Earth Changes

Guatemala's Fuego volcano enters new eruptive phase, increasing activity

RT
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 14:01 UTC

An active volcano in Guatemala has entered a new eruptive phase, sending huge lava fountains into the air. With no evacuation measures announced, people living in the area have been able to capture breathtaking images of the volcano and share them with the world.

Volcan de Fuego - which translates as "the volcano of fire" - is located some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the capital, Guatemala City. The volcano is experiencing a new peak in activity, with lava and smoke erupting from its crater, and ash covering the surrounding areas, AFP reported, citing the Guatemala Institute of Volcanology."The Fuego volcano is in a phase of high activity. Since Sunday morning the largest increase has been observed, [this] being the beginning of a new eruption," the institute said in a special bulletin.

Lava fountains reached as high as 250-300 meters (up to almost 1,000 feet) above the crater, sending lava flows to a distance of up to 2,000 meters (6560 feet).The eruption is accompanied by strong explosions, observers added, saying that they are causing shock waves in the area.

The Fuego is also sending volcanic ash high into the air, with ash plumes reaching a height of some 4,800 meters (3 miles) above sea level. The ash is then traveling to the west and southwest from the volcano at a speed of over 13 kilometers (8 miles) per hour.

Comment: Guatemala has seen more recent activity in another one of its volcanoes. From December 1, 2015:

Powerful explosion of Guatemala's Santiaguita volcano prompts air traffic precautions

Most powerful storm in 18 years hits Paraguay

Strange Sounds
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 17:52 UTC

That's the most powerful storm in the past 18 years of Paraguay.

The storm hit the capital and surrounding on Friday, December 4, 2015 and killed a boy and a baby. Moreover, drinkable water, electricity were and roads collapsed. The state of Emergency has been declared.

The storm mainly affected the capital city and the metropolitan area is the largest in the last 18 years according to wind and precipitation data.

The storm began at 4.20 am. of rain fell in just two hours and wind speeds reached 100 mph.

Massive natural gas leak in Southern California could take months to plug

Megan Geuss
Ars Technica
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 22:00 UTC

Outside of a San Fernando Valley neighborhood northwest of Los Angeles, Southern California Gas Company sprung a leak in one of its natural gas wells on October 23.

Just last night at a Los Angeles City Council meeting, the CEO of the private utility said that it could be three to four months before SoCal Gas can plug the underground leak, which has sent tens of thousands of kilograms of methane per hour seeping up into the air.

According to Reuters, SoCal Gas is one of the biggest gas utilities in the country. Its natural gas storage field at Aliso Canyon is the second biggest storage area in the country after a location in Montana.

The gas leaking up into the air above the well is primarily composed of methane, "a potent greenhouse gas," the California Air Resources Board (CARB) wrote in a preliminary estimate of emissions published on November 20. "The global warming impact from methane is 25 times and 72 times that of CO₂, for equal amounts by weight, over a 100 year and 20 year timespan, respectively," the report added. "Due to methane's powerful impact and short life compared to other gases, it represents an important element in reducing the near-term effects of global warming."

Comment: Incidences of methane outgassing, or suspected outgassing are becoming disturbingly frequent. Another sign of impending earth changes? A small sample includes:

Northwestern UK floods require emergency measures

Press TV
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 01:45 UTC

Heavy floods in Britain's northern regions on Sunday forced the country's emergency response committee to call an urgent meeting to study the situation in affected areas. The meeting was called after prolonged heavy rain caused widespread flooding in northwest England and forced emergency services to evacuate residents from their homes.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said the government committee had been called to "urgently assess the scale of the floods and ensure the response remains coordinated, effective and gets help to those affected as quickly as possible," Reuters reported.

Reports say storms battered the country overnight, killing one man and leaving hundreds of homes flooded and without power. Police declared a major incident and coastguards were called in to rescue stranded residents.

Britain's national weather service, the Met Office, said in one of the worst affected areas 201.8 millimetres (7.94 inches) of rain had fallen on Saturday - only slightly below the 215 mm usually seen during the whole of December. Gusts of wind reached 90 miles per hour, a spokesman said. The worst of the storm responsible for the flooding, named 'Desmond' by the Met office, had passed according to forecasters but more wet weather was expected in coming days.

Motorcyclist talks about his 'dive' into huge sinkhole in Kempton Park, South Africa

Alicia Loots
Kempton Express
Thu, 03 Dec 2015 12:56 UTC

Bystanders help Eugene van der Walt to get his bike out of the hole.

A 46-year-old motorcyclist had a lucky escape on Thursday morning when he drove into a deep hole at the intersection of Monument Road and Commissioner Street.

But as big as his surprise was when he suddenly disappeared underneath the water, so much bigger was a motorist's surprise when a man suddenly appeared from what he believed to be a big pool of water on the road.

Eugene van der Walt (46) spoke to Express on the scene. He said he was on his way to Gavendish Glen on his Scrambler when he drove into the hole.

"I was on my way to draw money and had just polished my bike, as I was going for my driver's licence. When I got to the intersection, the light was green for me.

"I saw a lot of mud and water and thought I would drive through it slowly, because I didn't want to get my bike dirty. Next thing I knew I was underwater, it felt like I was drowning," said Van der Walt.

One person killed as Storm Desmond causes chaos across UK

Financial Times
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 06:55 UTC

A man has died as Storm Desmond tore through Britain, bringing strong winds and heavy rain which caused Cumbria to declare a major incident.

The 90-year-old man, who died near Finchley Central station, north London, is believed to have been blown into the side of a moving bus by a gust of wind, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

The Environment Agency declared 130 flood warnings, while residents in parts of Cumbria were evacuated from their homes.

The deluge left streets lined with terraced houses looking more like rivers as rescue teams set off in rubber dinghies to rescue stranded locals.

