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Massive sinkhole opens up in Philadelphia

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A water main break caused a large sinkhole to open up on a street in Northeast Philadelphia.

It happened early Friday morning on Chalfont Drive near Waldemire Drive.

Images from Chopper 6 HD over the scene showed about half of the street had collapsed into a large hole.

Traffic cones, saw horses and police tape were set up around the sinkhole to prevent motorists and pedestrians from getting too close.

There are sixty people without water.

So far, no word on when repairs will be complete.



Snowflake

Early snowfall for Crystal Mountain, Washington

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It's only early September, but at least one Washington ski resort is already seeing some snow.

Crystal Mountain Resort welcomed several inches of fresh snow in the higher elevations late this week. It was bare at the base Saturday, but many visitors were quite surprised to see snow just below the 7,000 foot elevation level.

"It was a surprise. It was a little chilly," Sherri Luick said after stepping off of the resort's gondola. She's visiting the area from Minnesota.

"It's been cloudy ever since we got here. We were hoping to catch a shot of Rainier," said Tyler Paige, who moved to Seattle in early July.

"No such luck. No such luck," Paige Hall added.

A couple inches of snow fell on Friday, which added to the dusting that coated the higher elevations on Thursday, resort employees said.


Cloud Precipitation

Fist-sized hailstones cause injuries and damage cars in Naples, Italy

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© Instagram/barber8813A massive hailstone found near Pozzuoli, Italy.
Fist-sized hail and winds in excess of 75mph cause chaos in city of Naples

This incredible footage shows how a terrifying hail of biblical-sized hailstones caused chaos in the Italian city of Naples .

In a scene right out of a disaster movie, the hailstones, some of them as big as fists, smashed windows, injured people and caused traffic chaos as they engulfed entire nighbourhoods. The hail was accompanied by ferocious winds in excess of 75 mph.


Attention

7-magnitude earthquake shakes Azerbaijan: Updated

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A 7-magnitude earthquake has shaken off Sheki, Azerbaijan, early Friday morning at 9:49AM.

The quake was magnitude 7 in the epicenter and up to magnitude 6.5 in residential areas nearby, the ANAS Republican Seismological Service Center told APA.

The quake occurred at a depth of 13 km.

10:03AM

A powerful earthquake has rocked Azerbaijan early this morning.

The quake was noticed in the districts of Ujar, Aghdash, Shamakhy, Zagatala, Balaken, Sheki, Gabala, Ismayilli, Tovuz, Salyan, Sabirabad, and in the cities of Shirvan and Mingachevir.

The ANAS Republican Seismological Service Center confirmed the fact to APA.

Note that, tremors were felt at the same time in Georgia. The epicenter is yet to be determined.

Cloud Precipitation

Freak hailstorm causes flash flooding in Birmingham, UK

Freak hailstorm in Birmingham, UK
© BPM
Autumn kicked off from where summer ended as heavy downpours and freak hailstorms were reported Tuesday - as this dramatic footage from a Birmingham street shows.

Torrents of water gushed down Norrington Road in Northfield following a thick, white scattering of hailstones on Tuesday evening.

"It was like a river had burst its banks nearby, it was on a biblical level," said Paul Rigby, who captured the incredible moment on his mobile phone outside his home. "The downpour lasted about half an hour, I couldn't believe my eyes."


Cloud Lightning

8 killed by lightning strikes within a day in Odisha, India

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Eight killed in a day
Lightning has also claimed three more precious lives on Sunday in Nabarangpur district in south Odisha.

While two persons got killed in Temra village under Kosaguda block, one person was killed and five injured by lightning in Chhatanbeda under Umerkote on the same day.

As reported earlier, as many as five persons have already been killed and three injured due to lightning at two different places in Odisha on Sunday.

While three women labourers have reportedly been killed and one injured at Pendrakhol under Riamal police limits in Deogarh district in western Odisha, two died of a family in Malkangiri district in western Odisha.

Two children of the same family have been reportedly injured, as per reports.

While father and daughter of the family got killed by lightning, brother and sister have been injured, said sources.

In the Deogarh case, the three women who got struck by lightning were working at a stone crusher unit.

Hardhat

Massive rock slab breaking away from canyon wall of Arizona dam

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© Frank Talbott via APWorkers stabilize sandstone wall along the Glen Canyon dam near Page, Ariz. The massive slab of rock is threatening to come crashing down at the base of the Arizona dam. The three-person crew has been working to stabilize the sandstone that forms the walls surrounding the Glen Canyon dam near the Arizona-Utah border. The slab weighs 500,000 pounds and recently began to crack due to erosion. The area below the slab includes a boat ramp, and water and power facilities for the dam
A massive piece of rock is at risk of crashing down from a canyon wall to the base of an Arizona dam, prompting the government to send in a crew of rappelers to keep the slab in place.

The 500,000-pound slab — weighing more than many jumbo jets — began to break away from the canyon wall last week in what the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation attributes to erosion that is typical for that type of rock. The area below the slab includes a passageway to a boat ramp, a machine shop and water and power facilities for the Glen Canyon Dam, located in Page near the Arizona-Utah border.

The Bureau of Reclamation has cut off access to the boat ramp, putting some rafting trips on hold until the rock can be secured

Attention

Resident warns of raccoon attacks in Vancouver; 3 in the region this year

Raccoon
Raccoon
One of the furry raccoons living in Vancouver's West End has an area resident concerned for others — after one attacked him while he was out walking his dog on Davie near Nicola.

"I have a lot of elderly neighbours here. It could have been someone walking with a toddler. I don't know what would have happened if it had been someone different."

Mark Stahl is six feet tall and can handle himself. But when the animal charged and bit him Tuesday morning he lost his footing and fell.

The animal managed another bite as he rolled over to protect his small dog.

"It was just this little raccoon - you don't think of them being a danger - but it was super aggressive and it was an unprovoked attack."

Comment: See also: Pack of raccoons attack couple in San Francisco


Attention

Man in stable condition following possible bear attack in Campbell County, Tennessee

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A Campbell Co. man is hospitalized after he was attacked by an animal overnight. Investigators believe it was a bear, and are searching for it.
A Campbell County man was sent to the University of Tennessee Medical Center on Friday morning after he was attacked by a "large animal with dark coarse hair."

Michael Savage, 27, of LaFollette sustained "severe and significant injuries," according to Sheriff Robbie Goins. A spokesperson with the University of Tennessee Medical Center said Savage was in stable condition.

Matthew Cameron with TWRA said at a news conference Friday afternoon that authorities could not confirm the animal was a bear. Cameron said the man doesn't know what attacked him.


Attention

High number of dying seabirds found in San Francisco Bay Area

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An alarming number of dead or dying sea birds are washing up on Bay Area beaches and bird rescue centers say they're being inundated with a particular species. ABC7 News traveled to the Marin headlands where many of them are washing up.

Beach goer Holly Barbarisi recently found 20 dead murre sea birds along Rodeo Beach on the Marin headlands. She also found one alive flapping in the surf.

Barbarisi told ABC7 News, "And it was obviously disabled and unable to fend for itself, so I did take it into Wild Care."

That bird and many other survivors are transferred to the International Bird Rescue Center in Fairfield.


Comment: See also these similar recent reports of dead seabirds found along the western seaboard of North America: Hundreds of seabirds wash up either dead or dying along the Oregon and Southwest Washington Coast

Dozens of dead seabirds found on beaches around Homer, Alaska