Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Cars swept away as Arabian peninsula is slammed with deluges of rain and hail

Saudi Arabia Weather
© Saudi Arabia Weather
These are the first videos erupting on social network of the biblical flooding hitting Ta'if, Saudi Arabia right now.

And when I say biblical, it's because I didn't want to use apocalyptical!

Unstable conditions started sweeping across Saudi Arabia on Monday, April 3, 2016.

And reinforced during the beginning of the week to deliver heavy downpours on Ta'if and its region.

The low is sweeping from North to South and has created biblical hailstorms in the central part of the country on April 6, 2016.



Attention

Shark attacks jet ski off Fraser Island, Australia (VIDEO)

Shark attacks jet ski
© LiveLeak / YouTube
Two incredibly brave (or incredibly stupid) tourists got way too close to a shark while enjoying a jet ski excursion in Australia and were lucky to escape without injury.

While cruising around Fraser Island's idyllic blue waters off the coast of Queensland, the couple noticed a shadow in the waters below and - cue the Jaws theme - decided to check it out.

Getting far too close for comfort, the pair was lucky to escape when the shark launched from the water to attack but only connected with the jet ski and, thankfully, not one of their limbs.

"No one was injured although the jetski did get some small scuff marks where the shark contacted the ski," the couple wrote online afterwards.


Arrow Down

Large sinkhole forms in San Diego causing landslide near homes

San Diego landslide
© Fox 5A house appears to be compromised after land slides into canyon in the College Area.
A portion of land slid down into a canyon behind a house in the College area after a large sinkhole formed Wednesday morning, officials said.

"They saw a large portion of the earth give way behind this address," said Captain Joe Amador, San Diego Fire & Rescue. Captain Amador described the slide as 30 to 40 feet wide and about 150 feet up the ravine. He said crews were called to home 5600 block of Dorothy Way just after 9AM.

"Reportedly some of the neighbors heard noises last night even up to 2 or 3 nights ago," said Amador. "There was no hazards, no body was hurt , we sealed off the area with bannered tape."

No one was hurt, but the slide has neighbors living on edge. "I hope it doesn't come on my side," said Julia Bain, neighbor.
Bain is one of the original residents in the neighborhood. "We built here in 1954, my father built the home with a contractor," said Bain.

Julia said she's pretty sure her home is stable and safe. "There are pillars that go down some 20 feet under the house itself, my house should be safe," said Bain. "I'm a little nervous with the rains this week. I am a little concerned."

City engineers red-tagged the pool and shed of the home, late Wednesday evening the main house was declared safe. Julia hopes the landslide will not grow. "This is my home of 60 years and I don't know what I'd do if I have problems here," said Bain

Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods kill 2 during rain storm in Oman

A taxi washed away by floodwaters smashes into a four-wheel-drive during heavy rains in Oman on Friday.
© TwitterA taxi washed away by floodwaters smashes into a four-wheel-drive during heavy rains in Oman on Friday.
Despite repeated warnings by Omani authorities, two Omanis were killed when their vehicle was swept away by flood waters in Wadi Kabeel of Qurayat province on Friday.

Three other Omanis were rescued in Wadi Bani Karoos in the Dhank province according to the Public Authority for Civil Defense and Ambulance (PACDA).

Heavy rain has been lashing northern parts of the country due to a deep depression which is expected to last two more days.

The rain forced the cancellation of the Red Bull F1 Showrun, where Scottish driver David Coultard was expected to make an appearance in Mutrah Corniche on Friday afternoon.

The race lasted for less than two minutes instead of the planned two-hour event. Hundreds of racing fans had gathered along the sea road in Mutrah to watch the race.


Rain in Oman.
© TwitterRain in Oman.

Attention

Earthquake strikes major volcano in Iceland

Bárðarbunga
© Rax / Ragnar AxelssonBárðarbunga volcano
There was a major earthquake on the northern edge of the Bárðarbunga volcanic craters at around midnight last night.

The quake measured 4.2 on the Richter scale and is therefore the largest quake to have hit the famous volcano since it stopped erupting in February last year.

According to Bjarki Fries, a natural disasters specialist with the Icelandic met office, the earthquake emanated from 3.5 kilometers underground. Around 15 aftershocks have already been measured, the most powerful of which was a 3.5 quake at 01.00 this morning.