Bridges collapsed, rivers burst their banks and landslides were triggered as torrential rain swept through large swathes of the north of England and Scotland.

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter: "My thoughts are with all affected by Storm Desmond. Teams are working to ensure swift response and help for those who need it."

Cumbria was the among the worst affected by the onslaught, and British Red Cross teams set up rest centres in Keswick, Appleby and Kendal, while medical groups issued an urgent call to draft in extra doctors amid fears the storm could cause casualties.

Giant column of ash, gas erupts from Mexico's Colima volcano; authorities warn of falling ash

ABC - Australia
Sat, 05 Dec 2015 19:34 UTC

Mexico's Colima volcano has spewed a column of gas and ash into the sky in the latest of a series of intermittent eruptions.

Mexico's civil protection authorities said the column rose 2,500 metres over the crater before it was pulled by winds heading north-east.

The explosion prompted the civil protection authorities to warn nearby residents to watch for falling ash and to wear face masks when outdoors.

Located in the south-western Mexican state of Colima, the volcano — known locally as the Fire volcano — has been exhibiting continuous activity since July 9.

The Colima volcano, which is part of the Pacific's Ring of Fire, was also active in January and February.

Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanos, but only 14 are considered active.

Major eruptions in Mexican history have included the 1953 eruption of the Paricutin volcano in Michoacan, the 1982 eruption of Tacana volcano in Chiapas and the 1986 eruption of the Colima volcano.

Heavy rain causes flash flooding in Singapore

Straits Times
Fri, 04 Dec 2015 13:22 UTC

Heavy rain caused flooding in several areas of Singapore on Saturday afternoon.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) had earlier warned of thundery showers with gusty wind expected over the northern, eastern and central areas of the island between 4.05pm and 5pm on Dec 5.

Updates by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) on its Twitter page indicated that some roads were a high flood risk, with water levels rising to 100 per cent.

It said in a tweet at 4.47pm that flash floods had occurred at Lorong Buangkok and that traffic was impassable.

The Straits Times reported that at least two cars were stranded outside the Church of St Vincent de Paul along Yio Chu Kang Road.

A community plaza in a HDB estate in Ang Mo Kio was also filled with rainwater. Netizens also shared their photos and experiences of the situation on social media.

Loud boom in Bullhead City, Arizona remains a mystery

Mohave Valley Daily News
Sun, 06 Dec 2015 01:12 UTC

Some Tri-state residents were startled by a loud boom Thursday afternoon, the source of which remained a mystery hours later.

The noise was reported just after 1 p.m. and residents initially suspected a natural-gas related explosion.

Southwest Gas Corp. spokeswoman Sonya Headen said that company officials contacted operations employees in Laughlin and Bullhead City and determined that the noise residents heard didn't stem from any activity at any of the utility's sites.

Other reported possibilities included a sonic boom or U.S. Geological Survey activity.

Jeremy Keating, director of Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, said he hadn't heard of any exercises involving military aircraft underway in the area, aircraft that would be capable of reaching speeds exceeding 660 mph at altitude that would break the sound barrier to trigger a sonic boom.

Bullhead City public works director Pawan Agrawal said his department was unaware of any work being done in the area by any federal agency, but added that such agencies might share details of some projects only with the police and fire departments.

Bullhead City police had no personnel respond to any explosion-like incidents, department spokeswoman Emily Fromelt said.

90-foot-deep sinkhole closes park in Florida

10News
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 12:14 UTC

A Tampa-area park was closed Wednesday after a sinkhole appeared in one of its roads, county officials said.

The crater in Hillsborough County's Lake Park, about 15 miles north of Tampa, is about 6 feet across and 90 feet deep, according to measurements from a geotechnical engineering firm. No buildings are threatened.

Sinkholes are common in Florida because the peninsula is made up of porous carbonate rocks such as limestone that store and help move water underground. Over time those subsurface rocks can dissolve and the weight of sand and dirt above them can cause the area to collapse, creating a sinkhole.

Hillsborough County, where both Lutz and Tampa are located, is the third most sinkhole-prone county in Florida, the Insurance Journal said four years ago. Of the counties in the top five, only Marion, where Ocala is located, is outside the Tampa Bay area.

Lake Park encompasses 589 acres — almost a square mile — and has five lakes, cypress swamps, pine flatwoods and dense stands of hardwood forests, according to Hillsborough County's website.

The entire park will be closed for an unspecified time until the sinkhole can be filled and the surrounding area reinforced, county officials said in email.

Great job guys! 'We're looking at impending utopia." Sure. Provided you're stoked to live in a one room pod eating bug juice, after being vaxed...

Rowan Cocoan

A Fox News host (Lisa Booth) asking some of the right questions (nothing new if you're not new to the ranks of SOTTypes though). Her spiel begins...

Animanarchy

I've got a LOT of rope. Just let me know.

DeliciousTears

Brand new JP Sears video. Spiritual People Then vs Now: [Link]

Animanarchy

Well, if anyone would know a 'rigger', it's Obomber. The democratic party is filled with riggers, as the last 'election' amply demonstrated.......

Winston Smith

Earth Changes

Guatemala's Fuego volcano enters new eruptive phase, increasing activity

Most powerful storm in 18 years hits Paraguay

Massive natural gas leak in Southern California could take months to plug

Northwestern UK floods require emergency measures

Motorcyclist talks about his 'dive' into huge sinkhole in Kempton Park, South Africa

One person killed as Storm Desmond causes chaos across UK

Giant column of ash, gas erupts from Mexico's Colima volcano; authorities warn of falling ash

Heavy rain causes flash flooding in Singapore

Loud boom in Bullhead City, Arizona remains a mystery

90-foot-deep sinkhole closes park in Florida

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