Earth ChangesS


Attention

61 dead cetaceans have washed up during the past 3 months in Cornwall, UK

The common dolphin on Poldhu beach
Common dolphin on Poldhu beach, Cornwall
Conservationists say there has been the biggest rise in the number of dead dolphins, porpoises and whales found off Cornwall since 2006.

Sixty-one dead cetaceans were recorded between January and March by Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

The trust said previous post-mortem tests showed animals had died from pollution, illnesses, natural causes and after being caught in fishing nets.

A fishing co-operative said deterrents, including pingers, were being used.

Scientists have been working with the fishing community to fit boats in Cornwall larger than 14m with the devices, which let out a noise to repel the creatures.

Attention

Signs and Portents double up: Piglet born with 8 trotters followed by another with 2 mouths in Argentina

The 'spider-pig' died shortly after birth
© CENThe 'spider-pig' died shortly after birth
A real life 'spider pig ' has been born - with eight trotters.

Amazingly the same sow also gave birth to another piglet with two mouths.

The unusual animals were born in El Galpon, in the north-west Argentine province of Salta.

Farmer Santiago Valdez said he was astonished when the sow delivered the eight-hooved piglet, dubbed "spider-pig," after its namesake in The Simpsons movie.

Sadly, the piglet did not survive for long, and died shortly after birth.

The farmer was even more shocked when the second pig was born with two mouths, although that had to be put down as it was unable to feed itself.

Cloud Precipitation

Flooding hits Nairobi, Kenya after 96mm of rain in 6 hours

Floods in South C, Nairobi, Kenya, April 2016.
© Kenyan TrafficFloods in South C, Nairobi, Kenya, April 2016.
Residents of Nairobi, Kenya, woke up to flooded streets and blocked roads as a result of heavy rain that the city received for the better part of last night. The worst hit areas of the city include South C and Mbagathi.

The flooding came after a long dry period that has characterized the weather conditions of the city and the country at large over the last 3 months.

As much as 96mm of rain was recorded in 6 hours at the Dagoretti Meteorological station which is at the Meteorological headquarters in the city.

Mbagathi

In Mbagathi, the river of the same name had overflowed, pushing water to the roads and blocking normal operation of the traffic activities. Entrepreneurial young men earned money by carrying pedestrians across flooded areas. Scenes became more unusual when foam from the river spilled over onto nearby streets, much to the puzzlement of passers-by.


Wolf

Woman mauled, killed by own dog in Leesburg, Florida

house
Police responded Thursday to a Florida home where officials believe a woman was mauled and killed by her dog.

Lake County emergency medical services and Leesburg Fire Rescue requested police assistance on a medical call. Medical first responders entered the back of the home where Sonda Tyson, 66, was found dead, according to a release.

A person called 911 from the home and reported the victim was bleeding everywhere, had bite marks on her arms and the caller could see Tyson's bones.

Officials said they discovered a brindle pit bull mix, weighing about 100 pounds and covered in blood inside the home.
They believe it is likely the reason for the victim's injuries.


Attention

8 baby dolphins die in a week in Pass Christian, Mississippi

The number of dead dolphins found in 2016 is at 36
© WLOX NewsThe number of dead dolphins found in 2016 is at 36
The body of an infant dolphin was discovered along the shoreline in Pass Christian Wednesday, marking the eighth baby mammal to wash ashore in the past week.

According to the director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Dr. Moby Solangi, the number of infant dolphin standings in 2016 is "more than all of the last two years." Solangi says that in 2015, 35 dead dolphin were found along the Mississippi Coast. Just two days before April in 2016, that number stands at 46.

"The dolphins are on top of the food chains and serve as a biological indicator of the environment. They are the canary in the mine. So whatever happens to them, will ultimately happen to us, so it's very important for us to find out what's going on with these marine mammals," said Solangi.

The number of dolphin deaths are on pace to eclipse 2010, the year of the Gulf Oil spill when 65 dolphin died in Mississippi waters.

