Earth Changes

Waterfalls cascade off iconic Ayers Rock in Australia after heavy rainfall

Peter Devlin
Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 20:42 UTC

Rainfall over Uluru (pictured) at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia has given travellers a rare and spectacular sight

Rainfall over Uluru at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia has given travellers a rare and spectacular sight.

Australia's iconic red rock, also known as Ayers Rock took on a different form this week as it became a waterfall for cascading rains which have been falling constantly since Monday, bringing a cool change to the area.

'The photos are just spectacular. When we get rain at Uluru it cools everything down and wakes everything up. It brings the place to life,' said Kerrie Bennison, acting manager at the national park.

Rain on the rock!- Australia’s iconic red rock took on a different form this week as it became a waterfall for cascading rains which have been falling constantly since Monday, bringing a cool change to the area

She said most people come to see the sunrises and sunsets but rain running off the rock generates great interest.

It's a stunning sight that most visitors to Uluru will never get a chance to witness.

'I've been at the park for eight years. You don't see this sight very often, only a couple of times a year if you're lucky,' said Ms Bennison.

Third rare sea snake washes up on California beach in 3 months

Jessica Chia
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 16 Jan 2016 19:11 UTC

The Pelamis platura snake was found in Dog Beach, Coronado, miles away from its usual tropical habitat

For the third time in about three months, a rare venomous sea snake has washed up on a beach in Southern California.

The Pelamis platura snake, which is usually found in the tropical waters off the western coast of Mexico, was last spotted in California in the 1980s.

The sea snakes require a minimum of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit to survive and are believed to be moving north due to the unusually warm temperatures caused by El Nino.

The snake found at Dog Beach in Coronado on Tuesday measured 20 inches long and died shortly after it was placed in a bucket by a lifeguard.

In October, one yellow-bellied snake was found in Silver Strand State Beach, in Ventura County.

Devon residents alarmed as beach disappears overnight

Alex Matthews
Daily Mail
Sat, 16 Jan 2016 06:08 UTC

Thousands of tons of shingle have been gouged out from Hallsands beach
Ancient peat base-layer has been left behind but it is being rapidly eroded

Residents on the picturesque Devonshire coast are enduring sleepless nights as a beach that has protected them for generations disappears overnight. Storms have battered Hallsands, in Devon, gouging out thousands of tons of sand and shingle - leaving only a base-layer of ancient peat behind. The peat is rapidly eroding and local councillors have warned that the whole of the exposed east-facing coast of that corner of the county is under threat.

South Hams District and Devon County councillor Julian Brazil said: ''Hallsands is where you can see this problem at its worst. But the erosion over the past three weeks has happened all along this stretch of coast. The continual storms have been eroding the shore like we've never see before. You've got the beach at North Hallsands but you can also see damage at Beesands where more of the road to the left of the village has been eroded. And at Torcross a lot of the beach has disappeared and all that's left is the piling. The houses are vibrating when the waves hit," said Mr Brazil.

"Residents are very concerned and tell me they can't sleep at night because of the booming." Mr Brazil added: "It is alarming. The base-layer of peat is washing away every day. In the middle of the beach there is a big fisherman's winch and that until recently stood 20-foot proud from the bottom of the shore. Now it's down on the peat and the cottages are under threat."

Comment: Climate irregularities are affecting many places around the globe, causing unusual manifestations and sometimes severe and quick changes. Hallsands Beach is one example of a swift and drastic transformation. This is nature's reminder that changes are at hand and we had best pay attention.

Suspected gas leak in Italy completely destroys apartment, 5 killed

CP24
Sat, 16 Jan 2016 16:13 UTC

© Luca Zennaro/ANSA via AP
Firefighters work on the rubbles of a collapsed building after an explosion blamed on a gas leak has killed five people in the apartment building in Arnasco, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016.

An explosion blamed on a gas leak has killed five people in the apartment building where they lived in northwest Italy.

Firefighters say they removed the bodies of four men and a woman from the collapsed building in Arnasco, near Savona, after the pre-dawn blast Saturday. A woman who survived was severely burned.

Arnasco Mayor Alfredo Gallizia says the four-story building, where three families lived, was "saturated with gas and everything came down."

The cause of the gas leak is being investigated.

Comment: There seems to have been an increase in the number of massive house explosions around the world in recent months, with investigators still attempting to determine the cause in many cases. Could a 'cosmic' source of ignition be responsible for some of these incidents?

150,000 affected by flooding in Paraná State, Brazil

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 14:30 UTC

Flood damage in Paraná state, Brazil

The civil defence authority in the Brazilian state of Paraná, Defesa Civil do Paraná, report that heavy rain between 09 and 12 January, 2016, has caused widespread flooding in 49 municipalities of the state. The heavy rain has also caused several landslides in 5 municipalities.

