Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 6 in Uttar Pradesh, India

Lightning
Lightning claimed six lives including four children of a family in Sonbhadra district on Sunday.

According to reports, Golu (7), Pushpa (5), Durgavati (7), Gudia (13), Nandu (7) and Gita (8) of a family of Tolabadi area of Kanahar, were playing under a tree in morning, when massive lightning struck them. Golu, Durgavati, Pushpa and Gudia died on the spot while Nandu and Gita suffered serious injuries.

On getting information, SDM Sadar Kailash Singh reached the incident site and asked policemen to rush the injured children to NTPC hospital. He assured the family that government will provide compensation to them.

Meanwhile, in Sagobandh area of Babhani one more child Renu (7) was killed in lightning while Raju and Kamlesh suffered burns. One Nirmala Devi (26) of Bairkhand area of Windomganj was also killed in lightning. Their bodies were sent for postmortem.

Cloud Lightning

Three boys killed by lightning bolt in Odisha, India

Lightning
In a tragic incident three boys killed in a lightning strike today in Megha village under Athgarh subdivision in Odisha's Cuttack district.

According to reports the boys had taken shelter under a mango tree in the village as heavy rains lashed the area. It was here when lightning struck them and they were killed on the spot.

More details are awaited.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning damage claims 15 times higher than normal in June says UK insurer

Huge storms: Britain - and especially the South East - have had a number of big storms this month causing flash flooding and lightning damage
Huge storms: Britain - and especially the South East - have had a number of big storms this month causing flash flooding and lightning damage
June has been a washout month for the British weather, especially in London and the South East, with flash flooding and storms hitting many households and motorists.

As a result, one of Britain's biggest insurance firms, Direct Line, says June has had roughly 15 times the normal number of lightning claims with 200 so far with a week still to go.


One policyholder in Preston, Lancashire, claimed for £46,000 of damage after a single lightning bolt struck their home, it said.

This caused damage to the electrical system: CCTV cameras, intruder alarm, water features, telephone line, heating and lighting systems were just some of the listed items that required replacing in the insurer's biggest lightning claim to date.

The strike also damaged four flat screen TVs and Sky boxes together with a Bang & Olufsen sound system in the home's gymnasium.

Cloud Lightning

Thousands of lightning strikes spark dozens of new wildfires across Alaska

lightning strikes across Alaska
© Courtesy Alaska Interagency Coordination Center10,292 lightning strikes were recorded across Alaska between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on June 26, 2016, according to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.

Thousands of lightning strikes over the weekend, especially in northern Alaska, have given wildfire crews more than three dozen new fires to contain and track, including at least three near Huslia.

According to Sunday posts on the Alaska Wildland Fire Information blog, maintained by the federal Bureau of Land Management's Alaska Fire Service, about 18,000 new lightning strikes were reported across the state from Friday through Sunday evening, including 10,292 in a 12-hour period from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

"By 10 p.m. Sunday, there were an estimated 37 new fires reported throughout the state including a few false alarms," fire officials wrote. "Initial attack suppression efforts are underway on several fires with more discoveries anticipated Monday."

Alaska Fire Service spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said in an email Monday morning that numerous tasks remained for fire crews in the wake of the weekend's lightning.

"Things will be changing a little bit today as we add more crews to some fires, fly other fires to see where they're burning and check other areas that recorded lightning strikes to see if anything ignited," Ipsen wrote.

The fire service reported 24 of the new fires are within the service's jurisdiction, with at least four new fires being actively fought by firefighters Sunday.

"Five loads of smokejumpers were dispatched to five different fires at different times Sunday," fire officials wrote.

Comment: A study 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?


Bizarro Earth

Experts discover link between glyphosate use and rise in strange animal deformities

glyphosate
In rural northeast Argentina, the number of animals born with strange deformities has skyrocketed. According to locals, a supernatural spirit is responsible for the recent flux of deformities. However, experts discovered a correlation between the rise in deformities and the increased use of glyphosate.

"It is well-documented that glyphosate promotes soil pathogens and is already implicated with the increase of more than 40 plant diseases; it dismantles plant defenses by chelating vital nutrients; and it reduces the bioavailability of nutrients in feed, which in turn can cause animal disorders," wrote Don Huber, an emeritus professor of plant pathology at Purdue University.

In one case, a piglet born with skin so thin, allowed the farmer to see the piglet's blood pumping. In a nearby village, a black puppy was born with a mini trunk protruding from its nose.


Comment: Monsanto's most dangerous product? The case against Glyphosate


Attention

Strong 5.7 magnitude earthquake hits near Pinotepa Nacional, Mexico

Map Mexico
© Google
A strongly earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 has struck near the city of Pinotepa Nacional in the southwestern state of Oaxaca, with shaking felt as far away as Mexico City, seismologists and residents say.

The earthquake, which struck at 3:50 p.m. local time on Monday, was centered about 20 kilometers southeast of Pinotepa Nacional, according to Mexico's seismological agency SSN. It said the earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 20 kilometers.

SSN initially measured Monday's earthquake at 6.0 before downgrading it to 5.4, but the U.S. Seismological Agency put the magnitude at 5.7.