Met office earthquakes specialist Martin Hensch told RÚV that there is no evidence of lava movements or of any eruption activity connected to the earthquakes, but that the situation will be monitored carefully. There were two quakes in the same location on April 3, measuring 3.4 and 3 on the Richter scale.

The recent eruption at Bárðarbunga, often known as Holuhraun, lasted from late August 2014 to late February 2015, and despite not affecting aviation or physically threatening any human settlements, it caused dangerous levels of pollution around Iceland and produced more new lava than almost any other eruption in Iceland since the Vikings first arrived.

Cloud Precipitation

Flooding displaces thousands after 4 days of heavy rainfall in Argentina and Uruguay

Floods in La Paz, Entre Rios, Argentina, April 2016.
© Municipalidad de La PazFloods in La Paz, Entre Rios, Argentina, April 2016.
Heavy rain has affected Uruguay and northern provinces of Argentina, causing several rivers to overflow and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people. Some local media reports claim over half a metre of rain has fallen in some areas of Argentina in the last 4 days. One man is reported to have died after drowning in a swollen river in Entre Ríos.

Argentina

Thousands have been affected by heavy rain and flooding in the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Santa Fe.

Heavy rain has also affected parts of the province of Formosa where thousands are yet to return to their homes since the Paraguay River overflowed in December 2015.



Attention

Violent elephant runs amok and kills two mahouts in India

The elephant that killed two mahouts at Karukanchal being brought under control
© E V RageshThe elephant that killed two mahouts at Karukanchal being brought under control
An elephant which turned violent killed both its mahouts besides creating a ruckus in Champakkara in Kottayam district on Thursday. Gopinathan Nair, 60, from Karukachal and Akhil (Kannan), 30, from Ithithanam were killed. It was the elephant Channanikkad Ayyappan which had turned violent round 3pm.

The elephant floored the first mahout Nair before goring him to death. Following this the elephant ran out of the compound and the second mahout Kannan was killed while he tried to chain the elephant. Gopinathan succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital while Kannan succumbed to injuries at the Medical College Hospital.

The elephant which had turned violent ran nearly seven kilometres before tranquilised by veterinary surgeon Sabu C Issac of the elephant squad by around 4.30pm. The local residents went through tense moments for over an hour.

Angry elephant

Fire

'Suspicious' wildfire breaks out at Havasu National Wildlife Refuge

wildfire
© Reuters/San Bernardino Fire Department
A helicopter makes a drop on a fire which broke out in Arizona and spread into California, sparking the evacuation of two recreational vehicle parks near the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge in California.
A "suspicious" brush fire broke out in Arizona and spread into California on Wednesday, sparking the evacuation of two recreational vehicle parks, as hot and dry weather complicated efforts to contain the blaze.

"It's hot and windy and we're expecting the fire to grow," said Jeff Allen, an engineer and paramedic with the San Bernardino County Fire Department in Southern California. Allen said the fire was 5 percent contained.

The fire broke out as agencies across the western United States gear up for what is expected to be another busy fire season in a region suffering the effects of a prolonged drought, including millions of trees dead from lack of water.

Bizarro Earth

Dust storm blankets Texas Panhandle and northern Oklahoma

dust storm texas panhandle
Strong winds associated with a cold front picked up dust and debris and created a heavy, 160 km (100 miles) wide dust storm that blanketed much of Texas Panhandle late April 5/April 6, 2016.

NWS Amarillo forecaster Nicholas Fenner said the storm threw dust about 610 meters (2,000 feet) into the air. The storm reached as far north as Oklahoma Panhandle and as far south as Lubbock, Texas before it dissipated.

There were no reports of any road closures or anyone hurt from the dust storm.

Cloud Lightning

Storm kills 5,000 birds in Jessore, Bangladesh

Dead birds
Dead birds
Roughly 5,000 birds of different species were killed as a nor'wester wreaked havoc at Tirerhat village in Jessore Sadar upazila on Wednesday night.

Locals said they found around 5,000 birds, including Doel, Shalik, Masranga, Bulbuli and Ghughu, lying dead at different places of the village after the storm on Thursday morning, according to a news agency report.

Later, they buried the dead birds at the village.

Dr. Saibur Rahman Mollah, dean of the Environmental Science Faculty of Jessore University of Science and Technology, said the death of such a large number of birds will certainly have a bad impact on the biodiversity of the area.

Source: SRS