Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Swathes of Cyprus battered by storms

Fallen trees in Paphos
Fallen trees in Paphos
Large swathes of Cyprus were battered by storms on Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, with strong winds felling trees and heavy rain sending water cascading down roads across the island.

Electricity was cut off in 13 villages and suburbs in the Limassol district on Saturday, with some areas not being reconnected until the early hours of Sunday morning, while similar difficulties were suffered by numerous villages and suburbs in Paphos.

Fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said a total of 54 callouts were received on Saturday, most of which concerned matters such as trees falling into roads or requests for rainwater to be pumped away.

Meanwhile, in the Paphos district village of Konia, the fire brigade were called to rescue two people who were trapped inside vehicles on a flooded road, while it is estimated that 40 properties in the Paphos district suffered flooding.

Elsewhere, metal objects were blown onto the motorway linking Paphos and Limassol, and landslides were reported near the villages of Pedoulas and Kampos.


Tsunami

Storm Trami floodwaters near rooftops in central Vietnam - 17 inches of rainfall in 24 hours - 12 killed (UPDATED)

Floodwaters in the Kien Giang River have reached rooftop levels in Loc Thuy and An Thuy communes, Le Thuy District, causing widespread damage.
Floodwaters in the Kien Giang River have reached rooftop levels in Loc Thuy and An Thuy communes, Le Thuy District, causing widespread damage.
As of Monday afternoon, over 28,340 households in Quang Binh have been affected by the flooding, with 15,800 households in Le Thuy District, 11,540 in Quang Ninh District, and 1,000 in Dong Hoi City.

The floods have isolated 58 villages.

Floodwaters have submerged 84 locations along the province's roadways, including five points on National Highway 1, where flood depths have reached up to 60 cm. An 800-meter stretch of the Ho Chi Minh Highway, runs from the north to the south of Vietnam, passing through Truong Thuy Commune in Le Thuy District is also underwater, with the deepest point reaching 80 cm.

This marks the second major flood to hit Quang Binh, home to world's largest cave Son Doong, in the last four years, following a similar incident in October 2020.

Le Thuy, in southern Quang Binh, is the hardest hit, with over 15,800 homes submerged.


Comment: Update October 31

VnExpress reports:
12 dead, thousands evacuated amid widespread flooding in Vietnam's central province

Flooding triggered by heavy rains from Storm Trami and a cold spell has claimed 12 lives, injured seven, sunk five ships, and flooded 34,000 homes in Quang Binh Province.

According to authorities in the central province, as of Thursday, Le Thuy District reported seven deaths, Quang Ninh District four, and Dong Hoi City one. Among the injured, five are from Le Thuy and two from Quang Ninh.

By Thursday afternoon, floodwaters had receded in some residential areas, but at the Kien Giang River station in Le Thuy, water levels remained at 2.35 meters. More than 1,500 homes in Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts remain submerged, with one village still isolated.

Over the past four days, intense rains and flooding have forced the evacuation of over 9,290 families and submerged nearly 34,500 homes across the province, with Le Thuy District suffering the heaviest damage, affecting nearly 20,000 homes.



Cloud Precipitation

Extreme hailstorms in Saudi Arabia

Snow blankets northern Saudi region
© SPASnow blankets northern Saudi region of Al Jouf
Intense hailstorms hit Saudi Arabia, creating inconvenience and many floods, "everything was whitewashed as if it had snowed very heavily"!!


Attention

Dozens of octopuses swarm harbor in Monterey, California

mmmm
Onlookers glimpsed an "incredible sighting" in a California harbor, a business said.

About 25 octopuses surfaced over the course of an hour near shops by the wharf in Monterey on Oct. 28, according to a Facebook post by Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

Employees said even after 20 years of working at the shop, they've never seen a "sight like it," the company said.

The whale watching company's guess as to why the cephalopods all came swarming to the harbor is simple - oxygen.

Millions of anchovies in the water recently have been "depleting the oxygen supply," forcing these octopuses to seek oxygen at the surface, the agency said.


Cloud Precipitation

Severe hailstorm hits Capilla del Monte, Argentina

mmmmm
Shocking hail accompanied by strong storms fall in Capilla del Monte, Cordoba, Argentina.

shocking hail fall in Capilla del Monte. The phenomenon was recorded in the department of Punilla, accompanied by strong storms. On Thursday morning, towns in the Punilla area of ​​Córdoba experienced a sudden change in weather. In Capilla del Monte and on the road to Alta Gracia, hail was recorded, which anticipates storms with low to moderate precipitation in the region. The provincial Hydro-Meteorological Observatory has indicated a high probability that the rains will continue, so the population is advised to take precautions.

