Earth ChangesS


Umbrella

Massive flooding, mudslides wash over Southern California

Mudslide in California
© Ap/Damian DovarganesA mud flow skirts a house protected with sandbags in Monrovia, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.
It has been a stormy week across California with several El Niño-enhanced storms slamming the state, resulting in widespread flooding and road closures.

Southern California has been one of the areas hit the hardest by the train of storms with inches of rain falling in the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Diego.


"Drainage systems have been unable to handle the deluge, forcing partial closures of roads and major interstates, including Interstate 5," AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff said.

Comment: See also:


Wolf

Child dead following dog attack in Grayson County, Virginia

Pit bull terrier
Grayson County Sheriff's office has confirmed the 15 month old child attacked by a dog has died.

Officials said the child died last night. They have not released any more information at this time.

According to the Grayson County Sheriff's Office, deputies, rescue personnel and Animal Control responded to a 911 call at 443 Penn Ford Road on Wednesday, January 6, around 9:30 p.m. When they arrived they met with the residents, John Underwood and Terra Connell. Underwood told investigators he woke up after hearing the screams of a 15-month-old child he and Connell were babysitting. Underwood said their Pit Bull mix "E.J." mauled the child and had the girl's head in its mouth. Underwood was bitten in the face while trying to stop the attack. The child was flown to Brenner Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she remains in critical condition.


Arrow Down

Large sinkhole develops near La Jolla, California seawall

La Jolla sinkhole
© ABC News
A large sinkhole developed near a seawall in the La Jolla Shores area Thursday morning after a series of storms pummeled the region.

The 10-foot-wide sinkhole developed sometime before 5 a.m. at the bottom of Avenida De La Playa and Camino Del Oro, across from the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.

Both city of San Diego and San Diego Gas & Electric crews were on scene working on repairs.

SDG&E said it will have to build a new gas line to divert service in the area away from the hole. Because of the tide flowing in and the next storm coming Friday as well, city crews may not be able to start repairs until later this week.


Camcorder

Strange sounds heard in Netherlands sky

strange sounds netherlands
© YouTube
Strange sounds in the air above the Netherlands.


Comment: Strange sounds were heard by Dutch citizens across the country.


Clock

Major Russian Shiveluch volcano erupts again

Shiveluch volcano
© IVS FEB RAS/Y. Demyanchuk
The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Kamchatka erupted once again on Sunday, as the volcano's activity continues to grow, potentially leading to a major eruption.

The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Kamchatka territory woke up on Sunday morning local time, releasing a plume seven kilometers up in the atmosphere, the Kamchatka Branch of the Russian Academy of Science's Geophysical Service said.

Ice Cube

Violent summer hailstorm batters Johannesburg: Golf ball sized hailstones and heavy rain destroy shopping mall roof

hailstorm damage in Johannesburg
© emmanuelmarikite / Instagram

A violent hailstorm has wreaked havoc in Johannesburg, South Africa, causing the roof of a shopping mall to collapse and local residents to take shelter in their homes.

It's summer in South Africa, but dark clouds gathered over the African nation's largest city at around 3pm on Saturday, covering the streets with an unseasonable layer of snow and hailstones the size of golf balls.


Emergency services were called to the Key West Shopping Center in a town west of Johannesburg after the ceiling began to sag and disintegrate, the local Krugersdorp News reported.

Amazingly, nobody was killed, but three people were injured.

Pictures show how steel beams and debris caved in under the weight of heavy rain, the worst to hit the area in years.

Comment: Violent and freak hailstorms are being increasingly reported from around the world. A selection from the past few months include:


No Entry

Driver shows quick thinking as he sees oncoming floods on highway in Ventura County, California

Flood on Road
This petrifying footage shows one driver's quick thinking when faced with a deluge of flood water heading his way.

The video shows him driving along a empty road in the rain with no sign of any trouble.

But within seconds, muddy brown floodwaters and debris comes rushing towards him in scenes straight out of a Hollywood movie.

Thanks to some quick thinking, he throws the car smoothly into reverse and starts backing away from the danger at some speed.


Attention

4.4 magnitude tremor hits eastern Nepal

earthquake
A fresh tremor of local magnitude 4.4 was felt in eastern Nepal on Saturday midnight.

According to the National Seismological Centre, the light tremor was recorded at around 11:23:28 pm and it has been listed as an aftershock of the April 25 earthquake.

The epicentre of the aftershock was in Ramechhap district, with the coordinates of the location 27.48°N, 86.01°E. The location lies around 15 kilometres northwest of the district headquarters, Manthali.

With this, the NSC records show that as many as 424 significant aftershocks (of local magnitude 4.0 or above) have followed the devastating earthquake on April 25. Around 9,000 people were killed in the earthquake and its powerful May 12 aftershock in Nepal.

Earlier on January 4 morning, tremors of the powerful earthquake that struck northeast India were felt in the eastern Nepal also.

Ice Cube

Record number of 600 turtles rescued from ocean following cold snap in North Carolina

Turtle
Cold-stunned turtle
State biologists now say a record number of turtles were rescued earlier this week from our coast.

In all, 600 cold-stunned turtles were caught in frigid waters near the shore, as they were not able to swim.

The North Carolina Aquariums took in nearly 450 turtles, including the one at Pine Knoll Shores. Many of the turtles have made a quick recovery, but others need additional time and care before they can return to the ocean.

State officials say about 200 of the turtles will be transported to South Carolina & Georgia beaches tomorrow where they will be released into warmer waters. The rest will stay here for a couple of weeks for rehabilitation.

Tornado2

Supermarket van overturned as mini tornado touches down in Wales

mini tornado in Wales
The mini tornado swept through a supermarket car park and flipped a large Tesco van onto its side

'I've never seen anything like it,' says an eyewitness at the Tesco superstore


A mini tornado swept through a supermarket car park with such force it turned a large online delivery van on its side, a man has claimed.

Paul Boyce, who lives in Raven Hill, Swansea, told the Swansea Evening Post he was at Tesco in Fforestfach when he heard a loud bang.

When he went outside, he claims he found the van overturned and the store front's Tesco Extra sign partially ripped off by the wind's strength.

He said: "The noise was absolutely incredible. It was so loud. It was like a metal being ripped, and the wind was absolutely howling. I had no idea what it could be.

"I saw the manager and he told me there had been a mini tornado that had touched down just outside.

"I didn't believe him at first, but I went to have a look and I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

Comment: Other incidents of 'rare' UK tornadoes in the past year include: West Sussex, Northampton, Somerset, Newport and Northern Ireland.