Details about damage or casualties were not immediately available, but the tremors were felt as far away as Mexico City, where buildings shook and some were evacuated. Because the earthquake struck on land, there is no threat of a tsunami.

Mexico sits on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin which is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. In late March, a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Mexico, killing at least two people and injuring 11 others.

Wolf

Hyena crushes sleeping boy's face at Kruger National Park, South Africa

Spotted Hyena
Spotted Hyena
A 15-year-old boy from Centurion was bitten in the face by a hyena in the Kruger National Park on Sunday, a SANParks spokesperson has said.

Erco "Boela" Janse van Rensburg woke up at 04:30 in his tent at the Crocodile Bridge Camp to find a hyena's jaws around his head.

After biting Erco's face, the hyena dragged the 15-year-old by the collar of his pyjama top before sitting on him, Netwerk24 reported.


The boy's grandfather, Basie Smalberger, told Netwerk24 that Erco described the harrowing sound like "chips breaking in a packet."

When he was found, a nurse applied first aid at the camp, before his parents rushed him to a hospital in Nelspruit. He was then transported by helicopter to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg where he underwent plastic and reconstructive surgery to his mouth and jaw.

Attention

Mega earthquake Central USA, potential to kill tens of thousands

New Madrid Fault map
© www.activistpost.comScope of things to come?
America is bracing itself for a massive earthquake in the centre of the country that could kill and injure tens of thousands of people.

It is well known that California and most of the west coast of the USA are thought to be long overdue magnitude 7 or stronger earthquakes. News there has been significant movement along the 800-mile San Andreas Fault in the Sunshine State and an emergency drill of how to deal with a devastating tsunami along the length of the west coast, have kept both impending natural disasters in the headlines across the globe. But it has largely been forgotten that another potential disaster is lurking within the ground in Missouri.

The 150-mile long New Madrid Seismic Zone in New Madrid, Missouri, is the source of the concern, and is also thought to be overdue for a massive tremor, which would impact seven states - Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. It has not seen significant earthquakes for more than 200 years.

In the winter of 1811 and 1812 there were three earthquakes of magnitude 7 - as high as 7.7 - and a series of aftershocks across the American Midwest. The results were catastrophic, with the course of the Mississippi being diverted, chasms ripping open, and volcanoes of sand and water bursting through the ground.


Comment: The North American Craton, an unbudgeable mass at the center of the continent, experiences an ongoing squeeze play from a) Pacific Plate and N. American Plate subduction activities steadily pushing eastward, and b) the Mid Atlantic Ridge spreading westward. In the middle is the New Madrid Fault Zone. Its last big earthquake was felt from the Rockies to the Atlantic coast, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. Though the spacing history between eruptions suggests it is not due, given the rapidly increasing PAC-RIM earth changes of late, concern is not unfounded.


Attention

Last 10 months have been the worst period for floods and fires in U.S. history

Erskine fire
© KBAK via CNN)Flames from the Erskine fire tear through a house in the Lake Isabella area.
As you read this article, the state of California is being ravaged by gigantic wildfires that are raging wildly out of control, and West Virginia is dealing with a "500 year flood". Since last September, the U.S. has been hit by a series of 11 historic floods. Never before in American history have we seen so many major floods within such a compressed space of time.

And just as the Shemitah year ended last September, massive wildfires began erupting all over the country. Thanks to that unprecedented outbreak of large fires, 2015 ended up being the worst year for wildfires in all of U.S. history. And since 2016 began, things have continued to get worse. As far as the total number of acres burned is concerned, we are more than a million acres ahead of the pace that was set last year. So why in the world is all of this happening?

The wildfires that are ripping through many parts of California right now are making headlines all over the world. In particular, the extremely quick moving Erskine fire in Kern County has already destroyed more than 200 homes and authorities are picking through the rubble hoping that they won't discover too many bodies...
The charred remains of two people were found inside a burned down mobile home which went up in flames as the fire tore through the South Lake area of Sierra Nevada, officials said.

The bodies were so horrifically burned that a forensic investigation is required to determine whether they belonged to a human or animal, said Kern County Sheriff spokesman Ray Pruitt.

Officials warned that more residents may be forced to flee the advancing flames as the fire has already scorched more than 30,000 acres.

Comment: For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the planet, check out the monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - May 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs


Arrow Down

Depleted groundwater is causing Beijing to sink

Beijing
© Andy Wong/APA woman carrying an umbrella to shield from the sun as she walks past a mural on display near a construction site at the Central Business District of Beijing, Thursday, June 16, 2016.
China's capital of Beijing is literally sinking into the ground, a recent study found. "An international study led by Beijing-based researchers has discovered that the city is dropping by as much as 11 centimeters (4 inches) in some districts per year," CNN reported Sunday.

The sinking is happening because of the city's depleted groundwater, with central districts the most severely affected. The city regulates the instillation of wells but inconsistently applies it, the Guardian reported.

China requires around 3.5 billion liters of water each year. Water management has been a struggle for the world's most populous country, with droughts causing billions of dollars in damage and leaving many citizens and animals without drinking water in southern China a few years ago.