti near Saikheda in the district, was playing in the sugarcane fields where his family was working, they said.

As soon as the wild animal attacked the child, his grandmother raised an alarm. But by the time locals reached the spot, he was dragged into the thick forest area by the leopard.

Later, the animal disappeared into the jungles upon seeing a large crowd which had come to rescue the child. The boy was immediately rushed to a hospital in nearby Chandori village. However, the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, the officials said.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill three in Nashik, India


Business Standard
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 10:29 UTC
lightning
© 123RF
Three persons including a woman were killed and another injured in two separate incidents when lightning struck them in Yeola and Nandgaon in the district, police said today.

The incidents took place last evening when heavy rains accompanied with stormy winds lashed the area.

Santosh Gudghe (28) and his brother's wife Varsha Gudghe (25) were killed on the spot when lightning struck at Mamdapur in Yeola tehsil town last evening, police said.

Varsha's husband Navnath, who was injured in the incident has been admitted to a rural hospital at Yeola. The victims were working in their field when the mishap occurred.

In another incident at village Dorli-pada in Nandgaon taluka, a 13-year-old boy Dattu Chavan was killed by lightning near his house, nandgaon police said.

Source: Press Trust of India
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Fire

Yellowstone National Park has biggest fire season since 1988


Casper Star-Tribune Online
Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:04 UTC
Yellowstone wildfire
© Tannen Maury/AP
More acres of Yellowstone National Park have burned this year than in any other since 1988, the park announced Thursday.

As of Wednesday, 22 fires had scorched more than 62,000 acres in the park, which is the highest since the historic 1988 season, when about 800,000 acres burned. In an average year, the park experiences 26 fires.

Four of this year's blazes — the Maple, Buffalo, Fawn and Central fires — accounted for much of the damage. The Maple Fire alone, the largest of the four, has burned more than 45,000 acres. The Boundary Fire was suppressed at 192 acres, and the other 17 together totaled just 14.18 acres.

Not all fires at the nation's first national park are treated in the same way. Officials work to shield human life and developed areas, such as roads, buildings and other infrastructure, from damage. But fires that don't threaten human life or infrastructure are allowed to burn as much as possible to carry out their ecological role on the landscape. This year, according to the release, 11 blazes were suppressed immediately.

Comment: A study last year showed that wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth.

Could a significant factor in the escalation of these events be that they are fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources?

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Fire

Third wildfire blazes around Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Keith Hamm
Santa Barbara Independent
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:29 UTC
Vandenberg Air Force Base wildfire
© Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire
Vandenberg Air Force Base now has three fires burning, with a new start Friday afternoon.
Aircraft, engine crews, and bulldozers are responding to a third wildfire on Vandenberg Air Force Base property, this time in Oak Canyon, north of the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc (FCI Lompoc). Reported at 1:20 p.m., the fire is approximately 30 acres and spreading southward, according to base officials. Crews with the base's fire department are working in conjunction with Lompoc and Santa Barbara County fire departments.

Base officials reported this morning that the 215-acre Washington Fire, burning vegetation on North Base, experienced "minimal activity overnight [and] is under control," according to a statement. The Washington Fire started on Thursday afternoon, reportedly by a power line downed by strong seasonal gusts out of the northwest, forcing the evacuation of several buildings. There have been no reports of damaged structures.

At the same time, about 10 miles away, firefighting crews were closing in on the Canyon Fire, a wildland blaze on South Base that started on September 17. This morning, base officials reported that the 12,500-acre wildfire was 90-percent contained. Its cause has not been released and remains under investigation.

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Tornado2

Two EF1 tornadoes damage homes in Utah

Sean Breslin
The Weather Channel
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 06:15 UTC
tornado damage in Washington Terrace City
© Detrick/Salt Lake Tribune/ Associated PressA structure is damaged after a tornado in Washington Terrace City, Utah, on Thursday. Other storms in the area produced winds over 112 km/h and caused damage to trees and other property close to the nearby city of Layton.
A pair of EF1 tornadoes hit the state of Utah on Thursday, leaving ravaged homes in their wake.

