Earth ChangesS


Tornado2

At least 4 dead as tornado rips through Hattiesburg, Mississippi


RT
Sat, 21 Jan 2017 22:41 UTC
Hattiesburg tornado damage
© @starkville_computers / Instagram
A vicious tornado ripped through Hattiesburg in Mississippi killing at least four people and causing widespread structural damage.

The tornado prompted Mayor Johnny DuPree to sign an emergency declaration as dozens of firefighters continue to search for casualties from the devastating storm.

Homes and buildings have been decimated, trees uprooted and numerous cars, and even a large truck, were flipped over. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) said at least four people are known to have died.

The tornado caused damage across a three-county area, according to local news outlet the Hattiesburg American, quoting Lee Smithson of MEMA.


Comment: Study: Tornado outbreaks are increasing - but scientists don't understand why

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Fire

'Loud explosion' heard as residents lose power in South Wales

Jack Pitts
South Wales Evening Post
Fri, 20 Jan 2017 08:50 UTC
south wales explosion
© Connor Smitham
Almost 10,000 homes were plunged into darkness as power left parts of Swansea.

Residents around the Marina heard a loud explosion and emergency services were rushed to the scene.

The incident at Monmouth House in Cambrian Place is not being treated as suspicious and teams are working to solve the problem.

Fire station manager Steve Richards said at the scene: "It's an underground cable fault. We responded to several calls of a large explosion in the vicinity of Monmouth House.
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Bizarro Earth

Major 8.0-magnitude earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea


BNO News
Sun, 22 Jan 2017 05:02 UTC
PNG Quake
© USGS
A major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 has struck Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands, prompting a tsunami alert for both the islands and the wider region, seismologists say. Only few details are available.

FOR LIVE UPDATES: Twitter, Facebook

The earthquake, which struck at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, was centered about 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of Panguna, a town on Bougainville Island that is located northeast of mainland Papua New Guinea and is geographically part of the Solomon Islands archipelago.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which put the preliminary magnitude at 8.4, said the earthquake struck at a depth of 168 kilometers (104 miles), making it a relatively deep quake. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) put the preliminary magnitude at 8.0.

As a result, a tsunami alert has been issued for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Vanuatu, and Chuuk. "Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

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Igloo

Freak snowfall brings winter to New Zealand resorts in summer!


Stuff
Sun, 22 Jan 2017 00:44 UTC
Snowfall in Summer
© Ewan MackieGuests awoke to 30 centimetres of fresh snow on Sunday morning.
Guests at Cardrona Alpine Resort, near Wanaka, have woken to a winter wonderland - in the middle of summer.

Light snow began falling on Saturday afternoon, but increased to heavy falls overnight, leaving a 30-centimetre base, Cardrona marketing coordinator Matt McIvor said. The white stuff was still falling on Sunday morning.

In five years at the resort McIvor said he had never seen these conditions in January.
Snowfall in Wanaka
© Ewan MackieFreak snowfall in January has brought winter to Cardrona Alpine Resort near Wanaka.
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House

Tennessee couple lose home to large sinkhole

Bill Mitchell
WDEF
Fri, 20 Jan 2017 18:13 UTC
East Brainerd, TN sinkhole
© Cecilia Lanzar
Most of us don't expect to suddenly lose access to our home and belongings because they fell into a sink hole.

But that's what happened to Cecilia Lanzar and her husband who live in East Brainerd last December.

They are now stuck in limbo as their insurance company and engineers figure out what to do next.

Cecilia Lanzar had been hearing "creeking" noises in her home for several weeks, but on December 1 st she never expected to see what was happening that morning.

CECILIA LANZAR, HOMEOWNER "So, I opened the blinds and the deck was tilting." A big sinkhole had opened up almost overnight. She knew that water had been flowing across her lawn from a broken water pump that belongs to Amberleigh Apartments on the hill above her home. And, according to city inspectors it had weakened her lawn .
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Sun

Double sun halo captured in Fairbanks, Alaska

Space
The Earth Chronicles of Life
Sat, 21 Jan 2017 15:08 UTC
Double sun halo in Alaska
Winter storm walked through the city of Fairbanks in Alaska. During its peak, "he left a lot of ice crystals in the air," says a local resident Bernard Marsha. "We saw a beautiful sight — a sun halo, including a double, January 17," he says.