The National Meteorological Service (SMN) issued a yellow alert on Thursday for storms affecting the north and center of the province. The agency warned that rainfall could come with occasional hail and electrical activity, especially in the departments of Colón, Punilla, Santa María and Totoral. In this regard, Capilla del Monte already registered an intense storm with hail after 9 in the morning.


Arrow Down

At least 6 killed in landslide after heavy rain in Konta, Ethiopia

The landslide scene in Konta Zone
© PDThe landslide scene in Konta Zone
At least six people are reportedly killed in Konta zone of South West Ethiopia due to a landslide.

According to the region's police commission the accident occurred in Ameya district of Konta, Chare locality.

The area reportedly received heavy rain on Thursday evening. The landslide occurred around 8 a.m. local time on Friday.

All the victims from the accident belong to two family members. One family lost four while the other one lost two family members

Five bodies have been recovered so far and a search operation is underway to recover the missing body. The Police commission did not say if there are more missing people.

Attention

Florida surfer bit by a shark at the same beach he was bitten at 11 years ago

Cole Taschman at Martin North Hospital after being bitten by a shark at Bathtub Beach in Stuart, Florida on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.
Cole Taschman at Martin North Hospital after being bitten by a shark at Bathtub Beach in Stuart, Florida on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.
A Florida man is recovering from a shark bite just over a decade after being bitten at the same beach.

Cole Taschman, 28, was surfing with two friends at Bathtub Beach in Stuart on the state's east coast last Friday afternoon when the attack occurred, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.

"As I was paddling against the current, my feet are behind me, they were laying flat on the board, and an about 8- or 9-foot (2.4- or 2.7-metre) either bull shark or tiger shark came up behind me and snatched my feet," Taschman said.

Three tendons were completely torn and one was partially torn in the attack. Two surgeries have left the fishing charter captain with 93 stitches and about a dozen staples. He spent four days at the hospital before heading home to recover, and he might need another surgery.

Cow

Man killed in stray bull attack in Uttar Pradesh, India

Representative image showing a bull.
Representative image showing a bull.
A 65-year-old man died after being attacked by a stray bull in the Gauriganj area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Friday.

Poore Babu Mau resident Ram Manohar was returning home from his field late on Thursday when the bull attacked him, they said.

Manohar suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the district hospital where doctors declared him dead, they added.

Gauriganj police station inspector-in-charge Shyam Narayan Pandey said the body was sent for post-mortem and legal proceedings were underway.

Meanwhile, Rita, a local resident, claimed the bull had attacked several people recently. She claimed her son was seriously injured after being attacked by the bull earlier on Thursday.

Despite repeated incidents of the animal attacking people, no action has been taken to capture the bull, she alleged.

PTI

Attention

Hunter killed in brown bear attack in southeast Alaska

MMMMM
A 50-year-old man who went deer hunting in southeast Alaska was mauled to death by a group of brown bears, officials confirmed Thursday. He had earlier been reported missing.

Tad Fujioka, 50, was reported missing on Tuesday night after leaving on a solo deer hunting trip on Baranof Island, which is part of the ABC islands along the Canadian border.

The next morning, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Sitka SAR launched land-based searches in remote wooded areas on the island, which is known for its wilderness and dense brown bear population.

"At approximately 11:30am, search teams located Fujioka's remains," Alaska State Troopers said in a statement. "Investigation revealed he was the likely victim of a fatal bear mauling.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted three brown bears in the area. Police spokesman Tim DeSpain said the bears apparently mauled Fujioka and consumed a deer he had killed.

Fujioka's body was recovered and his family has been notified.

Binoculars

American robin makes rare appearance in Harbin, China

North American migratory bird Turdus mig
© CFPNorth American migratory bird Turdus migratorius appears on a tree in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province on October 31, 2024.
Bird experts have confirmed that a North American migratory bird has made a rare appearance in northeast China.

The Turdus migratorius, commonly known as the American Robin, was spotted foraging on a tree recently in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. Images of the migratory bird were taken by photography enthusiasts in the area.

Professor Xu Qing from the School of Wildlife and Nature Reserves at Northeast Forestry University and other bird experts confirmed through image comparison that this bird is the American Robin. Experts say that it is a common bird species in North America, but it is very rare in China, and there are few observation records of it in the country.

They often appear in grasslands and coniferous forest areas. They mainly feed on various wild fruits and berries, plant seeds, as well as insects and invertebrates.