According to latest figures, the floods have affected over 150,000 people, and forced over 2,000 to evacuate their homes. Five people have been injured and one is missing.

Defesa Civil do Paraná say that 74 homes have been completely destroyed, leaving 198 people homeless. A further 10,057 homes have been damaged.

A landslide in Campo Largo affected 405 people and displaced five. Landslides were also reported in Campina Grande do Sul, Fazenda Rio Grande, Santana do Itararé and Ponta Grossa.

7,000 cattle dead due to drought in Zimbabwe

Shimoney Regter
Eyewitness News
Sat, 16 Jan 2016 14:20 UTC

Livestock are dying in Zimbabwe

Severe water shortages are also affecting the Midlands and Matabeleland South.

As South Africa shoulders its own major water crisis, other countries in the region haven't been spared the hardships of the El Niño-induced drought.

In Zimbabwe, reports say around 7,000 cattle have died in its southern provinces.

The worst hit areas are in the south of the country, nearest to South Africa.

The Chronicle says that Masvingo province is the hardest hit, with around 5,000 cattle reported to have died there since temperatures went up in October.

South Africa suffered its driest year on record in 2015, threatening food security

AfricaNews
Thu, 14 Jan 2016 07:55 UTC

South Africa's national weather service has announced that the country is experiencing the lowest rainfall and driest summer in more than 110 years. Adding that the country suffered its driest year on record in 2015, threatening food security.

According to the weather service, average rainfall was 403 mm, about a third less than the 608 mm annual average and the driest since records began in 1904.

The agricultural sector is being hammered by weeks of heat waves that have scorched grazing land, forcing livestock owners to kill or sell animals.

The rural farming town last saw rain on December 15 and has had a severe water shortage for the past three months, with residents having to queue for water. Large parts of the country are facing their worst drought and highest temperatures in decades.

Africa's most advanced economy, a maize exporter, may need to import as much as 5 million tonnes this year, roughly half of its requirements.

A farmer in the maize-producing town of Hoopstad,Chris Skoenwinkle said they are two months late in planting.

Agricultural analysts said the cost of maize imports to make up for lack of crops will be a big burden.

"We've got to import about, in the vicinity of about four million tonnes of maize if it doesn't rain and the rain just stays away. That means we will have to import about 12 billion rands worth of maize," said agricultural economist Ernst Janovsky.

Comment: Warning: Global food crisis early 2016, predicts aid agencies

Record lows recorded for six California river fish species - corporate plundering of water resources blamed

Dan Bacher
Counterpunch
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:07 UTC

© California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Fish species ranging from endangered Delta Smelt to Striped Bass continued to plummet to record low population levels in 2015 in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, according to the annual fall survey report released on December 18 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Only 6 Delta Smelt, an endangered species that once numbered in the millions and was the most abundant fish in the Delta, were collected at the index stations in the estuary this fall. The 2015 index (7), a relative number of abundance, "is the lowest in history," said Sara Finstad, an environmental scientist for the CDFW's Bay Delta Region.

The Delta Smelt, a 2 to 3 inch fish found only in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, is an indicator species that demonstrates the health of the Delta, an estuary that has been dramatically impacted by water exports to corporate agribusiness interests and Southern California water agencies during the record drought, along with other factors including increasing water toxicity and invasive species.

The Fall Midwater Trawl Survey, used to index the fall abundance of pelagic (open water) fishes most years since 1967, conducts monthly surveys from September through December. The 2015 sampling season was completed on December 11.

"In September, the only Delta Smelt collected were from index stations in the lower Sacramento River," said Finstad. "In October the only Delta smelt collected came from a non-index station in the Sacramento Deep Water Shipping Channel."

In November, no Delta Smelt were collected - and in December, the only Delta Smelt collected were from index stations in Montezuma Slough and the lower Sacramento River, according to Finstad.

Comment: Once again, corporate greed trumps all other concerns.

Hailstorms blanket parts of Saudi Arabia white

Robert Felix
Ice Age Now
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 20:21 UTC

Snow on the road to Mecca

Al Jazeera confirms snow in Saudi Arabia. January 15, 2016

Video .. snow coats the migration route.

(One part of the Al Jazeera story says snow, a different part says hail. I'm guessing hail, but it still must have been a real shock to the drivers.)

Strange sounds heard in Singapore, Hungary and California

Strange Sounds
Thu, 14 Jan 2016 19:50 UTC

Sky trumpets or the Trumpets of the imminent apocalypse.

These three videos of strange sounds from the sky were captured in January 2016 around the world.

The strange sky trumpets were recorded in Singapore, Budapest and California. What's going on?

Strange sounds heard in Singapore at night on January 13, 2016