Attention

Strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake shakes Alaska, no tsunami warning

An earthquake with magnitude 6.2 occurred near Port Heiden,100 kilometers northeast of Chignik Lake,  southwestern Alaska.
An earthquake with magnitude 6.2 occurred near Port Heiden,100 kilometers northeast of Chignik Lake, southwestern Alaska.
A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook a lightly populated remote region of southwestern Alaska, the US Geological Survey that monitors quakes worldwide reported.

The quake struck at 0550 GMT on Saturday on the Aleutian arc some 654 kilometers southwest of Anchorage, and 100 kilometers northeast of Chignik Lake, Alaska.

The National Tsunami Warning Center said that no watch, warning or advisory would be issued for the quake.

"A tsunami is NOT expected to be generated by this earthquake," the Center said.

The earthquake epicenter was 58 miles below the surface, the Alaska Earthquake Center reported.

Question

Massive mystery explosion obliterates apartment block in Paris

gas explosion paris
© EPA A building partially collapsed after an enormous explosion in Paris’s 6th arrondissement
A violent explosion has rocked the centre of Paris, destroying part of a building and sending smoke rising over the French capital.

Officials said at least five people were injured in the blast, which blew out windows in an 100m radius and sent debris raining into surrounding streets.

Residents living nearby in the 6th arrondissement were evacuated after the accident, which may have been caused by a gas cooker according to police sources.


Comment: Not likely! At least, not exclusively.


Kem Phetsomphou said he felt the explosion inside the Tour Montparnasse, formerly France's tallest skyscraper, which overlooks the district.

Comment: The authorities almost instantly reported that it was definitely not the result of a terrorist's bomb. Funny how they can know such things for certain so soon. It's almost like they have mystical powers of foresight...

In any event, we could be looking at an unusual, though natural, cause here.

Note that firefighters had been tackling a fire on the ground floor of the building next door for over an hour before the explosion. This is reminiscent of the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion in 2013.

Unlike that event, however, there was no apparent 'missile' hitting the site from above.

While a gas cooker cannot obliterate an apartment block, a surge of gas and/or power through the mains may have provided some of the additional 'fuel' behind the force of the blast.

Residential and industrial buildings have been exploding all over the place in recent years. It's an interesting 'quirk of history' that terrorism has been rolled out globally, at this time, thus providing a plausible 'explanation' for events that are largely the result of natural changes in our environment - not least, 'Earth opening up' in the form of increased earthquakes, sinkholes and methane outgassing, and 'the sky falling' in the form of increased meteor events and atmospheric electric discharges.


Alarm Clock

Volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupts in Colombia

Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption
A strong explosion occurred at the volcano Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia on March 31, 2016. Just prior the eruption increased seismic activity was captured by seismometers around the volcano.

The resulting ash column rose 3,500 m to 30,000 ft (9 km) altitude and drifted NW. Ash fall is likely in nearby areas.

The Manizales volcano observatory reported that over the past days, a number of similar, but weaker tremor pulses were recorded at the volcano recently.

When the summit of the volcano was not in clouds, it could be observed that at least some of these weak volcanic earthquakes also produced small to moderate ash emissions.

And the volcanic unrest continues...

Arrow Up

Copahue Volcano in Chile erupts, seen from space

Copahue volcano eruption fron space
© Astro_Jeff/TwitterAstronaut Jeff Williams shared a photo of a volcano erupting in Chile
The volcanic peak Copahue, which sits at the border of Argentina and Chile, erupted today after weeks of gradually increasing activity. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams posted this photo of the volcano going nuts from the International Space Station, from which the eruption was clearly visible.

The volcano had been exhibiting increased ash emission for months, and especially within the past week.

The region remained at a Yellow Alert in the days leading up to the eruption. Authorities also reported on March 22 that there was no danger from Copahue's ash emissions to the surrounding population (a rough translation is below):

Cloud Grey

Ominous shelf cloud appears in San Antonio, Texas as storm moves through dropping nickel-size hail

shelf cloud san antonio
© KENS5.com
The menacing dark cloud rolled over parts of Bexar County as rain and hail made its way over areas north of San Antonio.

This threatening cloud rolled into northern Bexar County, Texas on Friday morning, stunning onlookers in the area.