Earth ChangesS

Umbrella

Iowa City at risk for flooding

Officials warn that the Coralville Reservoir could top its spillway and flood Iowa City by Tuesday.

Levels for the Iowa River are predicted to be similar to those seen in the flood of 1993. Officials say that people whose property was affected in 1993 should assume that situation will repeat itself.

Cloud Lightning

India: Six killed, 2 injured by lightning

At least six women were killed and two injured due to lightning strikes at several villages in Dumri block on Saturday evening.

Among the casualties were three women and three girls. The incident took place around 4pm.

The two girls have been identified as Rinki (8) and Punam (6). They were collecting berries at Kasma-Kurma when the lightning struck.

Hourglass

Caribbean Monk Seal Gone Extinct From Human Causes, NOAA Confirms

After a five year review, NOAA's Fisheries Service has determined that the Caribbean monk seal, which has not been seen for more than 50 years, has gone extinct - the first type of seal to go extinct from human causes.

Caribbean Monk Seal
©U.S. National Museum
Scientific Sketch of a Caribbean Monk Seal.

Bizarro Earth

Aftershock rocks China lake, creates landslides

QINGLIAN - A magnitude 5.0 aftershock shook a brimming, earthquake-formed lake and sent landslides tumbling down surrounding mountains Sunday, underscoring the persistent threat of flooding to more than 1 million weary refugees downstream.

Hongshihe quake-formed lake
©AP Photo/Color China Photo
Workers widen a sluice channel at the Hongshihe quake-formed lake at Qingchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan province, Saturday, June 7, 2008. Soldiers blew up wooden houses and other debris Sunday in a lake formed by China's deadly earthquake to speed the flow of water into a diversion channel and ease the threat of flooding for more than 1 million people in the sprawling disaster zone.

No new evacuations were ordered and the lake's dam of unstable mud and rocks did not collapse, said Hu Peng, a media officer at the disaster relief headquarters of the lake. He had no additional details.

More than 250,000 people downstream have been evacuated in recent weeks.


Cloud Lightning

US: Authorities say 3 drowned in Midwest flooding

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - A possible tornado toppled trees in Nebraska and record flooding chased people from their Indiana homes early Sunday as the Midwest braced for still more violent weather.

Cloud Lightning

Worst rainstorms in 50 years hit southeast China

The heaviest rainstorms in 50 years drenched parts of Guangdong province over the past two days, killing at least 1 student and causing widespread flooding, local media reported on Sunday.

Target

Update: Greece Hit by Earthquake; Two People Dead

Greece was hit by an earthquake classified as "strong'' on the Richter magnitude scale around 3:25 p.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey and Greek scientists said.

The death toll stands at two, said a spokeswoman at the Interior Ministry in Athens, who commented on condition she not be identified by name in accordance with departmental policy.

Attention

Indonesia raises alert of volcano as it spews lava



Image
©REUTERS/Stringer
People from a district in Minahasa look at columns of ash spewed from Mount Soputan, in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province June 6, 2008.

Indonesia has raised the alert level for a volcano on Sulawesi island to the highest after it began spewing hot lava and clouds of smoke, a vulcanology official said on Saturday.

Lava from Mount Soputan has been gliding down its slopes about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) from the crater since Friday but has not reached the foot of the mountain, said Saut Simatupang, head of Indonesia's Vulcanology Survey.

Target

Earthquake shakes southern Greece

A strong earthquake has struck southern Greece, including the capital, Athens, but there are no reports of injuries.

Cloud Lightning

Heavy rains inundate central Indiana, forcing evacuations



Indiana flood I70
©WRTV Photo
Flooding in Putman County has closed Interstate 70

Franklin, Indiana - Floodwaters forced countless residents from their homes, breached dams and closed portions of major highways, yet officials said the worst could still come as rivers continued to swell in south-central Indiana.

Gov. Mitch Daniels declared emergencies in 10 counties Saturday, after storms dumped up to 10 inches of rain on already soggy ground.