Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 4.0 - Arkansas

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 04:59:50 UTC

Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:59:50 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
35.257°N, 92.370°W

Depth:
5.1 km (3.2 miles)

Region:
ARKANSAS

Distances:
4 km (2 miles) NNE (29°) from Greenbrier, AR

8 km (5 miles) SE (143°) from Twin Groves, AR

8 km (5 miles) SSW (203°) from Guy, AR

58 km (36 miles) N (357°) from Little Rock, AR

420 km (261 miles) SSW (207°) from St. Louis, MO

Bizarro Earth

US: Just How Cold Has It Been This Winter?

Image
© hamweather.com
How cold?

In the above illustration for the week Feb 7-14, 2011 in the contiguous United States, there were

655 Record Lows : 66 Record Highs.

Remember the heat wave this past summer in the Ukraine and western Russia, including Moscow?

This winter has been one of the coldest on record.

Bizarro Earth

Canada: 'Concerning' mass of dead fish, ducks blankets Little River in Windsor

Image
© Jason Kryk / The Windsor StarThousands of dead fish and dozens of dead ducks float in Little River near Riverside Drive East in Windsor, Ont., on Feb. 16, 2011.
Windsor, Ontario -- There's an increasingly smelly fish-and-duck soup at the mouth of Little River as thousands of dead shad and several dozen dead ducks blanket the water's surface, causing some alarm among residents.

"It seems a little strange," said Mike Stoyshin, who noticed the mass of dead gizzard shad in the river while going for a walk Tuesday evening.

When he got a little closer, he realized there were several dead mallard and merganser ducks floating among the fish.

"I know that everybody says the shad die off every year but a dozen ducks dead in the same pile is kind of concerning," said Stoyshin.

Ministry of Natural Resources biologist Andy Cook dispatched a team from the Wheatley MNR office after being notified of the dead waterfowl by The Star Wednesday morning.

Seven mallards, one merganser and two Canada geese carcasses were retrieved and will be sent to the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre in Guelph for analysis.

While Cook avoided prejudging the test results, he said the fish and waterfowl likely died for the same reason: the harsh winter temperatures this year.

Bizarro Earth

Six dead, 15,000 homeless in Madagascar cyclone

cyclone
© AFP / EUMETSAT 2011A picture released by Eumetsat on February 14, 2011 shows an image of the tropical Cyclone Bingiza over northeast Madagascar, as captured by the AVHRR instrument onboard EUMETSAT's polar-orbiting satellite Metop-A.
The Bingiza Cyclone which hit northern Madagascar earlier this week has claimed six lives and left one person missing, with more than 15,000 people homeless and 8,530 buildings ruined, authorities said Thursday.

The Indian Ocean island's emergency office said the dead included four family members who drowned in the tropical hurricane, with gusts reaching 200 kilometres per hour.

In the south-east, home to the country's vital pepper and vanilla crops, most areas are flooded after the heavy rains. Floods are also threatening Farafangana further south.

Bizarro Earth

Incoming Coronal Mass Ejection

A coronal mass ejection (CME) propelled toward Earth by the X2-flare of Feb. 15th should arrive during the late hours of Feb. 17th--that's today. A moderately strong geomagnetic storm is likely when it arrives. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras after nightfall.

NASA's researchers have made a time-lapse movie of the Feb. 17th explosion. Watch the video below then scroll down for commentary:



Igloo

US: Harsh winter triggers New York City manhole explosions

manhole explosion
© Austin RiggsThis manhole explosion on Feb. 11, 2011, turned into fire on New York City's Sixth Ave.
Record snowfall is turning the city's mean streets even meaner, with 65 manholes exploding or catching fire since New Years, a utility spokesman said on Friday.

With snow piled six feet high for the past month, huge ice chunks raining down on congested intersections and street corners turned into frigid wading pools, flying manhole covers are yet another symptom of winter's wrath.

