Earth Changes

Bodies of North Carolina brother and sister recovered after deadly flash flood in Smithfield, North Carolina

Ruth Bashinsky
Inside Edition
Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:47 UTC

The bodies of two young siblings missing in a deadly flash flood in Smithfield, North Carolina earlier this week have been recovered. Rescuers found 4-year-old Abraham Martinez Jr.'s body in a creek near Neuse River on Thursday morning and 12 hours later, recovered his sister, 5-year-old, Alexa Castro in shallow water 30 yards away, the Johnston County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

The harrowing ordeal took place on Monday night when Vanessa Castro and her two children were in her car that was swept off the Galilee Road in Smithfield, outside of Raleigh, during a violent flash flood storm. Rising floodwaters swept the vehicle away

According to emergency officials, more than seven inches of rain fell in Smithfield overnight, causing numerous roads to flood in the area.

Recordings of the mother's 911 calls from that night obtained by News & Observer captured the mother's fear and panic.

Lightning killed 64 in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2019, highest in 5 years - rainfall was 144% of the seasonal average

Times of India
Sun, 06 Sep 2020 12:32 UTC

The state recently experienced heavy rainfall and thunderstorms due to the monsoon. While the rainfall in 2019 was more than 100% of the seasonal average in the state, Gujarat also reported its highest number of deaths due to lightning for the past five years in 2019, revealed the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report 'Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India'.

Deaths due to lightning accounted for 46% of the total deaths attributed to 'forces of nature' in the report. Experts pointed to reasons such as more thundershowers/thunderstorms and more persons working outdoors. The report did not provide city or district-wise details for these deaths.

Signs and Portents: Two-headed turtle found in Barbados

Kerri Gooding
Loop
Sat, 05 Sep 2020 12:00 UTC

Tiki and Twist being held by Connor Blades.

Tiki and Twist, a set of conjoined twin turtle hatchlings, are in the Atlantic Ocean battling life off Barbados now.

The finding was a first for Barbadian Sea Turtle Project volunteer Connor Blades. Tiki and Twist are the first two-headed turtle that Connor has seen in person in his six years of working with turtles and hatchlings. He made the discovery on September 3, 2020.

Answering the question of how exactly the discovery was made, he said:

"We excavate hatched turtle nests. This hatchling was one still stuck in the nest upon excavation, and would have definitely died otherwise. It was released later as normal."

Strong mag. 6.6 earthquake near central mid- Atlantic Ridge

Earthquake Report
Sun, 06 Sep 2020 11:28 UTC

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown

GMT/UTC Time : 2020-09-06 06:51:18

Depth (Hypocenter) : 10 km

Pacific 6.2M earthquake strikes off Vanuatu

SunLive
Sun, 06 Sep 2020 11:22 UTC

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

The US Geological Survey reports that the quake struck at 2.59pm NZ time, 101 km north-west of the capital, Port Vila.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre advises that the threat of tsunami waves has now mostly passed.

The USGS says the quake was fairly shallow - at a depth of about 10km, and that no damage has been reported so far.

6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Coquimbo, Chile, EMSC says

Sputnik
Sun, 06 Sep 2020 11:13 UTC

According to seismologists, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 25 kilometres (15.5 miles). No casualties or damage have been reported.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has struck 50 kilometres (31.07 miles) from Coquimbo, Chile, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. No tsunami alert has been issued.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) preliminarily reported a 6.4-magnitude earthquake 47 kilometres northeast of Coquimbo.

A local resident has shared a video purportedly depicting the objects in his home trembling the moment the quake began.

Venezuelan cities flooded with water and crude oil following heavy rains

Max Gorbachev
Sputnik
Sat, 05 Sep 2020 19:34 UTC

Firefighters in affected cities were placed on high alert following reports of fallen trees and collapsed roofs.

Three cities in the Venezuelan state of Zulia have been transformed into something resembling Venice, Italy after the collapse of a drainage system caused by heavy rains.

Shops, businesses, homes, and even medical centres were flooded in Cabimas, Simón Bolívar, and Ciudad Ojeda.

Patients at the Pedro García Clara hospital in Ciudad Ojeda received hemodialysis in rooms filled with water.

Nigeria flood death toll rises to 20, over 50,000 families displaced in Jigawa - 500,000 hectares of farmland devastated in Kebbi

Khaleel Muhammad
Daily Post (Nigeria)
Sat, 05 Sep 2020 19:10 UTC

The Jigawa State government has said the death toll in Jigawa flood has risen to twenty.

Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency, (SEMA) Yusuf Sani disclosed this to DAILY POST.

He said those affected were mostly children as a result of a collapsed building caused by heavy rainfall .

DAILY POST reported that sixteen people lost their lives while thousands of houses and farmlands were destroyed as a result of a heavy downpour last week.

Yusuf explained that the flood displaced over 50,000 families, and thousands of farmlands were also submerged.

Comment: AllAfrica reported on the same date:

Floods have again hit several parts of the country, severely affecting farmlands and displacing thousands of people, especially in Kebbi State where our correspondent reports that it ravaged over 500,000 hectares of farm produce estimated at over N5billion, while also rendering people homeless in other states, heightening threats to food security.

Besides other factors threatening food security in Nigeria, including the seemingly intractable terrorism, banditry and killer herdsmen's onslaught which are steadily spreading across the country, harvest of farm produce might be imperiled this year and even the next as a result of flooding.

In Kebbi State for instance, 500,000 hectares was recently devastated by flood, 450,000 hectares of it being for rice farms.

This has heightened fears that by next year, majority of farmers in the state, particularly rice farmers, would be out of business.

Many farmlands visited by our correspondent were overrun by floods, just as rice farms were submerged.

South Sudan - 600,000 displaced by floods since July, says UN

Floodlist
Fri, 04 Sep 2020 18:49 UTC

Sudan flood

More than 600,000 people have been displaced by flooding in South Sudan since July, according to the United Nations.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 03 September that flooding in areas along the White Nile has affected 24 counties in 6 states since July this year.

Heavy rains have caused rivers to overflow their dykes and banks, flooding vast areas and settlements along the White Nile in the centre of the country., with the states of Jonglei and Lakes are the worst affected states.

OCHA said: 2The majority of people displaced moved to higher ground near their homes and plan to return once the flood waters recede. In Bor South, over 33,000 people earlier displaced by conflict and flooding in Twic East and Duk counties to the north have moved west into Awerial county, and are now sheltering in Mingkaman town IDP settlement."