The inner ring — a common 22-degree solar halo, which was formed by passing sunlight through ice crystals in the form of hexagonal prisms. The outer ring — something a little more exotic. "This is the 46-degree halo, explains atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. — They are more rare than is written in the textbooks and on websites".

And 22-degree and 46-degree halos are formed due to the same ice crystals in the form of hexagonal prisms, but the 46-degree halo is very dim, and they are almost always impossible to see. Therefore, when the outer ring is seen, usually it's some other phenomenon. "Upper tangent arc, halo, — defines Cowley. — They are formed when the hexagonal columnar crystals arranged in a horizontal row in the air, and can impersonate the 46-degree halo."
Sun halo rings
© Bernard Marsha
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Seismograph

Series of eight earthquakes recorded in Colorado overnight

Chris Sorensen
Kiowa County Press
Fri, 20 Jan 2017 14:17 UTC
GRAPH
Eight earthquakes rocked the mountains in Pitkin and Gunnison County area Thursday night according to the United States Geological Surey.

The first occurred shortly after 8:00 p.m., and was in Pitkin County 17 miles south of Carbondale. It measured 2.8 on the Richter Scale and occurred about three miles beneath the surface.

A second quake, less than 10 miles away, occurred about 45 minutes later, also measured 2.8, at a similar depth. It was in Gunnison County ,17 miles west of Snowmass Village.

Fifteen minutes later, another quake, measuring 2.3 in nearly identical location to the second, struck the area.

Comment: Update: Colorado earthquake count rises to 12 in 36 hours

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Snowflake Cold

Animals struggle with heavy snowfall, winter weather in Idaho


The Spokesman-Review
Fri, 20 Jan 2017 12:06 UTC
Two juvenile elk wander in a field
© Jerome A PollosTwo juvenile elk wander in a field
While Idaho residents are lamenting heavy snowpack and icy roads, wildlife in the state has been struggling in the backcountry.

Idaho Fish and Game officials told the Post Register that the tough winter will likely mean higher mortality rates for elk and deer that are coping with heavily crusted snowpack.

The deep snow makes it harder for game to move around, with each step requiring more energy and sapping more of the animals' fat supplies, Idaho Fish and Game Regional Wildlife Manager Curtis Hendricks said. The crusted snow also makes it hard for deer and elk to uncover winter forage, further depleting their fat stores.

In Valley County, more familiar animals are struggling due to the snow. A pair of horses has become stranded in a remote area near Boulder Lake. The Valley County Sheriff's Office is working to save the animals, KTVB-TV reported.


HORSES
© Valley County Sheriff's OfficeHorses stranded
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Binoculars

Chinstrap penguin makes rare 1500-kilometre trip from Antarctica to Macquarie Island

Cate Grant
abc.net.au
Sat, 21 Jan 2017 10:43 UTC
The chinstrap penguin
© Kim KlistaThe chinstrap penguin
What makes a tiny penguin set out on an epic journey through a vast ocean with seemingly little hope of returning home in one piece?

Antarctic researchers are not actually sure, but when one little chinstrap penguin made a very rare appearance on remote Macquarie Island recently there was great excitement.

The chinstraps are cousins of the more common adelie penguins, but the nearest colony of chinstraps is about 1,500 kilometres south of Macquarie Island

There have only been five chinstrap sightings on "Macca" since 2013, and 44 since 1953.
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Blue Planet

14 buried in central China landslide


Xinhua
Sat, 21 Jan 2017 08:51 UTC
14 buried in central China landslide January 2017
© Xinhua
Around 14 people were buried in a landslide which hit part of a hotel in a central China town on Friday night, local authorities said.

The landslide hit the hotel at the town proper of Nanzhang County, Hubei Province around 7:30 p.m. Friday.
14 buried in central China landslide
© XinhuaA landslide hit part of a hotel in Chengguan town of Nanzhang on Friday night. The casualties are still unclear.

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