The first report occurred as severe storms rolled through northern Utah Thursday afternoon. Damage to several homes was confirmed after an EF1 tornado was spawned in a neighborhood south of Ogden.

The twister hit Washington Terrace just after 3:30 p.m. local time, according to the Gephardt Daily. It left one home severely damaged, while several other homes sustained minor damage and power lines were downed in the area, the Standard-Examiner reported.

One person was hospitalized with a head injury, but he or she is expected to recover, according to KSL.com. All other injuries were believed to be minor.

Morgan Sewell, whose parents live in the home hit hardest by the tornado, told the Standard-Examiner that they were inside the house when it was ripped apart. Gaelynn Sewell, Morgan's mother, sustained cuts to her leg and was devastated by the loss of her belongings, she told the Salt Lake Tribune.

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Blue Planet

USGS: Magnitude 5.6 quake hits eastern Romania

Sandra Maler and Richard Chang
Reuters
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 00:46 UTC
Bucharest, Romania, Earthquake M5.6 September 23 2016
© earthquake.usgs.govImage of where the quake struck in Romania
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck eastern Romania on Saturday north of Bucharest, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 5.7, struck at 2:11 a.m. (2411 BST on Friday). It was centered 92 miles (149 km) north of Bucharest, and 41 miles (65.98 km) northwest of the town of Buzau.

Comment: See also:

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Blue Planet

USGS: Magnitude 6.5 quake hits off Philippines' Mindanao island

Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler
Thomson Reuters Foundation News
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 23:09 UTC
Earthquake M6.5 Philipines Mindanao September 23 2016
Mindanao Island, Philipines
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the Philippine's Mindanao island on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Comment: See also:

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Question

36 dead gulls found at park in Portland, Maine

Beth McEvoy
wcsh6.com
Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:46 UTC
Juvenile herring gull
Juvenile herring gull
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is asking the public to report any dead birds they may find in the Portland area.

They say over the past three weeks, 36 dead juvenile herring gulls have been found at Deering Oaks Park.

Three of these gulls were sent to be tested at the National Wildlife Disease Lab in Wisconsin and the results of these tests are expected in the next 7-10 days.

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife say herring gulls are the only type of dead birds found at the park even though there are many other species there.

Portland's Parks Director though says Deering Oaks is still a safe place to visit.

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Attention

'It started charging at us': Man recalls beaver attack on couple in Falls Church, Virginia

Dana Hedgeth
The Washington Post
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 20:36 UTC
Beaver
It was "a big, black thing" and coming "straight at" David Souvannaphan, 52, and his wife as they walked along a path in Falls Church, Va.

And before he could figure out what it was, it attacked his wife's sneakers. Turns out it was a beaver, animal control experts said, and in a rare move it attacked the couple.

When Souvannaphan kicked it, he said, the beaver bit him. He fell, grabbed the beaver, looked it in the face and punched it several times in the head with his left fist as it bit and held onto his leg.

The beaver eventually crawled away. Police in Fairfax County said the county's animal control division later responded to the incident.

Comment: Beaver attack reports from across the globe for the last few years: Aggressive beaver attacks 2 swimmers in Killingly, Connecticut

Beaver attacks paddle boarder in Asheville, North Carolina

Beaver attacks man at bus stop in Sweden

Belligerent beaver attacks two Bavarian bystanders in Germany

Woman is savaged by an angry beaver in Russia

Oregon men hospitalized, recovering after rare beaver attack

Animals losing the plot: Couple attacked by beaver in Watchung Reservation, New Jersey

Animals increasingly losing the plot: Vicious beaver attacks snorkeler off Nova Scotia's coast, Canada

Paddling family of three attacked by a beaver in Austria

Vicious beaver attacks and kills man in Belarus

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