In the most recent serious case, a fireball erupting from a manhole in Brooklyn this week engulfed an SUV that had been parked over the opening only moments before.

Mr. Potato

Still Singing the Global Warming Song: Prince Charles defends his faith against 'deniers'

Prince Charles
© Associated PressPrince Charles addresses the European Parliament in Brussels
Prince Charles's speech in Brussels last week shows him still clinging to climate change orthodoxy, says Christopher Booker

Flanked by the panjandrums of our European government, the Prince of Wales once again held forth in Brussels last week on the favorite bee in his bonnet, global warming. He bemused MEPs with a welter of dubious statistics, called for a drastic reduction in our economic standard of living and ended with a swipe at those heretics of our time, the "climate change skeptics" who are corroding public debate by daring to "deny the vast body of scientific opinion that shows beyond any reasonable doubt that global warming has been exacerbated by human industrialized activity".

As defender of the faith, of course, the Prince did not need any proof for such a dogmatic assertion. But whether it is wise for him still to be showing such religious attachment to this particular belief system, just when it is rapidly falling apart, is questionable.

Cloud Lightning

Rwanda: Rubavu Rain Victims Appeal for Help

Hundreds of residents who were displaced by heavy rains in Rubavu District are yet to find reasonable shelter, a month since their houses were destroyed.

The most devastated areas were Gisenyi and Rugerero sectors, where more than 30 families were left homeless.

"We understand the district was supposed to liaise with the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness to get us some support, but we have not seen it," said one victim who didn't want his name mentioned.

The district's interim leader could not answer our calls for a comment.

Cloud Lightning

India: Mercury dips as rain lashes Bihar

Image
© unknownIndia meteorological dapet satellite, Feb. 16th
Day temperatures dropped in most part of the state on Wednesday following a western disturbance (WD) over hilly areas in northern India, which caused mild to heavy rainfall in the state since Tuesday night.

Patna Met director Animesh Chanda said that a cyclonic circulation has formed over Bihar and its neighbourhood areas. This has resulted in rainfall activity plummeting the mercury on Wednesday.

Many districts of the state like Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Araria, Purnia, Supaul etc received good rainfall, while other districts, including the capital, recorded 0.6 to 2.1 mm rainfall.

The Met department here has also issued warnings of thunder squall with a wind speed of 45 km to 55 per hour in many parts of Bihar in the next 48 hours.

A severe hailstorm accompanied by moderate to heavy rain lashed several parts of Araria and Purnia districts around mid-day on Wednesday causing extensive damages to the standing crops. Several panchayats under Raniganj, Bhargama and Jokihat blocks in Araria, and Srinagar, Jalalgarh and Kasba blocks in Purnia were badly hit when a severe hailstorm ripped through on Wednesday afternoon.

Cloud Lightning

Rain, hailstorm damage crops in Rajasthan, India

Image
© HarosMap of India indicating Rajasthan
The unseasonal rain dashed the hopes of farmers in the state who were expecting bumper Rabi crop. The rain has damaged crops in many parts of the state.

Complaints of crop damage have been pouring in from many villages of Bundi and other districts. Heavy rain coupled with hailstorms lashed Bundi district last night damaging crops of wheat, mustard, coriander and lentil.

Hailstorm lashed several villages, including Sukhpura, Gothera, Mandi, Bhagwanipura, Tokera, Panch ki Bawari of Hindoli sub-division last evening following which standing crop was damaged, Mandi village sarpanch Bhuribai said.

Hindoli MLA Prabhulal Saini has demanded a survey of the damage caused to the crop by the rain and appropriate compensation for affected farmers. Bundi sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Amanulla Khan said that the revenue officials have been asked to estimate the loss due to untimely thundershowers.

Reports of hailstorm and showers also came in from Hindoli, Nainwa, Lekhari and Bundi sub-divisions of the district. The thundershowers damaged crops of mustard and coriander seeds in Kankala, Utarana, Budhala and many villages of Lekhari sub-division last evening, officials said.